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lliiliiliiliiipli^iiliffi 


I 


liiiiii 


CYCLOPEDIA 


OF 


OF   THE 


@roliiias  o\  [\k  ]NIinclcciill)  (ciiliirV, 


WITH  A 


BRIEF  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  ON  SOUTH  CAROLINA    IIV    GENERAL 

EDWARD  MrCRADV.  Jr.,  AND  ON  NORTH  CAROLINA 

BY  HON.  SAMUEL  A.  ASHE. 


V70LUME 


MADISOX,   WIS.: 
BKflfST  &   FULL  ER 
is;  I  J. 


a  y  5  0    '1 


Copyright.  1 S  9  i . 

B  Y  B  R  A  N  T  &  FULLER, 

Madisok,  Wis. 


Democrat  Printing  Co.,  Mmlison,  Wis. 

Binder!/ uf  W.  11.  Conkeij,  Chicago,  .111. 


INDEX, 


Abbott.  .T.  C  

Abbott.  .S.  H 

Albert-soii,  J.  W 

AlexauUt-r,  .Natlianiil 
.Mexniuli-r,  .S.  H 
Alspau»;h.  J .  W 
AnOrews.  A.  H 
Amb-ews.  K_  M  . 
Anthony.  .John  -V . 
AreiKlt'M  Vatnity,  tbf 

Ashp,  .lolin 

Ash.-,  .1    !!.  .. 
Ashe,  Samuel 
Ashe,  T.  S. . 
Atkiuson.  Thouiius 

Avery.  A.  (-' 

Aydlett,  K.  F 

liudKer.  G.  K.   . 
IJailev.  C.  T  . 
Uaiii.  Uoiiulil  VV 
Uarrin;;.;r.  iiiiiiis 

l>ann;ii.    II 

Batchel'T,  .loseph  I: 
Battle,  S.  \V 
liatlle,  li.  II.. 
Uatlle.  T.  1!  . 
Battle.  W.  a. 
Heoknitli.  .1.  I! 
Bell.  Daniel 

Bell.  W.r.  K 

Bellamy.  J.  D 

Bellaniv,  .i.  V  . . 
BeUaniy,  W.  .1  II 
Bennette.  S.  \v'. 

BiKCS,  Asa 

Blan,  I.  H 

Blooilworth.  Thiioiliy     . 

Blount,  William 

Bognil.  D.  N 

Boud,  H.  A 

Bradsbaw.  (J.  S 

Bragg,  TlHuuas 

Branch,  L  U 

Bra.swell,  T    I' 

Brevaril,  K.  .1 ,  . . 
Brewer.  Cliai-Ies  K. . 

Bridgers.  U.  K 

Brogden,  ('    H 

Brown.  Bedford 

Brown,  .1.  K 

Brown,  Jubn  L 

Brown,  T.  J 

Brown.  W.  (' 

Brown.  \V.  M.  B 

Bnnn.  11.  II 

Uurr.  .1.  (J 

Bin-nmghs.  .1 .  .\ 

liurlcin.  H.  O... 

Burwell,  Spotswouil 

liusliee,  C.    -M 

Byers,  ,1.  W 

fade.  B 

(Jalilwell.  Uovid 

Caldwell,  .los 

Caldwell.  I).  K 

Caldwell.  1).  I'" 

falclwell.  .1    A 

Caldwell,  T  U.   . 

Cauiernn,  Bennebaii 

Cauiei-nn,  l>uneali , 

Cameron.  K.  H     . 

Cameron.  V.  C 

Carr.  .1.  S     

Carson,  Win 

Carter,  M.  K 

I'aru-.-.  I>.  .M 

Cartel.  W.  1! 

Caswt'll.  Uieliard,    , .    . 

t'had'vick.  W.  S  . 

chanilierlaln,  .1.  K.    .    . 

Chaiiibeiw,  ,1 .  L 

Cliaiiin.  II     T 

Clark,  \Valter 

Clarke,  W.  E 

Cliflon.  J.  B 

Cobb.  B.  C 


PAOB. 

. ..   V3i 

...  5*S 
l.|-> 
■::ti< 


I'.'.i 
:liir 
:i,i:i| 


(jOilll  1> 
Cobb.  .1 . 
C>  l.b,  'i . 
Cooke.  .; 
(■•■nb^ii. 


\v 
^\ 
H  . 

Jl 
I.  II 


Crawi'^rii,  .1 


;iHiVr.|.  i; 
.  1'. 


c, 
(• 
Cr  ,nlV.  yt 

Croi.ei!..).  W 

Cili>in:'iinn!,  .1.  S. . 
C>;n!tr.:italii,  .1.  W. 
Cunie,  .li  .  .].  H  .. 

!■  M.H  •.    I.  L 

!■  ;    1   I    ■>\"i!li-  .. 
1.1.    ■:• .  .ra-itphus 
.....  .:...-i.  A.  B  ... 

I.i:.vi.isoli,   A.  '1" 
H.lVi.lH  .il,  T. 

>>. 


,  !••. 


I)av!s, 

B'lvi-'.  \»e''!".,-' 
i:!K    Davis;.  .(.  jl 

la    Da. Is.  J    C 

asd    l)avis,  ,1   J     

.Vw    I.)av'i;..  W.iii.i^n  J. 

1121  Dini.-.  v.  >'■ 

•.•)lil   Del!. ..-set,  ,V..  -J 

•->ri)l  Dchos^.r,  M.  .:■ 

-Mrl   DeRoSset,  \V.  \, 

I>ii;;;,  .!.  .McC   , 

UiKk.  it.  P 

DilUi.:,  .)   "1 

Dillaid,  Ki.-:i..ra 

Dilloi,.  n.  J-: 

Diuw.-.t.lie,  .I.-in:es  . 

Di.vc.i.  jt.  F 

Dobbin.  .1.  C     

Do'mI.  t.:l  •ineiir    — 

Du'ile,,  lOt.raiil  B 

im.iley,  K.  B.   ... 

I>ulTv.  ClN.H.'S  . 

Dill.-.-.  v,'ttt.'iintton 

D.nte.iii.  V:.  <: 

Diuip.  \V;ili.".i... 

Diirl;ii.>.  .1.  1'   

lOberi.  I,.  .-> 

Elb!-..  .1    W     

Kvcrelt.  \V    . 

Ewiirt,  II.  1 

I'airi'ii.)l'l,  v'      I 

l''aiMiir.:r,  DlU'.l       . . 

Fanniuf.  f.ibnund  . 

rint'.-i*.  tiiiine.v  M. 

Foi.iey.  .1   A 

Koftcr,  1';  s.   .. 

7.'..wi.-.  1'   i!   .      - 

Foy.  • 


14« 

»>« 

.">'.W 
W) 

i.ts 

1.7.1 
11.5 
:«l 

■jr.7 
•j.\s 

,   4:)T 

1~ 

.   llii 

.  an; 

Wi 
.  .■»•! 
.  M\ 
.  ,541) 
.  Si 
.    I IV! 

.  :«i 

.   •2)'J 

.    1H7 

S'.M 

n 

111(1 
;«■) 

:i'.i 
IW 

.  -jri 

i;i4 

.5a'i 

'.I*..* 

:i:ir 

31.5 


1-  rei-..  • 

Fi'''iiii-..  ?.t.,  '. 
Fldler.  J.'.  T.. 
i'  ulh-r  V.  C 
Caiiiiaway.  \\" 
Ui.-.r.  ',V.  i: 
(iJis't  •».  \v.;ii.-.' 

(ol.ii-i-.  .1.  .. 
t.lenn.  ...  i  . 
Cor.l;.ri 


K 


T. 


.5ri  (bMiia.ii.  .li.'vnn'l.  ■ 

.5*1  (iiahi-.Mi.  A.  W,. 

i;7!  fiialiaiii.  f^:.  v.'.. 

Iks  tirab'i  .1.  .Iii»e;ili. .. 

.5411  fboirui:,  .It  senli.    . 

i:l:)l  anti.M'i,  .1.  NV 

Ii.551  Gr.ibnni,  V.  A 

.Ilni  Oriibitm,  .Ir  .  ^\  .   A 

48ii  O'.tinJ''.  J  \V  ..    . 

iSNj  Oriv,  1!.  F 

«-JTl  GrH.Mi.  C.  l!.       .... 

VM  UieiMi,  'ii"ii(:e.... 

,  (iW  Ur.>e;i,  T    A.     .. 

Iial  Green. 'Iboir.fts  J. 


Green,  W.   J 

rireene.  (leorge  W 

Grooin,  ,J     D 

(inilg.M-,  II.  A 

Unlbrie,  T.   t' 

Ila.Uiiev,  W    N 

lla.Pev,  .1.    M.. 
IbM.i.'i-,  A.  W 
llnniploK,  Will.  II 

Iluiina.  (1.  1! 

Ibnneli.  Cornelius 

H;inell.  W.  II 

llaiiis,  A.  .1 

Il.irris.  F.  U.  .. 
lUirriss.  Will.  .1 

lbirv..y,  .lolili 

IhnvUiiis  laiiiily.  The  .. 

Hawkins,  r.  B 

Mawktiis.  \\  in 

Ibuw'ioil.  K.  Biirko  — 

llaVwooii.  W.  11 

ll.'alll.  ().  1' 

lW.rU,  .binathan  M 

Ib-i;e,  C.  A 

lb'i\d.-i-son.  (Jeorge 

IleinleiNon.  .1.  S 

Ili'ielersoli.  Hicliard. 
Ili.-Us.  W,  .1   

Hill.  Daniel  II.. 

Hill.  .1.  A 

llillinnl.  W.  D 

Hinsdale.  .lobn  W 

Ilins.iale,  .-<.  J   

llinsliaw.  (!ei>.  W   

Hirsliing.M-.  Jay 

Hi'lidel-soll.  .1.  N 

H.>.l~'.-s.  J    il 

Hoil-es,  K.  T..; 

IIo;rnil,  James 

Ibil.liiig,  .1.  N 

Hoi s.  tiabriel 

Ilobne.s.  T.  H 

IIoll,  L.  B 

Holt.  Thomas  Jl 

I.Ioo|i<>r,  Williiini 

H..rah.  John  M 

Houston.  W.  IJ 

II. .«■•■.  Kobert 

Howe,  Koliert 

Hllils.>n,  H.  T  

Hiisbanils,  Ilernion..  . 

Hvalt.  II.  O 

Inne?.  Jnincs  

Ire.l.'ll.  James 

Iredell.  Jr.,  James — 

Isl.-r.S.  W 

Ivi-s.  (iio.  N 

Jarvis.  T.J 

.lenkins.  D.  A 

•lerniiran.  T.  U 

Johnston,  S 

.lolinslon,  H.  M 

.lobnst.ili.  K.  / 

Johnston.  William 

.loiies.  B.  L 

Jones.  II.  C      . . .     .   . 

.tones.  J.  B.   . 

Jones.  .1.  D... 

.b.n.-s.  W.  .1 

.loii.s.  W.  W 

Juslice,   M.  II 

K..|lley.  J.   I( 

Kennedy.  William  L. . 

Ki-rcbner.  F   W   

Kiiisey.  Joseph 

Kirby.  <J.  i, 

;   KInttz,  T.  F .. 

1   Koniegay,  William  1' 

l.niH-.  W.  W 

,    bnllinei'.  K,.  K   

l,etir,inil.   .I.T 

Ij-wis.  Julius 

'  LillingU V 

]  Uoekliurl,  .1.  A 

Ijugan,  J.  E 

I  I..oiig,  J.  S 


PAGE. 

...  107 

...  4.^5 

...  28li 

..  ir« 

...  ISl 

...  4H,S 

. .  siii; 


I'.CI 
(UH 
SV4 
CIK 

Hi 

,  t!r:) 

s»i 

4.57 
.  :«7 
.  471! 
.  371 

.  aio 

.  15li 
,   '1R5 

.  a54 

.  .547 
.  478 
.  (JI'I 

«; 
.  sr.i 

.   4I« 

.  va 
.  «i 

.  «2 
.  235 
.  514 
.  487 
.  CI!) 
.  'X-i 

.   5.5« 

4:» 
.     07 

185 
.  008 

0»1 
.  .SIHI 
.  405 
,.  :)0.5 

aw 

..  415 
..  4!10 
.  4U4 
..  54!) 
. .  -JIH 
..  4lil) 
. .  :tH 
..  S!l 
..  144 
..  50-.' 
..  UK) 
.  .Wl 
,.  450 
..  01-.> 
..  574 
..  40S 
..  C'll 
. .  6T,-i 
..   I'.II 


r,'i5 


I.5K 

ir-i 

Olio 

;i.5-j 

411 

•J<IS 
IIO 

5si; 
aiH 

,  lOU 
,  13.5 
.  481 

.   58-.' 

.  r,:l7 

;!K.t 

450 


Vlll 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

I-ove,  W.  J. 

...   247 

McAden,  K.  V 

...    i'.M 

McAden,  .1.  H 

•-tr,r 

MfCaskill,  .1.  C 

.'■>i2 

:Mct'aulev,  T.  D 

c.v,* 

Mi'Coi-klc.  M.  L  ,  - ,  , 

l.->r, 

JlcDoiialil.  1)    A 

.^.'i.) 

Jk-Duiialil.  \U\sh  M 

•JliT 

McDoweil.  F.  i'. 

m» 

Ml-IJowpII.  H.  I 

r..-)ii 

McKntii-e.  .lolm 

■.".11 

-HcKav,  J.  .1.. 

iiii 

31cKe*'.  .lames. 

:;  1 1 1 

McKoP,  \V.  H   . 

■j:l'.» 

McManuaway,  A.  i; 

-lll-J 

JleMillen.  W.   U 

•JT'.t 

MeNatt.  11.  \V 

■JS7 

McNeill,  A.  11  

y.y.i 

JIcNeill.  F 

i-Ji 

McRarv.  William  U. 

.-.I'.i 

McRee,  (i.  J 

ir'.i 

jNIacon,  isutlianiel. . 

.^s'.i 

Maloue,  J.  E 

■JSl 

:«alone.  W.  U 

.  .  na 

t\Ianeuni.  M'.  r 

...    r,\ 

Manlv.  Charles 

21'.") 

Marsiiall.  M.  51 

;iiiii 

Martin.  AlexanOer.  . 

irii 

Meaies,  o.  1" 

HI.-, 

Meaivs.  W.  li 

1011 

Mfbaiie.  Alexaiulel". 

4.-.-' 

Merrinioii.  .A.  S 

,  '.1 

Merrit.t,  A.  11 

...   4I"> 

.Miller.  K.  11 

...   XM 

Miller.  W.  .1.  T 

...  2-':i 

Mitcliell.  Elisbii 

...  -tir. 

Moore,  C.  E 

.  . .   2'.Ci 

Moore,  .lames 

. .    4in 

Mooie,  J.  E 

...   i:)l 

Moore.  Roarer  

..  r,-M 

Morehead,  .lohu  M 

.    .   liUl 

Moring.  J.  M 

..  i:!r 

Morrow,  .lames  McK 

...  ar:) 

Morson.  HuKti 

...  420 

Morton.  W'm.  Z 

. . .   5.57 

Jloseiev.  Edward 

...   4li!) 

Murchisun.  D.   R 

...   514 

Murdoch.  F.J 

....   3'.)4 

Nash,  Abner 

. . .     ',17 

Nash,  Francis  

. . .     444 

Neal,  «eurf;e  W 

....  451 

Neal.  W.  H 

...   IBM 

Neilson,  M.  L 

. ...   2KS 

Nicholson,  S.  T.  &  P.  A 

...   221 

Nolan.  J.  R 

. .     473 

O'DonoushuP,  D 

.  .  2.y.i 

O'HaKCu,  C.I 

2S5 

Osborne,  J.  A\  

2111 

Overman,  L.  S 

Owen.  John 

,      IS'.I 
:!24 

I'an-otl,  A.  D 

.  ..  I'.r.i 

Patterson,  ,1.  L. 

Hi 

Pearson,  Richmond 

....      48 

. .     4li 

Pender.  Wm,  D 

. ...  .MIS 

Perrv,  A.  S 

o'.lll 

Perry,  B.  L 

. . .     .55:) 

Peschan.  F.  W.  E 

....   410 

Pettinrew,  J  J 

.    .  322 

Pittnian,  N.  J 

....   2H2 

Poe,  John  C 

....  .5-21 

Poll;,  h.\ 

....   45( 

Poll. .el;,  .1.  A 

2112 

Pollock.  Thomas - . . 

.  .   4I1S 

Pool.  S 

MM 

Pool..l..lm 

:ll  1 

Pope.  .lohn  r 

;.l:; 

Porter,  .lohn 

:;i.r 

P.ist,  .Ir..  .1.  F  

iri 

Potent.  W.  L 

l:ii; 

Poo  &  Poll ... 

1 2'.l 

Powell.  E.  A  . 

.    .-.'.M 

Price,  ('haiies 

nil 

Price.  C.   B 

....    I'.IH 

Prince.  D.  SI 

....  273 

Pritcliard,  T.  H 

....  407 

Pureloy,  (i.  W 

i;::i; 

liiimsav,  J.  t; 

2r.s 

Uamsaj',  J.  U 

;113C. 

Rainseiir.  S.  D,. . . 

Ranev,  C.  W 

Ranev,   R.  l-i... 
Hansom,  M.att.  W 

Reaile.  E.  G 

Reed.  I).  S. . 
Uej;ister,  K.  (' 
Rei.l.  F.  I. ... 
Rei.l,  D. 


KevnolUs,  R.  J 

Rhviie.  A.  P 

Uoiil.ius,  T.  A 

H..l.rrts,  F.  0    

l;.)l.inson,  John 

Rotiiiison.  ,J,  E  . . 
Rodman.  \V.  B. . . 

Root.  C.  R  

Rnper,  ,1.  T 

Rowland.  A.  W.. 

Rovall.  W.  R 

l!o\ster,  W.   I 

Rucker,  J.  r 

Ruflili,  ,1.  K 

iiiilliii,  Thomas 

liiiHin,  Thomas 

liiutiple.  ,Jelhro 

Rmlierl'or.l.  G 

San.l.-i-lin.  (I.  W 

Saiiii.lers.  \V.  I 

Scarb. .rcu;_'li.  .1.  C..  . . 

Sclieiick,  I-iavid 

Schenck.  II.  F  .... 
.Sei.tl,  .Ir.,  J.  W..., 

Hell,  L.  M 

Sciule,  Thomas  L    . 
Se\numr,  .V.  S.. . . 

SiKi liner,  .1.  F 

.Shaw,  ,lobli  .     ... 
Shepherd,  J.  E. . 

Shotwell,  R.  A 

Shid.ird,  G.  A 

.Siiiimons.  0 

Simpson,  W.  P 

Skinner.  Harry 

Sled.l.  p..  F 

Small.  ,1.  II 

Smith,  John  JI 

Stiiilh,  William 

Smith.  W.  N.  H 

Snipes.  E.  P 

Spainht,  R.  D   

Stansill.  P.  W 

Stnrbuck,  D.  H 

Starkev,  ,Iohu 

Starnes,  J.  R 

Starues.  .J.  W 

Stickney.  J.  B 

Stokes.  Moiitt'ord 

Stone.  David 

Stran^^e.  .Ir..  Robert. 

Slnbl..s,  11.  W 

Stimniercll.  .1.  J 

Simmer.  .1 

Swain,  li.  L 

Swann.  Sauuiel 

Tate.  S.  C.  W 

Tavlor,  C.  E 

Tavlor,  J.  D 

Tavlor,  ,1.  F 

Taylor,  J.  L 

Thomas.  (1.  G 

Thomas,  .lames  J  . . . . 

Thomas,  W.  (i 

'I'bi.miisnn.  JohuW.. 
Tucker.  .1.  II 


PAOE. 

.  .  32li 

.  3.53 

.  till'.l 

..  (1411 

5S 

.  511 

.  Ills 

..  3sii 

.  .  i:i3 

. .  5.50 

.  .551 

. ..  015 


437 

21S 


2'.I0 
40 


.521 
3S1 
54 
4-25 
.577 
4'.M 
370 
153 
r,iH 
I2S 
2,Sli 

i;3M 

1112 
K'.l 
051 
4il0 
132 
4:«l 
200 
370 
408 
Wl 
S70 
3t;3 
274 
153 


.5.5H 
447 
.502 
4.'<4 
171 
.52 
131 
2i;'.l 
i;il! 
2111 


•I'lill.  llenrv 

liipper.  h:  M 

Tinii.-r.  H  

Turner.  James 

Vail.  T-  L. 
Vance,  ,1 .  A 
Vance,  Z.  B 
Vandever.  William  M 

Vass.  W.  W  

Vre.der.  A.  (• 

Von  l;uck.  K.irl 
Wa.l.lell.  A     51    .. 
Wail.lell.   Hugh.. 


203 

4311 

3llli 

101 

100 

0.511 

.500 

rilio 

.  300 

271 

.   50S 

200 

.   430 

.   (i3<.P 

.   00: 

00: 

510 

020 

.   004 

.   471 

.   543 

215 

UK 

-   4Stl 


PAGE. 

Walters,  J.  D 530 

W'aril  Family,  The iar, 

Waring.  R.  P. . .  050 

Wntkins,  C.  J...  200 

Watson,  A.  A .S'.W 

Watson,  H.  C ,521 

Watson.  J.  A 210 

Watts,  T.  A 370 

Webb.  J    L .    ..  lOH 

Wbisnant.  T.    W  ...    473 

Wiley,  S.  H  ...    .  ...  .3:13 

Wilkens,  G .5.50 

Williams,  Benjamin 490 

Williams,  H,  W 3:B 


Williams.  J..hii  R. 
Williams.  W  H.  .. 
Williaiuson.  B.  P  . 

Wilscn.  J.  H 

Winstead.  J.  M 


237 

504 
)'J8 
:i51 


Woiiuack.T.  B i:)0 

W.ioil,  .M,   L :19U 

Wood,   William  R... 045 

W..rtli.  Jc.nathan 140 

Worthintrton.  D  ...   100 

Wii-hl.  W    A...  ...  211 

Yellowlev,  E.  (J..  107 

Vii.inK,  Chas.  A 503 

Yonn^,  ,J,'imes  K 3.59 

Y..uni.'.  W.  J 427 

ZollicolTcr.  A.  C 112 


PORTRAIT.S. 


Alexander.  S.  B.. 
Andrews,  A.  E.. . 

.\she,  S.  A 

.\verv.  A.  C 

Ikirrin^cer,  R. 

Hn.wn.  J.  I 

Hmm.  B.  H 

t';iiiieron.  B 

Cameron,  D 

Cameron,  P.  C ... 

Carr,  J.  S 

Carter,  JI.  E 

Cox,  W.  R  

CuninKhain,  J.  S. 
Cuninfiham.  J.  "W 
Uavidsi.n.  A.  B... 


Iia 


J.  J.. 


Dul;e.  W 
Faircloth.  W.  T.. 

Finticr,  S.  M 

French.  G.  R.    . . 

Fuller,  F.  T 

Graham,  .1 

Grah:iiii.  W.  A... 
llackni'V.  W.  N.. 

Hawkins,  W 

Hawkins,  W.  J... 
!l!ivw.....l,  E.  B... 
Hinsdale,  J.  W... 

11. lit.  T.  M 

.lernit-an,  T.  R.... 
Johnston,  W  . ... 

.Tones.  W.  J 

Lewis 


McAden,  R.  Y  .. 

McKee,  J 

McKee,  W.  H.  . 
Merrimon.  A.  S.. 
( Isborn,  J  W  . . 
Piltman.  N  .  .T  . . 
Piuel'oy,  G.  W.. 
Rainsav.  J.  G-   , 

Ranev.  K.    B 

Reade,  E.  G  .. 
Robinson.  J.  E 

Runin,  T 

Sanderlin.  G,  W 
Sciienck.  I)    . . 
Seisrlc.  T.  B.. 

Skinner.  H 

Starnes,  J.  W.  , 
Thomas.  W.  G.  . 
Tucker.  R    S... 

A'ance,  Z.  B 

Vnss,  W  .  W  . 
Williams.  G    W 


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,     335 


TREIACE. 


In  prcscntini,^  this  Cyclopedia  of  Eminent  and  Ueprcscntative  men  of 
the  Carolinas  to  their  subscribers,  the  publishers  beg  leave  to  make  a 
few  brief  remarks  touching  its  compilation.  Of  the  excellent  histori- 
cal sketches  by  S.  A.  Ashe,  Esq.,  of  North  Carolina,  and  by  Gen.  Ed- 
ward McCrady,  Jr.,  of  South  Carolina,  but  little  need  be  said,  as  they 
sufficiently  recommend  themselves.  But  it  is  only  proper  to  say  that 
these  gentlemen  are  in  no  respect  responsible  for  the  biographical 
sketches  contained  within  the  covers  of  the  work.  The  publishers 
are  indebted  for  these,  in  a  measure,  to  such  works  as  Wheeler's 
Reminiscences  of  North  Carolina,  O'Neall's  Bench  and  Bar,  of 
South  Carolina,  Dowd's  Prominent  Living  Xorth  Carolinians,  the 
works  of  e.\-Governor  Perry,  of  South  Carolina,  Smith's  Western 
North  Carolina,  Appleton's  Encyclopedia,  and,  more  than  all,  to  the 
labors  of  the  force  of  able  writers  employed  for  the  purpose  by  the 
publishers. 

That  there  may  be  some  defects  in  the  work,  as  there  are  in  all 
works,  it  would  be  useless  to  deny,  but  the  publishers  feel  warranted 
in  saying  that  they  have  fully  kept  up  to  their  contract  with  their 
subscribers,  and  may  with  pardonable  pride  point  to  the  excellent 
typography  and  attractive  binding  of  the  work. 


^mu()2^} 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


BY    S.    A.    ASHE. 


^OXiXECTED  with  the  biographies  of  men  whose  lives  ilhis- 
trate  the  annals  of  a  state,  it  is  desirable  to  present  a  suc- 
cint  account  of  the  influences  which  have  evolved  their 
characteristics  and  moulded  them,  as  it  were,  into  har- 
mony with  their  surroundings.  Nor  will  this  be  difficult  in 
regard  to  the  men  of  North  Carolina,  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury has  passed  since  the  population  of  that  state  has 
received  accessions  from  abroad,  and  her  people  are  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  soil,  native  and  to  the  manner  l)orn  as  their 
forefathers  were  before  them. 

Although  the  first  English  settlement  made  in  the  New  World  was 
upon  Roanoke  Island,  within  the  limits  of  North  Carolina,  that  mem- 
orable event  e.xertcd  no  influence  upon  the  citizens  of  the  state,  since 
the  colony  located  there  ended  in  disaster  and  was  entirely  lost  to 
history.  Nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  elapsed  after  Raleigh's 
ill-fated  attempt  at  settlement  had  become  a  tradition  before  a  per- 
manent lodgment  was  made  in  the  primeval  wilderness  of  Carolina. 
When  the  English  had  become  well  established  at  Jamestown,  the 
planters  began  to  e.xtend  their  possessions  to  the  southward,  follow- 
ing, according  to  the  needs  of  those  days,  the  margins  of  the  water 
courses.  Soon  the  outskirts  of  the  plantations  were  pressed  well  up 
the  Nansemond  river,  until  at  length,  about  the  year  1650,  adventur- 
ous spirits,  passing  down  the  waters  of  the  Chowan,  made  settlements 
along  the  fertile  shores  of  Albemarle  sound. 

Doubtless  many  of  the  pioneers  in  this  movement  to  the  southward 
were  native  born  \'irginians,  men  bred  in  the  forests  of  the  New 
World  and  accustomed  to  the  hardships  of  life  on  the  frontiers  of  civ- 
ilization, inured  to  its  dangers,  and  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  personal- 
independence  that  inva'Iably  accompanies  such  a  residence. 

bamiliar  with  the  Indians  on  the  borders  of  the  great  sound,  who 
had  hal)itually  traded  with  the  English,  the  settlers  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  securing  their  good-will.  They  purchasi-d  tithes  to  the  lands 
they  desired  and  established,  from  the  first,  friendly  relations  with 
the  native  tribes,  who,  continuing  to  occupy  the  neighboring  forests, 
supplied  them  with  provisions  and  even  aided  in  the  preparation  of 
their  fields.  Thus  hajjpily  the  foundations  of  the  Albemarle 
colony  were  not  stained  with  blood  nor  laid  in  wrong  antl  outrage, 
H — 2 


l8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

but  in  peace  and  good-will  the  new  comers  made  their  homes  in  the 
wilderness,  receiving  help  and  encouragement  from  the  aborigines  of 
the  country. 

In  1663,  King  Charles  by  way  of  recompensing  some  gentlemen 
who  had  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  restoring  him  to  the  throne, 
granted  them  the  territory  lying  between  Virginia  and  Florida,  which 
his  father  had  formerly  granted  to  Sir  Robert  Heath,  and  which  was 
called  Carolina.  Under  the  terms  of  his  charter,  those  grantees  be- 
came owners  and  rulers  of  the  whole  of  Carolina  with  power  to  estab- 
lish governments  and  courts  and  to  make  laws  and  regulations,  and 
they  are  knowm  to  history  as  "Lords  Proprietors." 

To  induce  a  speedy  settlement  of  this  magnificent  domain,  the 
Proprietors  offered  concessions  that  the  people  settling  there  should 
have  an  assembly  "  to  be  by  them  chosen  out  of  themselves,"  to  make 
their  own  laws;  and  granted  freedom  and  liberty  of  conscience  in  all 
religious  or  spiritual  things.  The  Proprietors,  however,  were  to  se- 
lect their  own  governor,  who  was  to  hold  for  three  years,  and  each 
Proprietor  had  a  representative,  called  his  deputy,  in  the  governor's 
council. 

William  Drummond,  then  a  resident  of  Virginia,  a  Scotchman  of 
education  and  of  fine  character,  was  the  first  governor  of  Albemarle, 
and  an  assembly  was  held  about  the  close  of  the  year  1664.  The 
terms  under  which  the  settlers  were  to  take  up  and  hold  land  were 
not  so  favorable  in  some  respects  as  those  to  which  they  had  been  ac- 
customed in  Virginia,  and  the  assembly'  petitioned  for  a  change, 
which  was  granted  by  the  Lords  Proprietors  in  what  was  called  "  The 
Great  Deed  of  Grant,"  dated  May  i,  166S. 

Another  settlement  having  been  made  further  to  the  south,  leav- 
ing a  vast  wilderness  intervening,  the  one  became  known  as  South 
and  the  other  as  North  Carolina;  and  as  Charleston  being  admira- 
bly located  for  trade,  rapidly  grew,  the  Proprietors  paid  more  atten- 
tion to  the  southern  settlement  than  to  Albemarle.  And  so  for  a 
period  of  sixty  years  North  Carolina  continued  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  their  heirs  and  those  who  as  purchasers  suc- 
ceeded to  their  legal  rights  under  the  broad  terms  of  Charles'  grant, 
yielding  them,  however,  but  small  pecuniarj-  returns  and  exciting  so 
little  interest  that  her  affairs  were  generally  neglected  by  her  pro- 
prietary rulers. 

The  people  led  quiet  lives  in  the  forest,  making  their  own  laws  in 
an  assembly  of  their  own  choosing  and  enjoying  liberty  of  conscience 
and  all  the  natural  rights  of  men  living  in  a  state  of  absolute  free- 
dom. It  was  in  those  early  days  that  Nathaniel  Bacon,  calling  the 
people  of  Virginia  to  his  standard,  rallied  them  against  the  arbitrary 
government  of  Berkeley,  in  which  bold  movement  he  had  the  coun- 
tenance of  William  Drummond  who  had  been  the  first  governor  of 
Albemarle.  When  Bacon's  flag  went  down  in  disaster,  and  his  watch- 
cry  of  "  Carolina"  ceased  to  be  heard,  and  Drummond  had  paid  the 
penalty  with  his  life,  many  of  their  supporters  came  to  the  Albemarle 
and  found  refuge  in  the  wilderness  from  the  heavy  hand  of  Berkeley's 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  IQ 

tyranny.  The  spirit  of  liberty  which  imbued  the  hearts  of  Bacon's 
followers  was  thus  transplanted  to  the  infant  colony  of  Carolina 
where  it  was  fostered  and  treasured  and  where  it  expanded  with 
advancing  years. 

The  handful  of  scattered  settlers  grew  in  numbers  slowly  but 
surely  as  the  new  lands  attracted  more  and  more  the  attention  of 
friends  in  the  other  colonies  and  in  England.  There  were  constant 
accessions;  but  the  region  was  difficult  to  reach,  and  the  country  to 
be  occupied  was  broad  and  extensive.  The  people  lived  in  their 
clearings,  often  remote  from  each  other.  With  their  plantations  in 
the  depths  of  the  forests,  separated  by  miles  of  intervening  woods, 
they  found  no  necessity  for  those  laws  and  regulations  which  obtain 
in  a  complex  civilization,  but  led  a  life  of  natural  freedom,  but  little 
restrained  by  civil  codes.  There  were  no  ministers  of  the  gospel 
among  them,  and  so,  as  early  as  1669,  the  assembly  passed  an  act 
"Forasmuch  as  there  may  be  divers  people  that  are  minded  to  be 
joyned  together  in  the  holy  state  of  Wedlock,  and  for  that  there  is 
noe  minister  as  yet  in  this  County  by  whom  the  said  partyes  may  be 
joyned  in  Wedlock  according  to  the  rites  and  customs  of  our  native 
country,  the  Kingdom  of  England,  that  none  may  be  hindered  from 
this  soe  necessarj'  a  worke  for  the  promotion  of  mankind  and  settle- 
ment of  this  county,  it  is  enacted  and  be  it  enacted  by  the  Palatine 
and  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  Present  Grand  Assembly  and  authority  thereof  that  any 
two  persons  desiring  to  be  joyned  in  the  holy  state  of  matrimony, 
taking  three  or  four  of  their  neighbors  along  with  them,  and  repairing 
to  the  Governor  or  any  one  of  the  Council,  before  him  declaring  that 
they  doe  joyne  together  in  the  holy  state  of  Wedlock  and  doe  accept 
one  the  other  for  man  and  wife;  and  the  said  governor  or  councellor 
before  whom  such  act  is  performed,  giving  certificate  thereof,  and 
the  said  certificate  being  registered  in  the  Secretary's  office  or  by  the 
register  of  the  Precinct  or  in  such  other  office  as  shall  hereafter  for 
that  use  be  provided.  It  shall  be  deemed  a  lawful  marriage-  and  the 
partyes  violating  this  marriage  shall  be  punishable  as  they  had  been 
married  by  a  minister  according  to  the  rites  and  customs  of  England." 

In  like  manner  the  other  institutions  and  mode  of  life  of  the  set- 
tlers were  in  large  measure  the  outgrowth  of  their  isolated  situation. 
They  had  neither  silver  nor  gold;  but  their  surplus  products  were 
valuable  in  the  markets  of  the  world,  and  their  accounts  were  kept  in 
"  tobacco"  and  were  payable  in  tobacco;  while  there  were  established 
rates  at  which  other  articles,  including  skins  and  furs,  were  to  be 
received  in  payment  of  all  debts  —  even  the  ciuitrents  due  for  the 
land  to  the  Lords  Proprietors. 

Left  largely  to  themselves,  government  rested  lightly  on  these 
men  of  Carolina,  and  they  passed  their  days  in  the  peaceful  enjoy- 
ment of  their  secluded  homes,  self  reliant,  courageous,  nurturing  a 
spirit  of  independence,  revelling  to  the  fullest  in  the  sweets  of  unre- 
strained liberty.  Occasionally  some  governor,  hastening  to  be  rich, 
would  seek  by  fraud  or  peculation  to  prosper  at  their  expense,  or 


20  NORTH    CAROLINA 

some  customs  officer  would  attempt  to  enforce  British  regulations  in 
regard  to  tobacco,  or  the  provisions  of  the  odious  Navigation  laws 
that  restrained  trading  with  New  England  and  forbade  it  with  the 
Spanish  colonies  in  the  West  Indies.  On  such  occasions  the  people 
of  Albemarle  would  show  that  they  were  neither  respecters  of  persons 
nor  loyal  submissionists  to  the  will  of  parliament.  They  had  a  dis- 
position to  live  under  their  own  regulations  and  they  manifested  their 
purpose  in  ways  that  admitted  of  no  misconstruction.  The  jseople 
would  make  the  lives  of  their  customs  house  officers  intolerable,  while 
the  assembly  would  try  offending  governors  anddepose  them,  banish 
them  for  a  time  from  the  settlement  and  exclude  them  from  ever 
holding  office  again  in  the  colony.  Indeed,' according  to  the  narra- 
tion of  Gov.  Burrington,  fifty  years  later,  they  seized  one  of  their 
early  governors  and  "  clapped  him  into  a  log  house  without  a  roof," 
and  presumably  without  food  or  drink,  until  he  should  submit  himself 
to  their  authorit}-. 

To  use  the  words  of  the  immortal  Bancroft  —  Vol.  I,  p.  158 — "The 
planters  of  Albemarle  were  men  who  had  been  led  to  a  choice  of 
their  residence  from  a  hatred  of  restraint  and  had  lost  themselves 
among  the  woods  in  search  of  independence.  Are  there  any  who 
doubt  man's  capacity  for  self-government;  let  them  study  the  history 
of  North  Carolina;  its  inhabitants  were  restless  and  turbulent  in 
their  imperfect  submission  to  a  government  imposed  upon  them  from 
abroad;  the  administration  of  the  colony  was  firm,  humane  and  tran- 
quil when  they  were  left  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Any  govern- 
ment but  one  of  their  own  institution  was  oppressive."  And  again 
the  same  historian  pays  this  noble  tribute  to  those  people:  "The 
planters  of  North  Carolina  recovered  tranquillity  as  soon  as  they  es- 
caped the  misrule  from  abroad;  and  sure  of  amnesty,  esteemed 
themselves  the  happiest  people  on  earth.  They  loved  the  pure  air 
and  clear  skies  of  their  summer  land.  True  there  was  no  fixed  min- 
ister in  the  land  until  1703;  no  church  erected  till  1705;  no  separate 
building  for  a  court  house  till  1722;  no  printing  press  till  1754.  Care- 
less of  religious  sects,  or  colleges,  or  lawyers,  or  absolute  laws,  the 
early  settlers  enjoyed  liberty  of  conscience  and  personal  independ- 
ence; freedom  of  the  forest  and  of  the  river.  The  children  of  na- 
ture listened  to  the  inspiration  of  nature.  From  almost  every  plan- 
tation they  enjoyed  a  noble  prospect  of  spacious  rivers,  pleasant 
meadows  enameled  with  flowers;  of  primeval  forests  where  the  lofti- 
est branches  of  the  tulip  tree  or  the  magnolia  were  wrapped  in  jasi- 
mines  and  honeysuckle.  *  *  *  North  Carolina  was  settled  by  the 
freest  of  the  free;  by  men  to  whom  the  restraints  of  the  other  colo- 
nies were  too  severe.  They  were  not  so  much  caged  in  the  woods  as 
scattered  in  lonely  granges.  Their  was  neither  city  nor  township; 
there  was  hardly  even  a  hamlet  or  one  house  within  sight  of  another; 
nor  were  there  roads,  except  as  the  paths  from  house  to  house  were 
distinguished  by  notches  in  the  trees.  But  the  settlers  were  gentle 
in  their  tempers,  of  serene  minds,  enemies  to  violence  and  bloodshed. 
Not  all  the  successive   revolutions   had  kindled  vindictive   passions; 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  21 

freedom,  entire  freedom  was  enjoyed  without  anxiety  or  without 
guaranties;  the  charities  of  life  were  scattered  at  their  feet,  like  the 
flowers  on  their  meadows,  and  the  spirit  of  humanity  maintained  its 
influence  in  the  Arcadia,  as  royalist  writers  will  have  it  "'of  rogues 
and  rebels'  in  the  paradise  of  Quakers." 

At  length  the  Lords  Proprietors  ceased  sending  governors  to 
Albemarle  and  the  president  of  the  council  acted  as  governor,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  colony  thus  administering  its  affairs  entirely.  And 
so  under  the  wise  and  patriotic  sway  of  Major  Alexander  Lillington, 
of  Thomas  Harvey  and  Henderson  Walker,  tranquillity  reigned  for 
a  happy  period. 

Taking  a  view  of  the  colony  about  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  we  find  that  there  had  been  considerable  progress  made  in 
settlement,  although  still  there  was  not  a  village  to  be  seen.  There 
were  landings  where  vessels  lay  while  trading  with  the  people,  and 
country  stores  where  products  were  bartered;  and  the  people  led  easy 
lives,  basking  in  their  health-giving  sunlight. 

Among  the  chief  men  in  the  colony  were  Thomas  Harvey,  Alex- 
ander Lillington,  Henderson  Walker,  John  Porter,  Samuel  Swann, 
and  a  little  later  Thomas  Pollock,  William  Glover,  Edward  IMoseley 
and  Maurice  Moore. 

Major  Lillington  is  said  to  have  come  to  Albemarle  from  the 
Barbadoes,  where  one  of  his  name  was  member  ofthe  Royal  council 
and  an  officer  of  the  armj^  He  earlj-  attained  influence  in  his  new 
home  and  was  probably  the  most  powerful  man  in  the  colony.  His 
family  intermarried  with  W'alker,  Aloseley,  Sw-ann  and  Porter  and  the 
connection  exercised  a  controlling  influence  on  the  destiny'  of  the 
colony  for  many  years. 

The  Harveys  had  long  been  settled  in  Virginia,  where  at  an 
early  date  Sir  John  Harve}*  was  Governor;  later  John  Harvej'  was 
president  of  the  council  of  North  Carolina  and  acted  as  governor; 
and  toward  the  close  of  the  century  Thomas  Harvey,  presumably 
his  son,  held  the  same  position.  Prom  him  came  the  Harveys  of 
Harvey  Neck,  always  cultured,  respected  and  influential;  and  in  the 
person  of  John  Harvey-,  speaker  of  the  assembly  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolution,  contributing  one  of  the  greatest  figures  that  has 
played  upon  our  stage  of  action. 

John  Porter  had  been  a  member  of  the  \'irginia  assembly  as 
early  as  1663,  as  burgess  for  lower  Norfolk,  but  was  then  expelled 
"because  he  was  well  affected  to  the  Quakers."  He  had  long  been 
settled  on  the  Albemarle  and  was  a  merchant  trading  with  Boston 
and  had  amassed  wealth. 

Colonel  Swann  was  a  descendant  of  William  Swann,  who  was  an 
alderman  of  the  city  of  Jamestown  and  settled  Swann's  Point,  im- 
mediat(;ly  across  the  river  from  Jamestown,  dying  there  in  1638. 
Colonel  Swann's  first  wife  was  Sarah  Drummond,  a  daughter  of  the 
first  governor  of  Albemarle,  and  whose  mother  was  so  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  Bacon;  antl  he  next  married  a  daughter  of  Major  Lilling- 
ton.    He  was  the  collector  of  customs   for  Albemarle,  being  a  crown 


22  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

officer  and  also  a  member  of  the   council.     He  was  a  strict  church- 
man as  were  the  others  mentioned,  unless  Porter  was  not. 

The  administration  of  public  affairs  by  their  own  inhabitants,  with 
such  eminent  satisfaction,  created  an  indisposition  for  a  change  in 
the  system;  but  now  a  change  was  made  and  it  was  attended  with 
most  unhappy  results. 

Liberty  of  conscience  being  secured  to  the  settlers  in  Carolina, 
and  the  Quakers  having  met  with  unfriendly  legislation  in  Virginia, 
some  of  that  faith  early  came  to  Albemarle.  In  1672  William  Ed- 
mundson  visited  that  region,  and  the  celebrated  George  Fox  followed 
closely  in  his  footsteps,  while  Edmundson  made  a  second  visitation 
four  years  later.  By  their  ministrations  the  seeds  of  their  faith  were 
planted,  and  in  the  absence  of  other  regular  forms  of  worship,  the 
attractive  tenets  of  the  gentle  Fox  took  firm  root  in  the  settlement. 
Indeed,  as  if  to  secure  such  immigrants,  the  Lords  Proprietors  in 
their  instructions  given  to  Peter  Carteret,  governor  of  Albemarle  in 
1670,  directed:  "You  are  to  cause  all  persons  chosen  (to  the 
assembly  and  as  deputies  or  members  of  the  council)  to  swear  alle- 
giance to  our  soveriegn  lord  the  King,  and  fidelity  and  submission  to 
the  Proprietors  and  the  form  of  government  established  by  them; 
but  in  case  any  man  for  religion's  sake  be  not  free  to  swear,  then 
shall  he  subscribe  the  same  in  a  Book  for  that  case  provided,  which 
shall  be  deemed  the  same  with  swearing."  With  such  inducements  — 
liberty  of  conscience,  the  right  to  hold  office,  and  to  affirm  instead  of 
swearing  —  offered  to  the  Quakers  who  were  treated  with  marked  in- 
tolerance elsewhere,  many  were  drawn  to  the  quiet  shores  of  the 
Albemarle;  and  later  John  Archdale,  a  Quaker,  became  one  of  the 
Lords  Proprietors  and  governor  of  Carolina,  and  his  daughter  with 
her  husband,  Emanuel  Low,  settled  in  Perquimans  and  their  example 
and  influence  tended  to  the  propagation  of  the  new  doctrine.  And 
so  the  Quakers  prospered  in  Albemarle.  But  the  year  1700,  which 
was  proclaimed  by  the  Papal  See  as  a  year  of  jubilee,  witnessed  a  re- 
vival of  religious  enthusiasm  in  Europe  and  brought  trouble  even  to 
this  distant  settlement.  Henderson  Walker  wrote  that  for  near  fifty 
years  they  had  been  settled  there  "without  priest  or  altar,"  but  in 
1701  the  legislature  passed  an  act  to  establish  vestries  and  erect 
church  buildings  and  support  ministers  of  the  church  of  England; 
and  in  the  same  year  the  Quakers  began  to  hold  quarterly  meetings. 
And  Granville,  who  was  then  Palatine,  the  oldest  and  administrative 
officer  among  the  Proprietors,  being  an  intolerant  churchman,  pro- 
posed an  aggressive  course  in  regard  to  religious  matters.  Gov. 
Johnston  was  appointed  governor  of  the  whole  of  Carolina  with  in- 
structions to  appoint  a  deputy  governor  for  Albemarle,  and  he  sent 
there  Maj.  Daniel  in  that  capacity,  who  thus  succeeded  Henderson 
Walker.  The  new  governor  supported  by  Glover,  Pollock  and  a 
majority  of  the  council  disregarded  the  custom,  which  had  obtained 
in  the  colony  from  the  beginning,  of  allowing  the  Quakers  to  hold 
office  upon  affirmation,  and  required  all  persons  to  make  oath  in  regu- 
lar form  before  qualifying.     This  was  a   virtual    exclusion    of  about 


North  Carolina.  2^ 

one-half  the  colony  from  participation  in  the  government,  and  it  led 
to  turmoil  and  confusion  that  lasted  till  the  spring  of  171 1.  During 
this  period  Edward  JVIoseley  and  Thomas  Pollock  became  prominent 
actors  in  public  matters  —  the  former  espousing  the  cause  of  the 
Quakers  or  of  popular  right,  and  the  latter  favoring  the  change  pro- 
posed to  be  made  in  the  government.  Both  were  churchmen;  both 
men  of  mark,  of  capacity,  of  superior  education;  and  each  became 
■a  leader  of  his  side.  John  Ashe,  having  been  sent  by  the  dissenters 
of  South  Carolina  to  represent  their  grievances  to  the  Crown,  young 
Edmund  Porter  joined  him  on  behalf  of  the  Quakers  and  dissenters 
of  Albemarle,  and  as  a  result  of  this  mission  Maj.  Daniel  was  dis- 
placed as  governor  and  Col.  Carey  was  sent  by  Gov.  Johnston  to  suc- 
ceed him.  Carey,  however,  agreeably  to  Lord  Granville's  views, 
started  out  on  the  same  course  as  Daniel,  and  this  led  John  Porter 
himself  to  go  to  England  where  he  obtained  a  commission  authoriz- 
ing him  to  settle  the  government,  together  with  new  appointments  of 
councilmen,  and  an  order  removing  Carey  from  his  office.  On  Porter  s 
return  William  Glover  was  chosen  president  of  the  council  until  an 
assembly  should  be  convened,  but  he,  backed  by  Col.  Pollock,  con- 
tinued the  same  course  as  formerly,  which  led  to  Porter's  defection 
and  the  gathering  of  all  the  dissenters  around  Carey,  who  made 
terms  with  them.  By  an  agreement  an  assembly  was  elected  under 
the  joint  order  of  each  faction  to  decide  between  the  contending 
governors.  This  body  was  favorable  to  the  Quakers,  admitted  them 
to  seats,  elected  Moseley  speaker  and  decided  for  Carej'.  Glover  re- 
fused to  submit  and  with  Col.  Pollock  and  others  fled  to  Virginia.  At 
length  Edward  Hyde,  a  cousin  of  the  Queen,  who  was  intended  for 
governor,  but  whose  commission  had  not  reached  him, arrived  in  Vir- 
ginia and  was  invited  by  all  parties  to  assume  the  administration. 
Hyde  soon  however  sided  against  Carey  and  Moseley  and  Porter, 
caused  them  to  be  arrested  and,  urged  on  by  Pollock  and  Glover, 
proposed  to  visit  them  with  severe  punishment;  but  having  escaped, 
Carey  embodied  a  force  and  offered  to  try  the  arbitrament  of  arms. 
The  affair  ended,  however,  without  bloodshed  and  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors forbade  any  further  proceedings. 

Hardly  had  this  episode  ended  before  the  Indians  struck  a  blow  at 
the  colony  that  threatened  to  e.xtirpate  it.  Notwithstanding  the  com- 
motions that  had  occurred  since  1704,  the  colony  continued  to  receive 
considerable  accessions  and  its  confines  were  extended  well  to  the  west- 
ward and  southward  along  the  Tar.  Some  Huguenots  settled  on  the 
Pamlico  and  DeGraffenried  in  1710,  led  a  body  of  Swiss  to  the  Neuse, 
making  a  lodgnient  at  New  Berne.  The  Indians  had  been  on  most 
friendly  terms  with  the  whites,  but  seeing  their  lands  encroached  on, 
and  noticing  the  dissensions  of  the  colonists,  in  September,  171 1,  they 
seized  DeGraffenried  and  Lawson,  the  surveyor,  who  were  ascending 
the  Neuse,  and  ii*nmediately  began  a  massacre  along  the  Tar  and 
Pamlico  that  cut  off  almost  the  whole  of  the  lower  settlement.  Had 
it  not  been  for  the  friendly  help  of  South  Carolina,  whose  assembly 
■dispatched  aid  under  Col.  Barnwell,  and  later,  another  force  under 


24  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

Col.  James  Moore  and  his  brother,  Maurice  Moore,  the  entire  settle- 
ment would  doubtless  have  been  destroyed.  After  various  vicissi- 
tudes and  a  most  harrowing  experience,  the  Indian  fort  on  Contentnea 
creek  was  taken  by  Col.  Moore,  the  greatest  battle  being  fought  that 
had  yet  taken  place  on  American  soil,  and  the  power  of  the  Tuscaroras 
was  broken.  Soon  afterward  that  fierce  tribe  removed  to  New  York, 
and  although  desultory  hostilities  continued  until  1718,  yet  the  great 
danger  was  over  when  in  the  summer  of  17 14,  Charles  Eden  reached 
the  colony  to  succeed  Gov.  Hyde,  who  had  died  two  years  before. 
A  new  assembly  met  in  1715,  when  the  clouds  that  had  settled 
over  the  colony  were  passing  away.  Moseley  was  chosen  speaker; 
provision  was  made  for  paying  the  paper  money  issued  because  of 
the  Indian  war,  the  first  issue  being  in  1712.  Quakers  were  excluded 
from  office  and  from  testifying  in  criminal  cases  and  from  serving  on 
juries,  but  otherwise  were  tolerated  and  were  allowed  to  affirm  in- 
stead of  making  oath.  Other  dissenters  enjoyed  all  rights  of  citizen- 
ship, but  the  Church  of  England  was  established  by  law.  The  entire 
body  of  the  laws  was  revised  and  re-enacted,  and  the  value  of  com- 
modities to  be  received  in  payment  of  quitrents  was  fixed  by  legisla- 
tive enactment.  The  assembly  in  token  of  its  disapprobation  of 
methods  employed  by  Col.  Pollock,  who,  as  president  of  the  council, 
had  conducted  the  war,  resolved,  "That  the  impressing  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, or  their  property,  under  pretence  of  its  being  for  the  public  ser- 
vice, without  authority  from  the  assembly,  was  unwarrantable,  a  great 
infringement  of  the  liberty  of  the  subject  and  very  much  weakened 
the  government  by  causing  many  to  leave  it."  While  this  was  but  a 
mild  manifestation  of  the  old  spirit  of  the  colony,  yet  it  was  a  protest 
against  the  action  of  Col.  Pollock  during  the  war,  and  embodied  the 
feeling  of  speaker  Moseley  and  of  the  people  towards  the  adminis- 
tration. During  the  succeeding  administration  this  divergence  of 
sentiment  took  a  different  form.  With  Gov.  Eden,  came  over  from 
England,  Tobias  Knight,  to  be  secretary'  of  the  colony,  and  the  instruc- 
tions were  that  all  records  should  be  open  to  public  inspection. 
Teach,  an  acknowledged  pirate,  the  notorious  Blackbeard,  was  a  friend 
of  Tobias  Knight,  having  illicit  dealings  with  him,  and  Moseley  and 
Maurice  Moore,  who  had  at  heart  the  fair  fame  of  the  colony,  forced 
their  way  into  the  secretary's  office  and  held  possession  some  hours, 
examining  papers  to  obtain  evidence  of  the  complicity  of  Knight  with 
the  pirate.  This  led  to  an  open  rupture  with  Eden;  but  Moseley  so 
far  succeeded  that  Knight  resigned  and  soon  died,  while  Teach  was 
attacked  by  British  war  vessels  and  killed.  In  1722,  Gov.  Eden 
died,  and  George  Burrington  was  appointed  hissuccessor  with  the  ap- 
probation of  the  Crown,  which  now  claimed  the  right  to  disapprove  of 
such  appointments  in  the  colonies.  Upon  his  arrival  in  1724,  Presi- 
dent Pollock,  Chief  Justice  Christopher  Gale  and  Secretary  John  Lo- 
vick,  who  were  also  deputies  of  Lords  Proprietors,  sought  to  obtain  a 
dominant  influence  over  the  new  administration,  but  Burrington  was 
more  complaisant  with  Moseley  and  Moore  and  Ashe  and  those  who 
represented  the  popular  party.     There  had  been  an  inhibition  of  the 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  25 

Lords  Proprietors  against  any  settlement  on  the  Cape  Pear,  but  Bur- 
rington  explored  that  region  and  opened  it  up  for  entry,  and  he  so 
far  ingratiated  himself  with  the  people,  that  representations  were 
made  by  the  disappointed  faction  to  the  Proprietors  that  Burrington 
was  preparing  to  follow  the  example  of  James  Moore  in  South  Caro- 
lina, and  by  a  popular  revolution,  throw  off  their  power  and  hold  the 
province  directly  from  the  Crown.  This  information  led  to  his  immedi- 
ate displacement,  and  in  1 725,  Sir  Richard  Everard  succeeded  him.  Sir 
Richard  on  his  first  coming  not  unnaturally  gave  ear  to  the  deputies 
of  the  Lords  Proprietors  who  had  procured  the  deposition  of  his  pre- 
decessor, but  in  172S  the  Crown  bargained  for  the  purchase  of  North 
Carolina  and  for  a  time  the  colony  was  left  to  its  own  control.  Dur- 
ing that  period.  Sir  Richard  cast  off  his  old  advisers  and  sought  the 
favor  of  Moseley  and  the  people;  and  at  the  assembly  of  1729,  he 
agreed  to  a  law  for  the  issue  of  a  large  amount  of  paper  currency,  a 
part  of  which  was  to  be  lent  to  the  planters  themselves,  and  to  vari- 
ous regulations  as  to  the  payment  of  quitrents,  a  matter  of  popular  con- 
cern, for  no  lands  were  held  in  the  colony  in  fee  simple  but  each  land 
owner  had  to  pay  an  annual  quitrent  to  the  Proprietors  which  by  cus- 
tom was  payable  in  commodities;  and  in  consequence  of  his  complais- 
ance, the  assembly  did  what  it  had  never  done  before  —  made  to  the 
governor  a  present  of  five  hundred  pounds. 

It  was  1 73 1  before  Burrington,  who  now  came  as  the  first  colonial 
governor  representing  the  Crown,  reappeared  in  the  colon}-  and  took 
the  oaths  of  office  at  Edenton.  He  had  caused  some  of  his  former 
friends  to  be  put  in  the  council  or  upper  house,  and  on  his  arrival 
showed  signal  favor  to  the  leaders  of  the  faction  which  had  formerly 
opposed  him,  and  apparently  sought  to  sustain  his  administration 
with  strong  influences;  but  unhappily  for  him  his  instructions  were  to 
assert  prerogatives  of  the  Crown  that  were  in  derogation  of  the 
rights  of  the  assembly  under  the  charter  and  as  the  government  had 
been  administered  from  the  beginning  of  the  colony.  A  conflict  was 
at  once  precipitated,  and  the  assembly  under  Moseley,  and  the  covmcil 
itself  led  by  John  Baptista  Ashe  withstood  him  to  the  utmost, —  so 
indeed  that  "  not  a  single  act  was  passed  required  by  the  King's  in- 
structions or  proposed  by  the  governor."  He  claimed  for  the  Crown 
the  right  to  create  new  precincts,  entitled  to  representation  in  the 
assembly;  but  the  assembly  denied  the  right  and  would  not  admit 
the  members.  He  denied  the  right  of  the  old  precincts  of  Albemarle 
to  five  members,  the  new  ones  being  allowed  only  two;  but  the  as- 
sembly maintained  that  the  representation  should  remain  as  it  always 
had  been.  He  insisted  that  the  rents  should  be  paid  in  money,  and 
at  certain  points  or  in  produce  at  such  values  as  he  might  tleclare. 
The  assembly  Insisted  that  the  people  should  pay  their  rents  on  their 
farms;  and  in  certain  commodities  at  the  values  a.scertained  by  the 
assembly  of  1715.  He  insisted  on  fixing  the  fees  of  the  officers  and 
what  should  be  the  relative  value  of  the  colonial  paper  currency  and 
sterling;  but  the  assembly  denitd    these   demands   and    fixed  these 


26  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

values  itself.    He  undertook  to  appoint  the  public  treasurers  —  but  the 
assembly  elected  them  and  declared  that  it  held  the  purse  strings. 

Such  were  some  of  the  causes  of  difference  between  the  assembly 
a.nd  the  Crown,  arising  at  the  outset  of  Burrington's  administration 
and  continuing  for  many  years  under  the  colonial  governors.  It  was 
the  assertion  of  prerogative  on  the  one  side  and  the  steady  mainten- 
ance of  chartered  rights  and  traditional  freedom  on  the  other.  Mose- 
ley,  who  had  sided  with  popular  rights  in  1708,  in  later  years  strength- 
ened by  his  family  connections,  continued  until  his  death  at  the  head 
of  the  popular  party,  and  constantly  and  firmly  maintained  the  char- 
tered rights  of  the  people. 

It  is  to  be  said  to  Burrington's  credit,  however,  that  though  he  was 
at  points  with  the  assembly,  and  was  in  violent  personal  antagonism 
with  many  of  the  most  prominent  inhabitants,  he  addressed  himself 
with  assiduity  to  promoting  the  material  prosperity  of  the  colony,  and 
it  was  his  proud  boast  that  the  colony  had  made  most  rapid  advances 
under  his  active  administration  and  unremitting  efforts  for  Its  de- 
velopment. In  1734  he  was  relieved  by  the  appearance  in  the  colony 
of  Gov.  Gabriel  Johnston,  who  for  the  ne.xt  eighteen  years  repre- 
sented the  Crown  in  North  Carolina.  During  Johnston's  administra- 
tion, the  same  contentions  that  had  marked  his  predecessor's  term 
were  continued,  and  though  Johnston  was  a  more  adroit  manager, 
yet  the  conflict  at  times  was  accompanied  with  disturbances  of  a  very 
violent  nature. 

As  North  Carolina  was  now  a  dependency  of  the  Crown,  steps 
were  taken  to  assimilate  the  government  to  that  of  Great  Britain. 
The  precincts  were  changed  to  counties;  provost  marshals  gave 
place  to  sheriffs,  the  council  was  called  the  upper  house,  and  the  gov- 
ernor, representing  the  Crown,  claimed  the  right  to  erect  counties  and 
to  do  other  acts  by  virtue  of  prerogative.  The  assembly  made  firm 
and  strong  resistance  to  such  of  those  demands  as  were  in  derogation 
of  its  rights.  The  King  had  purchased  but  seven  out  of  the  eight 
shares  of  Carolina,  and  the  eighth.  Lord  Granville's,  was  in  1744,  set 
apart  to  him  next  to  Virginia,  the  line  running  near  Bath,  Washing- 
ton, Smithfield  and  the  southern  line  of  Chatham  county.  The  in- 
habitants north  of  that  line  were  Granville's  tenants,  to  the  south,  the 
King's.  The  old  counties,  claiming  five  members  each,  lay  in  Gran- 
ville's territory,  and  Edenton,  where  the  assembly  had  habitually 
met  was  also  in  his  domains.  Gov.  Johnston  desired  to  have  the 
capital  in  the  King's  territory  and  to  curtail  the  undue  power  of  the 
inhabitants  in  Granville's  half  of  the  province,  for  the  dividing  line 
cut  the  colony  nearly  into  equal  parts.  With  this  view,  Johnston 
knowing  that  the  northern  members  could  not  conveniently  attend, 
in  1746,  called  the  assembly  to  meet  at  Wilmington  in  November. 
The  northern  members  remained  away.  No  quorum  was  present  ac- 
cording to  the  old  rule;  but  as  the  quorum  of  the  British  house  of 
commons  was  forty  out  of  a  membership  of  400,  it  was  considered 
that   fifteen   might  well   be   a   quorum    of  the   assembly.     The  few 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  2"] 

southern  members  present  passed  two  bills  —  one  fixing  representa- 
tion which  allowed  to  each  count}'  two  members  and  no  more,  thus 
depriving  the  northern  counties  of  their  preponderating  influence  in 
the  assembly,  and  another  establishing  the  seat  of  government  at 
New  Berne  where  the  records  of  the  courts  were  to  be  kept. 

The  northern  counties  declined  to  recognize  the  validity  of  these 
acts,  and  insisted  on  their  right  to  their  old  representation,  which 
being  denied,  they  abstained  from  recognizing  the  government. 
They  closed  their  court  houses,  would  pay  no  taxes  nor  participate  in 
the  administration  of  affairs.  At  length  the  southern  counties  fol- 
lowed their  example  in  the  matter  of  taxes;  and  for  several  years 
prior  to  Gov.  Johnston's  death  in  1752,  no  public  revenues  were  col- 
lected, and  his  salary  was  far  in  arrears.  At  last,  after  his  death,  the 
Crown  officers  at  London  determined  that  fifteen  members  did  not 
constitute  a  quorum,  and  that  the  two  acts  were  nullities,  and  so  the 
northern  counties  won  their  cause  and  retained  their  five  members 
until  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  m  1776. 

But  although  there  were  constant  conflicts  between  the  assembly 
and  Gov.  Johnston,  and  though  the  northern  counties  were  in  a  state 
of  revolt  for  several  years,  yet  during  his  term  of  office  the  material 
progress  of  the  country  was  great;  its  population  increased  from  fifty 
to  about  ninety  thousand,  and  streams  of  immigration  set  in,  which 
exercised  an  important  influence  upon  the  province  and  the  character- 
istics of  the  people. 

About  1725  a  lodgment  had  been  made  on  the  Cape  Fear  by  the 
Moores  with  their  friends  from  South  Carolina,  and  Moseley,  Swann, 
Porter,  Ashe,  Harnett  and  others  from  the  Albemarle,  which  event- 
ually came  to  be  the  seat  of  much  wealth,  refinement  and  culture. 
Here,  later,  came  some  Irish  and  also  some  Welchmen  who  located 
on  the  Northeast  river;  while  some  Highlanders  dispersed  them- 
selves along  the  waters  of  the  Northwest  branch,  the  fore-runners  of 
a  very  important  movement.  In  the  meantime  many  inhabitants 
from  lower  South  Carolina,  claiming  the  Pee  Dee  as  the  boundary, 
pushed  up  the  banks  of  that  stream,  among  them  being  some  of 
the  Huguenots,  while  X'irginians  crossed  the  northern  border  in  con- 
siderable numbers. 

When  Charles  Edward,  the  grandson  of  James  II,  in  1745,  made  a 
descent  on  Scotland,  many  who  had  followed  the  Hag  of  his  father 
and  grandfather,  rallied  to  his  standard.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
however,  met  him  on  the  fatal  field  of  Culloden,  where  the  hopes  of 
the  Scottish  people  were  entirely  destroyed.  A  considerable  number 
of  prisoners  were  executed,  but  others  were  pardoned  on  condition 
of  their  emigrating.  A  number  came  to  the  Cape  Fear,  and  after 
that  a  stream  of  Highlanders  steadily  flowed  to  the  upper  waters  of 
that  river,  until  all  that  region  was  taken  up  by  Scotchmen,  and  there 
for  a  century  the  Ga-lic  language  was  heard  around  the  humble 
hearth  as  well  as  in  the  pulpit.  Equally  important  were  the  acces- 
sions from  Pennsylvania  —  these  were  Germans  and  Scotch-Irish. 
They  came  down  the  "great  road"  to  Winchester,  thence  down  the 


28  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

valley,  and  crossed  the  Blue  Ridg^e  on  the  banks  of  the  Staunton 
river,  and  then,  either  by  the  Moravian  settlement  at  Salem,  or  the 
"  Old  Red  House"  in  Caswell,  pursued  their  way  to  their  settlements 
in  Carolina.  These  streams,  beginning  in  Johnston's  administration, 
continued  until  the  western  portion  of  the  province  was  fairly  well 
occupied.  Side  by  side  the  new-comers  located  their  sequestered 
homes  in  the  wilderness.  Different  in  racial  characteristics,  they  still 
had  in  common,  thiift,  energy,  piety  and  an  appreciation  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  education  and  a  spirit  deeply  imbued  with  a  love  of  per- 
sonal liberty.  The  Germans  brought  with  them  their  teachers  and 
their  preachers,  and  the  Scotch-Irish,  their  pastors,  who  soon  estab- 
lished in  their  several  charges  schools  and  academies  whose  influence 
was  widely  felt  by  succeeding  generations. 

It  was  in  1605  that  the  earls  of  Tyrconnel  and  Tyrone  having  re- 
belled, King  James  confiscated  their  estates  in  Ulster  and  started 
those  settlements  of  English  and  of  Scotch  that  supplanted  the  old 
Irish  tenantry.  The  Scotch  greatly  increased  in  their  new  home, 
and  when,  after  several  generations,  their  right  to  maintain  their 
Presbyterian  faith  without  interference  was  denied,  they  measurably 
dispersed  throughout  the  settlements  of  the  New  World.  Those 
coming  to  Carolina  made  a  most  important  addition  to  the  popula- 
tion. From  them  have  sprung  numbers  of  illustrious  sons  who  have 
added  to  the  glory  and  fame  of  the  commonwealth.  And  thus  it 
came  about  that  while  the  peaceful  Quaker  flourished  on  the  Albe- 
marle, and  the  church  of  England  was  fostered  in  the  east,  the  west 
was  settled  largely  by  men  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Lutheran  faiths,  and 
the  active  Baptists  disseminated  themselves  througheut  the  whole. 

The  settlers  coming  from  Pennsylvania  had  perhaps  been  diverted 
to  the  southward  by  the  Indians  who  held  the  country  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  and  whose  depredations  somewhat  later  even  checked 
the  movement  to  Carolina,  but  on  peace  being  restored  the  tide  of 
immigration  set  in  again  and  continued  without  interruption  until  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Then  it  ceased,  and  for  more  than  a  century 
North  Carolina  has  received  no  accessions  from  abroad,  her  popula- 
tion being  only  natural  increase,  descendents  of  English,  Irish,  .Scotch, 
French,  Swiss  and  Welsh,  in  greater  or  less  admixture  of  blood, 
made  more  sturdy  by  a  residence  in  the  wilderness,  and  more  patri- 
otic by  memories  of  their  glorious  ancestry. 

On  the  death  of  Gov.  Johnston  in  1752,  first  Rice  and  then  Rowan 
succeeded  to  the  administration  as  president  of  the  council,  but  in 
October,  1754,  Arthur  Dobbs,  the  new  governor,  arrived.  He  found 
the  colony  making  preparations  to  aid  Virginia  in  driving  back  the 
French  and  Indians,  who  were  threatening  an  invasion  of  that  prov- 
ince. In  January  of  that  year  Gov.  Dinwiddle  of  Virginia  had  solic- 
ited help  and  the  assembly  had  promptly  responded  by  voting  /^i  2,000 
to  equip  a  regiment  of  750  men,  of  which  James  Innis,  who  had  com- 
manded a  North  Carolina  battalion  at  Carthagena,  was  appointed 
colonel.  Caleb  Grainger  was  lieutenant  colonel  and  Robert  Rowan, 
major.     Among  the  other  officers  were  Thomas  Arbuthnot,  Hugh 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  29 

Waddell,  Thomas  McManus,  Edmund  \"ail  and  Moses  John  DeRos- 
set.  While  Col.  Innis  was  organizing  his  regiment  and  preparing  to 
transport  it  to  \'irginia,  he  sent  John  Ashe  as  his  aide  to  Gov.  Din- 
widdle, who,  on  June  4th,  conferred  on  Innis  the  appointment  of  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  entire  expedition.  The  North  Carolina  regi- 
ment reached  Winchester,  but  the  \'irginia  assembly  having  failed  to 
make  an}'  provision  for  the  sustenance  of  the  men,  and  the  supplies 
brought  from  Carolina  being  exhausted,  the  regiment  on  September  i, 
returned  home,  leaving  Col.  Innis  in  Virginia  preparing  for  a  new 
campaign.  In  October  the  Crown  appointed  Gov.  Sharpe,  of  Mary- 
land, to  be  commander-in-chief,  and  Col.  Innis  was  designated  as 
"  Campmaster-General."'  He  remained  at  Fort  Cumberland  making 
treaties  with  the  Indians  and  organizing  the  forces  and  constructing 
works  of  defense  until  a  year  later,  when  he  returned  to  Carolina. 

Early  in  1755  a  conipanj'  under  Capt.  Ed.  Brice  Dobbs,  a  son  of 
the  governor,  and  a  British  army  officer,  was  sent  to  X'irginia  to  take 
part  in  Braddock's  campaign,  and  the  next  year  three  new  compa- 
nies, commanded  by  Caleb  Grainger,  Thomas  Arbuthnot  and  Thomas 
McManus,  were  ordered  to  New  York,  where  Capt.  Brice's  company 
joined  them,  and  Brice  was  appointed  major  of  the  North  Carolina 
battalion.  Capt.  Hugh  Waddell  had  a  command  on  the  western  con- 
fines of  the  colony  and  built  Fort  Dobbs  in  1755.  In  175S,  with  these 
companies,  he  marched  with  Gen.  Forbes  against  Fort  Duquesneand 
won  great  credit  as  an  Indian  fighter  and  scout.  In  1759  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  colonel  and  was  again  in  charge  of  the  North  Carolina 
frontier,  and  later  in  that  year  he  commanded  the  North  Carolina 
contingent  sent  under  Gov.  Lyttleton  against  the  Cherokees.  W  hile 
our  troops  were  being  trained  to  war  by  these  various  expeditions  in 
different  parts  of  America,  our  people  on  the  western  frontier  were 
harassed  by  a  local  Indian  warfare  and  were  learning  valuable  expe- 
rience that  was  to  stand  them  in  good  stead  in  after  years.  It  was  in 
such  a  school  that  Gen  Howe,  Gen.  Moore  and  many  other  patriot 
leaders  obtained  the  skill  that  distinguished  them  when  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle  came  on. 

The  differences  between  the  people  and  the  governor,  who  repre- 
sented the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  continued  without  abatement 
under  Dobbs'  administration,  there  being  several  new  .sources  of  trou- 
ble developed.  One  was  the  appointment  of  the  judges  who  for- 
merly' had  been  sent  to  the  province  from  England,  but  now  the 
assembly  sought  to  procure  the  appointment  of  natives.  Because  of 
this  and  other  ])oints  of  difference  the  law  establishing  courts  and 
providing  for  the  judges  was  enacted  every  two  years  "  only  tempor- 
arily." Another  matter  that  caused  the  governor  much  concern  was 
the  determination  of  the  assembly  to  have  its  own  agent  in  London 
to  represent  the  affairs  of  the  colony  to  the  board  of  trade,  and  other 
officers  of  the  Crown,  and  to  parliament.  The  representations  of 
these  agents  often  were  entirely  antagonistic  to  the  views  and  pro- 
jects of  the  governor,  and  annoyed  him  greatly.  He  claimed  the 
right  to   make  the  appointment,  but  the  assembly  exercised  it,  and 


30  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

appointed  to  conduct  the  correspondence,  Samuel  Swann,  who  on  the 
retirement  of  his  uncle  Edward  Moseley,  had  succeeded  him  as  the 
popular  leader  and  as  speaker  of  the  assembly.  Associated  with 
him  were  his  two  nephews,  George  Moore  and  John  Ashe,  and  John 
Starkey  who  was  particularly  obnoxious  to  the  governor  because  of  his 
alleged  republicanism.  Of  Starkey,  the  governor  wrote  that  he  had 
won  public  confidence  "by  his  capacity  and  diligence  and  in  some 
measure  from  his  garb  and  seeming  humility,  by  wearingshoe-strings,  a 
plain  coat  and  having  a  bald  head,"  but  the  governor  rated  him  as  "  the 
most  designing  man  in  the  province;  that  he  was  a  professed  violent 
republican,  in  every  instance  taking  from  His  Majesty's  prerogative, 
and  adding  to  the  power  of  the  assembly."  Indeed  Gov.  Dobbs  fre- 
quentl}'  declared  "  that  the  spirit  of  republicanism  was  rife  in  the 
colony  and  that  it  was  much  stronger  here  than  in  any  other;"  and 
he  declared  that,  "as  burdensome  as  the  administration  was,  the  re- 
publican leaders  had  offered  to  make  it  pleasant  and  agreeable,  if  he 
would  only  permit  the  republican  junto  to  absorb  his  powers."  His 
divergence  from  the  assembly  was  so  great  that  in  April,  1760,  the 
house  sitting,  as  it  were,  as  a  grand  inquisition  went  into  secret  ses- 
sion and  made  presentment  of  the  grievances  which  the  people  suf- 
fered by  means  of  the  governor's  conduct.  This  presentment  was  to 
be  laid  before  the  King  by  the  agent  of  the  colony  at  London.  In  the 
meantime  progress  was  made  in  giving  shape  to  the  government,  and 
the  right  of  the  people  to  rule  themselves  after  the  fashion  of  Eng- 
lishmen at  home  was  firmly  engrafted  upon  the  system.  The  as- 
sembly asserted  and  maintained  its  right  to  hold  the  purse;  it  elected 
its  own  treasurers;  imposed  its  own  taxes,  and  spent  the  public  money 
in  its  own  way.  Whatever  aid  the  colony  rendered  the  Crown  was  to 
be  freely  given  by  the  assembly,  and  the  bill  was  to  originate  in  the 
lower  house.  As  there  could  be  no  taxation  in  the  colony  except  by 
a  law  passed  by  the  assembly,  contributions  to  the  coffers  of  the  King 
were  made  by  appropriations  and  were  called  "  aids  to  the  King."  The 
amount  of  these  aids  also  came  to  be  a  source  of  disagreement  with 
the  governor.  Because  of  the  expenses  of  the  Erench  and  Indian 
wars,  parliament  in  1765  undertook  to  levy  taxes  on  the  American 
colonies.  The  resistance  to  this  measure,  the  stamp  act,  in  North 
Carolina  was  quite  as  determined  as  elsewhere.  John  Ashe,  who  had 
succeeded  Samuel  Swann  as  speaker,  told  Governor  Tryon  that  the 
law  would  be  resisted  unto  death.  Associations  were  formed  called 
Sons  of  Liberty,  and  papers  were  signed  binding  the  subscribers  to 
sacrifice  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  maintain  the  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple. When  the  stamp  masters  were  appointed  they  were  forced  to 
resign.  The  stamps  were  not  distributed,  but  as  Gov.  Tryon  sought 
to  prevent  the  entire  nullification  of  the  law  and  would  not  ignore  it, 
no  courts  were  held  and  no  public  business  transacted.  The  affairs 
of  the  colony  were  indeed  at  a  stand-still,  as  little  could  be  done  with- 
out the  use  of  stamped  paper  and  the  people  would  not  use  it.  In 
January,  1766,  two  vessels  arrived  in  Cape  Eear  river  whose  clearances 
were  not  on  stamped  paper,  and  they  were  seized  for  that  reason  by 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  3I 

the  customs  house  officers  and  held  by  two  British  ships  of  war  then 
in  the  harbor.  Thereupon  the  people  embodied  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  John  Ashe,  Thomas  Lloyd  and  Alexander  Lillington,  and  led 
by  Gen.  Waddell,  Gen.  Moore  and  accompanied  by  Cornelius  Har- 
nett and  others,  marched  to  Brunswick  where  Gov.  Tryon  lived,  took 
from  his  residence  Col.  Pennington,  the  comptroller  of  the  province, 
and  made  him  and  all  the  officers  of  the  province  swear  that  they 
would  not  execute  the  law,  and  forced  the  ships  of  war  to  surrender 
the  detained  vessels.  The  obnoxious  act  was  soon  afterwards 
repealed. 

The  people  of  North  Carolina  had  long  suffered  for  the  want  of  a 
sufficient  currency.  In  1712  there  had  been  an  issue  of  paper  money; 
and  later  other  issues  were  made.  After  the  King  purchased  the  pro- 
vince, still  further  laws  were  passed  relative  to  the  currency,  but 
finally  parliament  prohibited  the  colonies  from  issuing  more  paper 
money.  The  effect  of  this  was  to  deprive  the  people  of  a  needed 
supply  of  circulation  and  the  settlements  in  the  west  were  great  suf- 
ferers thereby.  At  certain  points  in  the  east  products  could  be  stored 
in  warehouses  convenient  for  shipment,  and  notes  given  by  the  in- 
spectors for  their  value  served  as  local  currency.  But  there  were  no 
shipping  points  west  of  Fayetteville,  and  no  warehouses  inland,  and 
the  people  in  the  interior  could  not  obtain  currency  to  pay  their  taxes. 
They  hauled  their  produce  more  than  a  hundred  miles  through  the 
wilderness  to  Fayetteville  and  there  had  to  dispose  of  it  for  "one- 
half  trade"  in  order  to  obtain  some  cash  to  pay  the  sheriff.  This  to- 
gether with  an  oppressive  system  of  administration  in  the  back  coun- 
try, where  the  counties  were  extensive,  and  some  of  the  officers  cor- 
rupt, led  to  an  association  for  a  reform  of  abuses  and  to  correct 
grievances,  called  the  Regulation.  But  eventually  the  association  re- 
fused to  pay  taxes  and  disturbances  ensued  that  finally  terminated  in 
the  battle  of  Alamance  in  1771.  Nearly  the  entire  population  at  the 
west  was  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  Regulation,  which,  originally  a 
laudable  movement  of  the  people  to  redress  their  grievances,  subse- 
quently took  the  form  of  disorder,  leading  to  its  forcible  suppression 
by  the  eastern  part  of  the  King's  domain,  for  the  Albemarle  counties 
rendered  the  government  but  little  assistance.  But  despite  the  dis- 
orders that  attended  it,  and  its  luckless  termination,  the  Regulation 
Association  was  a  bold  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  manly  freedom 
which  characterized  the  independent  people  of  western  Carolina. 
Upon  its  suppression  many  of  those  engaged  in  it  jilunged  into  the 
wilderness  and  made  settlements  across  the  mountains. 

in  the  meantime  great  streams  of  population  continued  to  fiow  in- 
to the  Piedmont  region  of  the  province,  as  before  chiefly  Germans 
and  Scotch-Irish,  and  the  country  was  occupied.  Schools  were  taught, 
religion  was  preached  and  material  progress  and  development  made, 
and  the  people  enjoyed  repose  until  the  groundswell  of  the  coming 
revolution  disturbed  the  quiet  of  the  colony. 

The  old  question  of  the  exclusive  right  of  the  assembly  to  tax  the 
people,  again  came  to  the  front   in    1774.  and   although  the   province 


32  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

had  been  racked  and  torn  by  internal  dissensions,  although  the 
western  half  was  at  points  with  the  east  for  suppressing  the  rising  of 
1 77 1,  yet  the  assembly  boldly  took  advanced  ground  in  maintaining 
the  ancient  privileges  and  rights  of  the  commonwealth.  A  sturdy 
spirit  of  independence  prevailed  among  the  entire  people.  Speaker 
Harvey,  learning  that  Gov.  Martin  would  postpone  the  meeting  of 
the  assembly  to  prevent  that  body  from  sending  delegates  to  the 
Continental  congress,  declared  that  the  people  themselves  would 
call  an  assembly;  and  after  consultation,  the  committee  of  safety  at 
Wilmington  issued  a  call  for  the  election  of  a  body  which  is  known  as 
the  first  provincial  congress.  It  met  in  New  Berne,  August  1 774,  and  it 
is  said  was  the  first  legislative  body  of  a  revolutionary  character  chosen 
by  the  people  of  any  colony.  It  was  composed  of  the  first  men  in  the 
colony  and  its  resolves  had  all  the  force  of  law  throughout  the  pro- 
vince. Other  congresses  followed  in  the  same  manner,  and  associa- 
tions were  formed  as  in  the  stamp  act  troubles;  and  committees  of 
safety  under  the  resolves  of  congress,  supplanted  the  regular  author- 
ity of  the  colonial  government.  Gov.  Martin  finding  that  British 
power  had  vanished,  hastily  fled  from  his  palace  in  New  Berne  to 
shipping  in  the  lower  Cape  Fear  where  he  devised  measures  for  the 
subjugation  of  the  people.  A  large  British  force  was  expected  to 
join  him  in  the  Cape  Fear,  and  he  caused  the  Highlanders  and  those 
Regulators  who  now  adhered  to  the  royal  cause,  to  be  embodied  with 
the  view  of  co-operating  with  the  expected  arm}'.  The  British 
standard  was  erected  first  in  Moore  county  and  then  at  Campbellton, 
now  Fayetteville  —  but  the  patriots  had  not  been  idle.  Steps  had 
been  taken  to  organize  the  militia  in  the  various  sections  of  the  pro- 
vince and  Gen.  James  Moore,  after  a  brilliant  campaign,  cut  off  the 
insurgents  at  Moore's  Creek,  and  utterly  routed  them.  And  when 
the  British  regiments  with  a  hundred  sail  arrived  in  the  harbor. 
Gen.  Ashe  had  7,000  Carolinians  ready  to  contest  the  field  with  them. 
In  April  1776,  while  the  tremendous  force  of  invasion  was  yet  in  the 
Cape  Fear,  the  North  Carolina  congress  defiantly  took  the  fatal 
plunge  and  authorized  their  delegates  in  the  Continental  Congress  to 
concur  in  declaring  independence  and  in  forming  foreign  alliances; 
the  earliest  action  of  this  kind  taken  by  any  colony. 

Reviewing  in  detail  the  Revolutionary  proceedings  in  North  Car- 
olina, one  observes  that  there  was  not  a  single  defection  among  the 
leading  men  of  the  province;  and  from  the  very  beginning  those 
who  had  held  public  place  remained  together  and  acted  as  a  single 
man.  In  nearly  every  community  there  were  association  papers  and 
strong  resolves  for  a  maintenance  of  the  people's  rights;  and  in 
Mecklenburg,  where  the  Scotch-Irish  dominated,  the  patriotic  ardor  of 
the  people  was  unbounded.  There  in  May,  1775,  they  adopted  the 
first  declaration  of  independence  and  assumed  an  attitude  that  has  won 
imperishable  renown  for  the  immortal  patriots  of  Mecklenburg  and 
added  luster  to  the  name  of  Carolina.  The  spirit  of  republicanism, 
of  which  Gov.  Johnston  so  bitterly  com])lained  twenty  years  before, 
now  found  full  scope  for  play,  and  without  a  shock  the  old  order  of 


NORTH    CAROLINA.  33 

things  passed  away  and  free  republican  institutions  were  established 
in  the  land.  The  direction  of  affairs  was  in  wise  hands.  Hard  in- 
deed would  it  be  to  find  in  an}'  legislative  body  men  of  superior  parts 
to  those  who  formed  the  provincial  congress  of  North  Carolina,  or 
men  of  greater  wisdom  or  loftier  character.  North  Carolina  then 
possessed  a  galaxy  of  statesmen  of  whom  any  state  might  justly  be 
proud:  Harvey,  Ashe.  Howe,  Moore,  Harnett,  Hooper,  Caswell, 
Johnston,  Avery,  Jones,  Person,  Nash,  Buncombe,  Martin,  Burke,  and 
a  host  of  others,  whose  names  sparkle  as  brilliants  in  the  rays  of  the 
noonday  sun.  With  devotion  they  entered  upon  the  struggle  that 
was  to  last  seven  weary  years,  and  during  which  trying  vicissitudes 
befell  the  people.  Many  perished,  all  suffered.  The  fortunes  of 
thousands  were  dissipated,  and  when  peace  came,  the  sun  of  inde- 
pendence rose  upon  a  land  of  impoverished  families,  of  widows  and 
orphans  bei;eft  of  their  natural  support,  of  ruined  men,  whose  con- 
stitutions had  been  shattered  in  the  protracted  contest,  and  homes 
once  bright  with  thrift  and  energy,  now  desolate.  But  those  3'ears  of 
trial  had  also  been  years  of  activity,  and  the  fortitude,  the  endur- 
ance, the  exertions  of  the  patriots  left  an  indelible  impress  upon  the 
characteristics  of  the  people.  The  courage  of  North  Carolinians 
had  been  displayed  in  a  hundred  encounters,  conspicuously  at 
Charleston,  Brandywine  and  Germantown,  where  Nash  fell,  at  Valley 
Forge,  where  the  troops  suffered  so  grievously,  at  Charleston  again, 
when  the  entire  North  Carolina  continental  line  was  captured,  at 
King's  Mountain,  Cowpens,  Guilford  Court  House  and  Eutaw 
Springs,  and  in  other  battles  made  glorious  by  the  libation  of  Amer- 
ican blood. 

In  those  years  population  had  extended  further  into  the  interior, 
and  the  barriers  of  the  mountains  were  crossed  and  the  good  lands 
of  eastern  Tennessee  occupied.  The  war  being  over  the  energy  and 
activity  developed  in  its  progress  were  now  diverted  into  other  chan- 
nels, and  measures  were  taken  to  lay  on  solid  foundations  the  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  the  people.  Schools  were  fostered;  highways 
constructed,  trade  and  commerce  again  established,  and  agriculture 
advanced.  The  genius  of  the  people  did  not  draw  them  to  manu- 
factures, nor  was  their  situation  favorable  for  such  enterprises. 

There  were  no  large  towns,  no  aggregations  of  wealth  ready  to  be 
associated  in  great  undertakings.  The  planters  resided  upon  their 
estates  where  they  cultivated  hospitality  and  enjoyed  the  abundant 
fruits  of  their  agricultural  labors. 

At  an  early  day  the  stalwart  democracy  of  some  of  the  leaders  led 
to  their  separation  from  those  who  possessed  greater  conservatism. 
Thomas  Person,  Willie  Jones,  Samuel  Ashe,  Samuel  Spencer,  Richard 
Caswell  and  others  were  the  advocates  of  ultra  democratic  principles 
of  government;  while  Samuel  Johnson,  James  Iredell,  I  lay,  McClainc, 
Hooper,  Davie  and  others  were  more  conservative.  When  the  prop- 
osition was  made  to  adopt  the  proposed  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  latter  advocated  it;  but  the  former,  determined  to  obtain 
amendments  affording  greater  guarantees  of  popular  freedom,  were 
B— 3 


34  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

successful  in  preventing  its  immediate  ratification.  A  year  later, 
amendments  being  then  assured,  the  instrument  was  ratified.  Such 
were  the  lines  on  which  parties  were  formed  in  North  Carolina. 
Naturally  the  advocates  of  advanced  democratic  principles  ranged 
themselves  as  followers  of  Jefferson,  while  the  other  party  became 
adherents  of  the  Federal  leaders.  Such  lines  of  division  largely  con- 
tinued until  all  parties  ceased  to  exist  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
crisis  of  i860.  In  the  intervening  years  North  Carolina  produced 
many  statesmen  deserving  to  rank  high  among  their  contemporaries. 
James  Iredell  and  Alfred  Moore  adorned  the  supreme  court  bench  of 
the  United  States.  William  R.  Davie,  Nathaniel  Macon,  Samuel 
Johnston,  Spaight,  the  elder,  John  Stanly,  David  Stone,  Montford 
Stokes  and  Benjamin  Hawkins  illustrate  the  statesmen  of  the  earlier 
period.  In  1819  the  assembly  employed  an  English  engineer,  named 
Fulton,  to  improve  our  rivers  and  cut  canals.  Later  they  employed 
the  first  state  geologist  ever  engaged  bj'an^'  state  to  make  known  our 
mineral  resources;  and  when  railroads  came  into  successful  operation, 
the  idea  of  utilizing  them  was  quickly  seized  on,  and  many  were 
speedily  projected  and  much  activit}^  displayed  in  devising  means  for 
their  construction.  The  state  became  largely  interested  in  the  road 
•'rom  Raleigh  to  the  Roanoke  river,  which  was  opened  i^  1S35  with 
imposing  ceremonies.  The  same  3^ear  a  great  internal  improvement 
convention  was  held  at  which  a  state  policy  was  established,  of  run- 
ning the  lines  from  east  to  west.  The  people  of  Wilmington  desir- 
ing also  a  north  and  south  line,  subscribed  to  that  enterprise  a  large 
sum,  said  to  be  four  times  the  value  of  the  entire  re.-.;  estate  of  the 
town.  When  that  road  was  finished  to  Weldon,  it  was  the  longest  in 
the  world,  and  remained  so  for  many  3'ears. 

The  democratic  party  disapproved  of  state  aid  to  such  enterprises, 
and  plans  for  such  development  were  thus  arrested.  Indeed,  when 
in  1849  a  great  effort  was  made  to  charter  the  North  Carolina  road 
from  Goldsboro  through  the  interior  towns  to  Charlotte,  although 
the  act  was  drawn  by  a  democratic  leader,  William  S.  Ashe,  and  sup- 
ported by  James  C.  Dobbin  of  that  party,  yet  when  Calvin  Graves, 
the  speaker  of  the  senate  gave  the  casting  vote  for  it,  his  democratic 
constituents  were  so  displeased  that  they  never  again  brought  him 
forward  for  office.  Such  influences  tended  to  retard  internal  devel- 
opment, and  remote  counties  were  long  without  trade  facilities. 
During  three  quarters  of  a  century  there  was  peace,  and  the  progress 
that  attended  it.  Schools  were  established  and  religion  flourished, 
all  denominations  sharing  in  the  advance,  but  the  Methodists  and 
the  Baptists  making  the  greatest  headway;  hamlets  sprung  up  at  the 
county  seats,  wealth  became  diffused  throughout  the  state,  and  the 
agricultural  resources  of  the  various  sections  were  developed  and 
substantial  progress  was  made  in  refinement  and  culture. 

From  an  early  period  it  had  been  the  happy  fortune  of  the  people 
to  have  courts  of  great  respectability,  the  judges  being  men  of  blame- 
less lives,  of  good  repute  and  unusual  learning.  The  first  determina- 
tion of  any  court  to  disregard  a  legislative  enactment  because  of  its 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  ■  35 

unconstitutionalitj'  was  bj-  NorthC  arolina  judges  —  who  set  bounds  to 
the  hitherto  unlimited  exercise  of  power  by  the  legislature  —  Judge 
Ashe  saj'ing,  "As  God  said  unto  the  waters:  Thus  far  and  no  farther!" 
Legislation  was  conservative,  and  the  adn\inistratIon  of  justice  in- 
spired the  greatest  confidence  among  the  people.  The  supreme 
bench  was  adorned  bj'  men  eminent  for  their  virtue  and  learning,  and 
Taylor.  Henderson,  Hall,  Gaston,  Daniel,  Ruffin.  Xash,  Pearson, 
Battle,  Manl}-,  and  their  associates  gave  to  the  court  a  reputation  sur- 
passed by  none  in  the  Union;  and  there  was  fostered  a  respect  for 
the  law  and  a  spirit  of  submission  to  authority  which  have  been  char- 
acteristic of  North  Carolinians. 

The  state  finances  were  well  administered,  without  scandal  and 
with  scrupulous  exactness,  and  the  fame  of  the  people  became  estab- 
lished for  their  honest  and  upright  dealing.  The  condition  of  society 
partook  of  these  characteristics,  and  while  the  people  were  unpreten- 
tious, they  were  known  abroad  for  their  honesty,  their  virtue  and 
their  hospitality.  Many  of  our  statesmen  achieved  national  fame. 
Branch,  Gaston,  j.  J.  McKaj',  Strange,  Iredell  the  younger,  Swain, 
the  Shepherds,  Archibald  Henderson,  Graham,  Badger,  Haywood, 
Branch,  Owen,  Bragg,  Dobbin,  Morehead,  Mangum,  Clingman,  and 
a  galaxy  of  .brilliant  stars  in  the  political  firmament  added  luster  to 
the  name  of  North  Carolina. 

Although  North  Carolina  had  soon  after  the  adoption  of  the  Fed- 
eral constitution  taken  steps  to  prevent  the  importation  of  negroes, 
not  only  from  abroad  but  from  any  other  state,  yet  in  the  progress  of 
time  the  system  of  slaverj-  became  strongly  engrafted  on  her  social 
structure,  and  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  excited  her  peo- 
ple greatl}'.  Periodically  this  agitation  stirred  the  people  and  ani- 
mated them  to  maintain  with  steadfastness  the  right  to  manage  their 
own  domestic,  local  concerns  in  their  own  way.  At  length  when  it 
was  declared  that  an  "irrepressible  conflict"  had  arisen,  and  that  the 
"  I'nion  could  not  exist  half  slave  and  half  free,"  it  came  to  be  re- 
garded that  the  limitations  of  the  Federal  constitution  were  no  longer 
to  be  observed,  and  that  the  abolition  party  would  seek  to  abolish 
slavery.  This  led  South  Carolina  and  other  commonwealths  to  the 
south  to  withdraw  from  the  Union.  The  question  of  holding  a  con- 
vention for  the  purpose  of  withdrawing  was  submitted  to  the  people 
of  North  Carolina  in  the  spring  of  iS6i,  but  so  conservative  were  they 
and  so  attached  to  the  Union,  that  they  separated  themselves  from 
their  southern  brethren,  and  refused  to  call  the  convention.  The 
difference  between  the  votes  was,  however,  small  —  onlj'  aliout  250  in 
the  poll  of  the  entire  state.  Such  was  the  situation,  when  in  April, 
1S61,  Fort  Sumter  was  bombarded,  and  President  Lincoln  called  on 
North  Carolina  to  furnish  her  quota  of  troops  to  coerce  the  seceding 
states.  These  events  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs  in  North  Caro- 
lina instantaneously.  All  differences  ceased.  Union  men,  who,  like 
George  F.  Badger,  did  not  hold  to  the  right  of  secession,  united  now 
in  the  declaration  that.  North  Carolinians  must  needs  share  the  for- 
tunes of  their  southern  kindred.     Then  amid  the  e.xcitement  of  that 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

period  came  the  rapid  preparation  for  the  inevitable  conflict — the 
marshaling  of  troops,, the  formation  of  armies,  the  strenuous  endeav- 
ors to  equip  and  train  our  citizen  soldiery  and  make  defense  of  our 
unprotected  coast.  Never  was  there  a  finer  display  of  patriotic  ardor; 
never  did  peaceable  ploughboys  more  quickly  assume  the  character 
of  veteran  soldiers.  It  was  as  if  a  common  inspiration  possessed  the 
souls  of  all  the  people  and  animated  them  to  die.  If  need  be,  in  de- 
fense of  their  traditional  liberties.  During  the  four  years  of  strife 
that  followed,  the  people  of  North  Carolina  bore  themselves  with  un- 
paralleled heroism.  No  nobler  spectacle  of  human  devotion  has 
ever  been  presented  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  Her  regiments  were 
kept  well  filled  and  their  prowess,  their  endurance  and  constancy 
were  unsurpassed.  In  the  great  struggle  between  the  contending 
armies  before  Richmond,  her  losses  were  greater  than  those  of  any 
other  state;  and  so  indeed  it  was  in  all  the  battles  where  Lee  com- 
manded. At  Gettysburg,  our  trained  veterans  illustrated  still  more 
conspicuously  their  native  heroism;  if  their  losses  were  great  on  the 
first  and  second  days  of  that  grand  encounter  and  their  bravery  peer- 
less, yet  on  the  third  day  they  blazoned  the  pages  of  history  in  colors 
even  more  brilliant  with  the  gallantry  of  their  magnificent  charge 
under  the  chivalrous  Pettlgrew.  Never  Indeed  have  any  Anglo-Sax- 
ons displayed  higher  qualities  than  the  North  Carolina  forces  from 
Great  Bethel  to  Appomatox  —  never  was  greater  heroism  found 
united  with  a  finer  modesty  —  or  splendid  bravery  with  greater  reso- 
lution, fortitude  and  endurance. 

With  a  voting  population  of  112,000,  North  Carolina  sent  to  the 
army  125,000  soldiers.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  provide  food 
for  the  soldiers  and  the  poor,  and  while  salt  works  were  erected 
along  the  sea  coast,  vast  quantities  of  cards  were  imported  for  the 
women  to  use  at  home,  and  other  supplies  were  brought  through  the 
blockade.  The  few  factories  in  the  state  were  pushed  to  their  full 
capacity,  and  new  enterprises  were  started  to  aid  the  government. 
Powder  mills  were  erected,  furnaces  were  built  In  the  Deep  river  sec- 
tion, and  the  mines  at  Egypt  supplied  coal  for  steamships,  and  every 
known  resource  was  utilized.  The  period  was  of  the  greatest  mental 
activity  as  well  as  one  developing  physical  force.  A  leaf  In  the  life 
of  the  people  was  turned  and  the  quiet  and  peace  that  had  reigned 
for  generations  gave  place  to  unremitting  action,  enlarging  the  intel- 
ligence of  the  people,  and  quickening  the  energies  of  their  life.  It 
was  accompanied,  however,  by  straits  and  hardships,  suffering  and 
mourning,  the  separation  of  husbands  and  fathers  from  their  families 
and  the  pall  of  death  that  fell  upon  every  household.  What  awful 
experiences  were  crowded  into  four  years  of  heroic  and  grand  sacri- 
fice—  how  trying  the  vicissitudes,  how  calamitous  the  dire  result! 

But  from  the  activities  and  energies  of  the  war,  from  the  calami- 
ties and  sufferings,  from  the  poverty  and  despair,  there  issued  Influ- 
ences that  made  their  impress  deep  upon  the  character  of  the  people. 
When  the  final  catastrophe  was  realized,  the  men  of  Carolina  who 
had  been  veterans  in  the  immortal  army,  now  of  a  different  type 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  3/ 

from  the  quiet  countrymen  of  the  previous  decade,  turned  with  a 
resokite  purpose  to  the  future,  and  began  to  solve  the  great  problem 
pressing  upon  them.  New  ideas  possessed  them,  a  greater  activity, 
more  resolution,  as  thej'  began  the  work  of  rebuilding  their  homes 
and  creating  prosperity  in  their  desolate  fields. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  state  was  accompanied  by  a  sharp  con- 
flict in  ideas,  which  culminated  in  1S70,  when  the  whites  gained  the 
ascendency  and  in  an  orderlj'  proceeding  impeached  the  governor  of 
the  state  and  deposed  him  from  office.  From  the  day  when  the 
Anglo-Saxons  so  asserted  the  majesty  of  their  sovereignty,  quiet  has 
reigned  throughout  the  borders  of  Carolina,  and  the  watchword  has 
been  progress  and  the  development  of  our  resources  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  religious,  social,  educational  and  material  interests  of 
the  people. 

The  newspapers,  the  chief  instrumentality  for  the  dissemination 
of  information,  largely  increased  in  numbers,  in  power  and  influence, 
and  by  their  progressive  spirit  have  led  in  the  work  of  popular  en- 
lightenment. 

A  diversification  of  industries  has  been  enjoined;  manufactures 
have  been  fostered,  mines  and  forest  wealth  developed  and  agricul- 
ture greatly  improved.  Railroad  building  has  been  energetically  pro- 
moted, banks  established,  facilities  for  trade  enlarged,  and  public 
schools  have  been  put  on  a  satisfactory  basis.  General  prosperity  has 
blessed  the  people.  The  country  has  worn  a  smiling  face,  while  the 
towns  have  increased  in  size  and  importance.  Asheville  has  attained 
a  marvelous  growth.  Winston  is  a  leading  seat  of  tobacco  manufac- 
turing, and  Durham's  fame  is  world-wide.  Wilmington,  Raleigh, 
Charlotte  and  many  other  towns  are  sharing  in  the  new  life,  while  on 
the  streams  are  dotted  manufacturing  establishments  that  tell  of  the 
energy  and  skill  of  the  present  race  of  North  Carolinians. 

It  is  the  high-purpose  of  these  pages  to  perpetuate  the  names  and 
services  of  those  men  who  have  wrought  these  industrial  changes. 
The  career  of  jurists,  statesmen  and  military  heroes  find  their  appro- 
priate place  in  historical  works,  where  but  scant  space  is  allotted  to 
the  business  men  of  the  country.  The  former  render  important  ser- 
vices but  at  last  it  is  the  men  engaged  in  business  who  build  up  a  state. 
It  is  these  who  develop  resources,  create  wealth,  build  towns,  con- 
struct railroads,  furnish  employment  to  the  workingmen  and  lead  on 
in  the  march  of  progress  and  prosperity,  and  it  is  likewise  these  toil- 
ers in  diversified  industries  whose  wealth  supports  the  schools  and 
churches  of  the  state,  disseminating  intelligence  and  learning  and  re- 
ligion, improving  the  morals  of  the  people,  and  crowning  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  commonwealth  with  e.xamples  of  virtue  and  high 
moral  character.  They  are  indeed  more  than  the  supporting  pillars, 
for  they  constitute  the  state  itself. 


d 1^029 


BIOQRAPHIGALa    SKRTGHB.S 


OF 


Eininent  ,0  I^prcscntatiue  fsjortb  Qi-olinian^, 


JAMES  IREDELL. 


James  Iredell,  a  distinguished  jurist,  was  born  in  Lowes,  England, 
October  5,  1750.  When  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
he  emigrated  to  Edenton,  N.  C,  where  he  was  afterward  appointed 
deputy  collector  of  the  port.  Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Miss  Johnston,  sister  of  Samuel  Jonhston,  governor  and  United 
States  senator,  and  in  1773,  Mr.  Iredell  and  Miss  Johnston  were  united 
in  marriage.  He  read  law  in  the  office  of  his  brother-in-law  (who 
afterward  was  chief  justice  of  the  superior  court  of  North  Carolina), 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1775.-  His  reputation  as  a  jurist, 
which  then  had  its  beginning,  is  well  known  to  the  profession.  He 
held  the  office  of  collector  of  customs  from  1774,  till  the  Revolution- 
ary war  practicall}'  put  an  end,  for  the  time,  to  that  office.  Taking  a 
lively  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  independence  of  the  colonies  he  did 
not  desire  a  commission  under  the  British  government  and  at  once 
resigned  the  office  when  hostilities  were  about  to  commence.  He 
had  at  that  time  a  prospective  interest  in  a  large  property  in  the  West 
Indies,  owned  by  a  loyal  uncle,  and  this  he  also  relinquished  for  the 
cause  of  the  colonists.  In  December,  1777,  he  was  elected  judge  of 
the  superior  court  of  North  Carolina,  but,  after  holding  the  office 
less  than  a  year,  he  resigned.  He  was  appointed  attorne3'-generaI  of 
the  state  in  1779,  but  resigned  that  office  within  a  short  period.  In 
politics  as  has  before  been  intimated,  he  was  an  ardent  whig,  and  his 
counsels  in  the  cause  of  that  party  became  of  great  value  to  its 
leaders  in  their  struggles  for  independence. 

In  17S7  Mr.  Iredell  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  revise  and 
codify  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  "  Iredell's  Revisal,"  the  publication 
of  which  began  in  1789,  was  completed  in  1791,  and  published  in  full  at 
Edenton,  the  same  year.  At  the  convention  which  was  held  at  Hills- 
borough, in  17S8,  to  discuss  the  proposed  federal  constitution.  Judge 
Iredell  was  a  delegate,  and  was  the  leader  of  the  federal  party  in  that 
bod}^     He  urged  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  with  great  force 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  39 

and  earnestness,  but  the  majority  was  against  liim,  and  he  failed  to 
accomplish  his  purpose.  In  1790  President  Washington  appointed 
Mr.  Iredell  one  of  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  and  he  was  the  author  of  several  dissenting  opinions  in  im- 
portant cases  brought  before  that  high  tribunal.  In  one  of  these  — 
Wilson  vs.  Daniels  —  in  which  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  on  a  writ 
of  error  was  at  issue,  his  opinion  was  subsequently  concurred  in  by 
the  court.  Many  of  his  opinions,  holdings  and  addresses,  upon  legal 
topics,  were  published,  and  held  in  great  esteem,  by  members  of  the 
profession,  in  all  the  principal  northern  cities.  At  the  present  day, 
they  are  often  cited,  and  held  as  good  authority.  At  his  death  he 
left,  nearly  ready  for  the  press,  an  elaborate  treatise  on  pleading,  but 
up  to  a  recent  date,  it  had  not  been  published.  Judge  Iredell  died  at 
Edenton,  October  20,  1799,  but  his  memory  will  be  perpetuated,  not 
only  by  his  descendants  and  b}'  his  published  works,  but  by  the  county 
which  took  its  name  in  honor  of  its  illustrious  resident. 

JAMES  IREDELL,  JR., 

was  born  at  Edenton,  Chowan  county,  N.  C,  November  2,  1788.  He 
was  the  son  of  Judge  James  Iredell,  a  sketch  of  whose  career  will  be 
found  in  this  volume.  James,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received  a 
liberal  education,  graduating  from  Princeton  college  with  honor, 
when  only  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  studied  law  and  entered  into 
practice  and  not  only  became  prominent  in  the  legal  profession  but 
also  in  politics.  In  1812  at  the  opening  of  hostilities  between  this 
country  and  England.  Mr.  Iredell  raised  a  company  of  volunteers 
of  which  he  was  chosen  captain.  His  company  was  detailed  to 
Craney  Island,  Va.,  near  Norfolk,  where  he  rendered  very  effective 
service  in  the  defense  of  that  point  against  the  attacks  of  the  British 
forces.  At  the  close  of  his  militar}-  service,  he  returned  to  Edenton 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  laying  the  foundation  for 
a  distinguished  and  brilliant  career  as  a  lawyer  and  a  judge. 

In  1816,  Mr.  Iredell  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  legislature, 
as  the  representative  of  his  native  city.  The  next  year  he  was  elected 
speaker  of  the  house,  holding  that  position  during  the  sessions  of  1817 
and  1818.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  many  times  afterward. 
He  was  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  courts  of  law  and  equity  in 
March,  1819,  but  resigned  in  the  following  May.  In  1827  he  was 
elected  governor  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  next  year  was  called  to 
represent  that  state  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  He  was  the 
successor  in  that  body  of  Nathaniel  Macon,  and  was  himself  succeeded 
by  Hon.  W.  P.  Mangum.  At  the  expiration  of  his  senatorial  term, 
Judge  Iredell  again  returned  to  his  law  practice  in  Edenton.  He  was 
appointed  a  reporter  of  the  supreme  court  decisions,  and  Iredell's 
Reports  are  to  this  day  to  be  found  in  every  well-regulated  public  and 
private  law  library.  Few  law  reports  are  more  frequently  cited  as 
authority  in  the  courts,  or  oftener  alluded  to  in  law  books,  than 
Iredell. 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

In  the  three  great  departments  of  government,  the  legislative,  the 
executive  and  the  judicial,  Mr.  Iredell  was  a  most  distinguished  per- 
sonage. In  private  life  he  was  greatl}'  esteemed  and  beloved.  Even 
while  holding  high  official  stations  he  did  not  forget  nor  neglect  the 
amenities  of  social  acquaintanceship,  and  in  all  polite  circles  of  soci- 
ety he  was  the  object  of  attraction  and  admiration.  He  was  an  honor 
and  an  ornament  to  his  profession,  and  in  the  private  walks  of  life 
was  a  most  pleasant  companion  and  an  agreeable  and  entertaining 
conversationalist.  Judge  Iredell  married  Miss  Treadwell,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Treadwell,  of  Edenton,  and  they  had  a  large  and  very 
interesting  family  of  children.  He  died  in  his  native  city,  April  13, 
1853,  deeply  lamented  by  all  his  fellow  citizens. 

THOMAS  RUFFIN, 

the  eldest  child  of  his  parents,  was  born  at  Newington,  the  residence 
of  his  maternal  grandfather,  Thomas  Roane,  in  the  count}'  of  King 
and  Queen,  in  Virginia,  on  the  17th  of  November,  1787.  Among  the 
most  eminent  characters  in  American  annals  he  takes  appropriate 
rank.  Whether  we  consider  the  virtues  that  adorn  character,  the 
learning  that  entitles  the  jurist  to  fame,  or  the  benefits  that  an  emi- 
nent citizen  confers  on  his  generation,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is 
equally  deserving  of  our  admiration.  His  father,  Sterling  Ruffin, 
was  a  planter  of  Essex  county,  Va.,  who  transferred  his  residence,  in 
1807,  to  North  Carolina,  settling  in  Rockingham  county,  and  dying 
in  the  county  of  Caswell.  His  mother,  Alice  Roane,  was  of  a  family 
much  distinguished  in  Virginia  by  the  public  service  of  many  of  its 
members,  and  was  herself  first  cousin  of  Spencer  Roane,  a  chief  jus- 
tice of  that  state,  of  more  than  usual  prominence  and  distinction. 
His  early  boyhood  was  passed  on  the  paternal  homestead  in  Essex, 
and  in  attendance  on  the  schools  of  the  vicinity.  Thence,  at  a  suit- 
able age,  he  was  sent  to  a  classical  academy  in  Warrenton,  N.  C, 
under  the  instruction  of  Mr.  Marcus  George,  a  celebrated  instructor, 
and  from  the  Warrenton  academy  young  Ruffin  was  transferred  to 
the  College  of  Nassau  Hall,  at  Princeton,  N.  J.  He  entered  the 
freshman  class  at  Princeton,  and  graduated  at  the  commencement  in 
1805,  graduating  with  honors. 

Returning  home  with  his  bachelor  degree,  Mr.  Ruffin,  soon  after- 
ward entered  the  law  office  of  David  Robertson,  Esq.,  of  Petersburg, 
as  a  student  of  law,  and  continued  there,  through  the  years  1S06  and 
1807.  In  the  latter  year,  his  father  changed  his  home  to  North  Caro- 
lina, and  the  son  followed,  a  willing  emigrant,  for  it  was  in  North 
Carolina,  he  had  received  his  first  training  for  useful  life,  and 
here  was  the  home  of  most  of  his  early  friends,  with  whom  he  con- 
fidently hoped  to  renew  his  association.  On  his  arrival  in  North 
Carolina,  he  pursued  his  further  study  of  the  law,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Hon.  A.  D.  Murphey,  until  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  1S08. 
Early  in  iSo<5,  he  established  his  home  in  the  town  of  Hillsborough, 
and  on  the  7th  of  December,  in  that  year,  he  was  united  in  marriage, 


o ^ri:^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4 1 

with  Miss  Anne  Kirkland,  eldest  dauglitcr  of  William  Kirkland,  of 
that  place,  who  was  a  prominent  merchant  and  leading  citizen.  The 
twent}-  years  next  ensuing,  during  which  his  residence  was  continu- 
ally in  Hillsborough,  comprehend  his  career  at  the  bar,  and  on  the 
bench  of  the  superior  courts.  In  1813,  1815  and  1816,  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  in  the  house  of  commons  for  his  town, 
under  the  old  state  constitution,  and  filled  the  office  of  speaker  of  the 
house,  at  the  last  mentioned  session,  when  first  elected  a  judge,  upon 
the  resignation  of  that  office,  by  Judge  Duncan  Cameron.  He  was 
also  a  candidate  of  the  electoral  ticket,  in  favor  of  William  H.  Craw- 
ford for  I-'resident  of  the  United  States,  in  1S24,  but  his  aspirations, 
tastes  and  interests,  inclined  him  not  to  political  honors,  but  to  a 
steady  adherence  to  the  profession,  to  which  his  life  was  devoted. 
He  remained  on  the  superior  court  bench  onl}-  two  years,  and  re- 
signed to  the  legislature  of  1818,  and  immediately  returned  to  the 
practice.  The  wants  of  an  increasing  family,  and  an  unfortunate  in- 
volvement, by  suretyship,  forbade  his  continuance  in  a  situation  of  no 
better  income  than  the  salary  which  was  its  compensation.  For 
fortj-three  weeks  in  the  year,  he  had  his  engagements  in  court,  and 
despite  of  all  conditions  of  the  weather  or  other  impediments  to 
traveling,  in  the  then  state  of  the  country,  rarely  failed  to  fulfill 
them.  He  held  the  appointment  of  reporter  of  the  decisions  of  the 
supreme  court  for  one  or  two  terms,  but  relinquished  it  from  the  en- 
grossment of  his  time,  by  his  practice. 

In  the  summer  of  1825,  upon  the  resignation  of  judge  Badger, 
Mr.  Ruffin  again  accepted  the  appointment  of  a  judge  of  the  superior 
courts.  His  recent  successes  had  relieved  him  of  embarrassment,  and 
supplied  him  a  competent  fortune.  His  health,  which  had  never  been 
very  robust,  demanded  rela.xation  and  rest,  and  his  duties  to  his  fam- 
ily, now  quite  numerous  in  his  estimation,  required  more  of  his  pres- 
ence at  home  than  was  consistent  with  the  very  active  life  he  was 
leading.  He  therefore  relinquished  his  great  emoluments  at  the  bar 
for  the  inadequate  salary  then  paid  to  a  judge,  and  virtually  closed 
his  career  as  an  advocate.  By  the  bar  and  the  public  he  was  wel- 
comed back  on  the  circuits,  and  for  the  three  following  years  he  ad- 
ministered the  law  with  such  universal  admiration  and  acceptance, 
both  on  the  part  of  the  profession  and  the  people,  that  he  was  gener- 
ally designated  by  the  public  approbation  for  the  succession  to  the 
bench  of  the  supreme  court  whenever  a  vacancy  should  occur.  The 
reputation  he  had  established  by  this  time,  however,  did  not  merely 
assign  him  capal:>ilities  as  a  lawyer,  but  ascribed  to  him  every  qualifi- 
cation of  a  thorough  Ijusiness  man,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1S2S,  he  was 
prevailed  on  to  take  the  management  of  the  old  .State  bank  of  North 
Carolina,  the  affairs  of  the  institution  being  greatly  embarrassed,  and 
within  twelve  months  devoted  to  the  office  of  president  of  the  bank, 
with  his  characteristic  energy,  mastering  the  affairs  of  the  bank  with 
a  true  lal<;nt  for  finance,  making  availal)le  its  assets  and  providing 
for  its  liabilities,  and  inspiring  confidence  by  the  general   faith   in  his 


42  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

abilities  and  high  purpose  to  do  right,  he  effectually  redeemed  the 
institution  and  restored  it  to  solvency. 

At  this  period  in  his  life,  also,  another  place  of  high  political- 
eminence  was  at  his  choice;  but  was  promptly  declined.  It  was  the 
nomination  to  the  United  States  senate.  He  was  earnestl}^  solicited 
to  accept  a  candidacy  for  this  position  with  every  assurance  of  suc- 
cess. But  his  desire  was,  as  he  himself  expressed  it  among  his 
friends,  "after  the  labor  and  attention  he  had  bestowed  upon  his  pro- 
fession, to  go  down  to  posterity  as  a  lawyer,"  preferring  to  be  known 
merely  as  a  jurist.  Irrespective,  therefore,  of  his  domestic  interests, 
and  the  care  and  attention  due  to  his  family,  of  which  no  man  ever 
had  a  truer  or  warmer  conception,  he  could  not  be  diverted  from  his 
chosen  line  of  life  by  the  attractions  of  even  the  highest  political  dis- 
tinction. During  his  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  bank,  in 
iS2g,  his  services  were  still  demanded  by  clients  in  the  higher  courts, 
and  his  reputation  at  the  bar  suffered  no  eclipse.  He  was  elected  a 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  at  the  session  of  the  legislature,  in  the 
autumn  of  1829,  and  in  1S33,  upon  the  demise  of  Chief-Justice  Hen- 
derson, he  was  elevated  to  the  chief-justiceship.  Here  he  won  imper- 
ishable fame.  His  decisions  illumine  the  annals  of  jurisprudence. 
When  in  the  zenith  of  his  reputation  in  1852,  he  resigned  his  high 
position  and  retired,  as  he  supposed,  forever,  from  the  professional 
employments  he  had  so  long  and  with  so  much  renown  pursued.  But 
on  the  death  of  his  successor  anci  friend,  Chief-Justice  Nash,  in  De- 
cember, 1858,  he  was  called  by  the  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the 
general  assenibly,  then  in  session,  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  he  sat  again 
upon  the  supreme  court  bench  until  the  autumn  of  1859,  when  failing 
health  rendered  his  labors  irksome,  and  he  took  his  final  leave  of 
judicial  life. 

Judge  Ruffin's  decisions  form  within  themselves  a  complete  treat- 
ise on  the  principles  of  equit}',  then  a  branch  of  jurisprudence  which 
had  not  been  reduced  to  harmony  and  system.  As  a  chancellor  he 
has  had  no  superior,  either  in  England  or  America;  while  his  com- 
mon law  decisions  have  been  quoted  with  approbation  in  Westmin- 
ster Hall.  His  opinion  in  Hoke  vs.  Henderson  is  itself  a  monument 
to  his  fame,  that  will  endure  as  long  as  learning  and  clear  reasoning 
and  cogent  argument  are  appreciated  by  the  legal  profession.  Indeed 
it  may  be  claimed  for  this  eminent  jurist  not  only  that  he  has  had  no 
equal  in  North  Carolina,  but  no  superior  in  the  United  States.  His 
nature  was  ardfent,  and  his  manner  of  speech  earnest  and  often  vehe- 
ment in  tone  and  gesticulation.  Though  versed  in  belles  lettres.and  with 
tastes  to  relish  eloquent  declamation,  it  was  a  field  into  which  he  did 
not  often,  if  at  all,  adventure.  His  reliance  was  upon  logic,  not  upon 
rhetoric;  and  even  his  illustrations  were  drawn  from  things  practical 
rather  than  the  ideal.  Analyzing  and  thoroughly  comprehending  his 
cause,  he  held  it  up  plainly  to  the  view  of  others,  and  with  a  search- 
ing and  incisive  criticism  exposed  and  dissipated  the  weak  points  in 
that  of  his  adversary;  and  all  this,  in  a  vigorous,  terse  and  .manly 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  43 

English,  ever}-  word  of  which  told.  As  a  counselor,  his  opinions  were 
not  the  result  of  cramming  for  an  occasion,  or  a  fortunate  authority', 
but  the  well  considered  reflections  of  a  gifted  mind  imbued  with  law 
as  a  science,  and  he  explored  to  their  sources,  the  principles  involved 
in  the  subjects  examined,  and  made  them  his  own.  This  full  develop- 
ment of  his  forensic  character  does  not  appear  to  have  been  manifest 
until  after  his  return  to  the  bar  subsequent  to  his  first  service  on  the 
bench.  But  from  this  period  till  his  second  retirement,  in  1825,  he 
had  hardly  a  rival  in  the  bar  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  or  the 
circuit  court  of  the  United  States,  except  Archibald  Henderson  and 
William  Gaston,  and  he  had  command  of  the  practice  in  all  the  state 
courts  he  attended.  His  stjle  of  writing  was  elevated  and  worthy  of 
the  themes  he  discussed.  His  language  was  well  selected,  and  he 
exhibited  a  critical  acquaintance  with  English  philology.  A  marked 
characteristic^in  his  writings,  as  it  was  also  in  his  conversation,  was 
the  frequent,  dexterous,  and  strikingly  appropriate  use  he  made  of  the 
brief  words  of  our  language,  usually  of  Saxon  derivation.  Consider- 
ing how  thoroughly'  he  had  mastered  the  systems  prevailing  in  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States,  the  fullness  of  his  knowledge  in  kindred 
studies  and  the  facility  with  which  he  labored  and  wrote,  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  he  did  not  betake  himself  to  professional  authorship. 

There  are  other  aspects  of  Mr.  Ruffin's  character  than  that  of  a 
lawyer  and  judge.  At  an  early  period  he  became  the  proprietor  of 
an  estate  on  Dan  river,  in  Rockingham  county,  on  which  he  es- 
tablished a  plantation  at  once,  and  gave  personal  direction  to  its 
profitable  cultivation,  from  that  time  until  his  death.  Carrying 
his  family  to  Raleigh  for  a  sojourn  of  twelve  months  upon  as- 
suming the  presidency  of  the  State  bank,  as  has  already  been  stated, 
he  removed  thence  to  Haw  river,  in  Alamance  county,  in  1S30,  and 
there  under  his  own  eye  carried  on  the  operations  of  a  planter  with 
success  until  1S66,  when  the  results  of  the  war  deprived  him  of  labor- 
ers, and  he  sold  the  estate  and  removed  again  to  Hillsborough.  From 
early  life  he  appeared  to  have  conceived  a- fondness  for  agriculture, 
including  horticulture.  Here  on  his  plantation  for  thirty-five  years, 
in  the  recess  of  his  courts,  he  found  recreation  in  farm  pursuits  and 
rearing  of  domestic  animals.  He  was  one  of  the  most  progressive 
and  successful  farmers  of  the  state,  and  it  was  no  empty  compliment 
to  a  great  jurist  and  leading  citizen,  when  the  Agricultural  society  of 
North  Carolina,  in  1854,  elected  him  to  its  presidency  after  his  retire- 
ment from  the  bench,  and  in  this  jjosition  he  continued  for  six  years, 
when  declining  health  demanded  his  retirement.  In  that  capacity  he 
rendered  the  people  of  the  state  a  service  hardly  inferior  to  that  con- 
nected with  his  administration  of  justice.  His  home  on  Haw  river 
was  a  seat  of  culture  and  refinement,  and  of  bounteous  hospitality. 
There  purity  and  affection  were   united  with  elegance  and   learning. 

When  no  longer  the  chief-justice,  judge  Ruftin,  being  appointed 
a  magistrate,  presided  over  the  court  of  Alamance  county,  and  gave 
direction  to  the  local  concerns  of  his  neighliors,  managing  county 
matters  with  the  same  acumen  that  distinguished  his  administration 


44  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  the  affairs  of  the  State  bank.  As  grand  and  lofty  as  was  his  part  in 
life,  he  performed  these  simple  duties  of  magistrate  with  scrupulous 
exactness.  His  character  may  be  illustrated  by  a  saying  of  his  own: 
"  Next  to  the  sin  of  disobeying  a  commandment  of  the  bible,  it  is  a  sin 
to  violate  the  law  of  the  state."  In  the  winter  of  1860-1S61,  he  was 
appointed  by  the  state  one  of  the  peace  commission  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  the  anticipated  rupture  of  the  Union,  and  in  that  body  he 
urged  compromise,  concession  and  conciliation.  At  Washington,  D.  C, 
where  the  commission  met,  he  met  once  more  his  early  friend.  Gen. 
Winfield  Scott,  with  whom  he  was  a  fellow  student  of  law  at  Peters- 
burg, and  urged  upon  him  that  there  should  be  peace,  but  the  plead- 
ing of  this  illustrious  patriot  was  unheeded  by  the  victorious  partisans 
of  the  incoming  administration.  In  May  of  1861,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  secession  convention,  and  was  firm  and  ardent  in  his 
efforts  for  southern  independence.  Surviving  the  calamities  of  war, 
which  with  its  close  found  his  farm  desolate  in  consequence  of  an 
army  encampment,  and  its  system  of  labor  being  abolished,  he  felt 
unequal  to  the  enterprise  of  its  resuscitation  and  culture,  and  there- 
fore disposed  of  the  estate  and  again  took  up  his  abode  in  Hills- 
borough, as  already  stated,  and  on  the  15th  of  January,  1870,  after 
an  illness  of  but  four  days,  though  he  had  been  an  invalid  from  an 
affection  of  the  lungs  for  a  year  or  more,  he  breathed  his  last,  in 
the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age.  His  end  was  resigned  and  peace- 
ful, and  in  the  consolation  of  an  enlightened  and  humble  Christian 
faith.  For  more  than  forty  years  a  communicant  in  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  church,  he  was  one  of  its  most  active  members 
in  the  state,  and  more  than  once  represented  the  diocese  in  the 
triennial  conventions  of  the  union.  He  was,  too,  of  a  most  high 
appreciation  of  high  education,  and  was  until  superseded  by  the 
changes  made  in  1S6S,  the  oldest  trustee  of  the  university  of  the 
state,  and  always  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  active  members  of  the 
board. 

The  venerable  companion  of  his  life,  a  bride  when  not  yet  fifteen, 
a  wife  for  more  than  sixty  3'ears  survived  him  a  short  time  and  passed 
away.  She  bore  her  husband  several  daughters  and  sons.  Among 
the  daughters  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Paul  C.  Cameron;  among  the 
sons,  there  was  William  K.  Ruftin,  who  possessed  a  mind  of  great 
powers,  whose  native  capacity,  indeed,  was  of  the  highest  order,  and 
whose  acquirements  in  jurisprudence  were  considered,  by  those  who 
knew  him,  as  very  extraordinary.  Another  son,  Peter  Browne  Ruffin, 
has  long  been  treasurer  of  the  North  Carolina  Railroad  company, 
and  has  maintained  an  enviable  fame  as  a  business  man  and  a  gentle- 
man of  high  integrity  and  spotless  character.  Of  the  fourth  son, 
Thomas  Ruffin,  mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  these  pages.  Sterling 
Ruffin,  another  son,  is  a  respected  citizen  of  Hillsborough,  and  the 
youngest  son,  Dr.  John  Ruffin,  is  a  resident  of  Wilson,  N.  C.  In  every 
relation  of  life,  Chief-Justice  Ruffin  was  exemplary,  a  tender,  affec- 
tionate husband,  a  solicitous,  loving  father,  a  kind,  steadfast  friend, 
prudent  in  business,  of  unblemished  character  and  integrity,  and  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  45 

object  of  esteem  and  veneration  throughout  the  state,  and  his  exam- 
ple and  course  in  all  things  will  be  cherished  in  the  recollection  of  his 
friends,  and  may  well  be  commended  to  the  imitation  of  our  j-outh. 

GEORGE  E.  BADGER. 

George  Edmund  Badger  was  born  in  Newbern,  N.  C,  April  13, 
1795.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  consequentlj'  when  the 
son  was  fitted  for  college  he  naturall}'  sent  him  to  Yale.  From  this 
institution  young  Badger  graduated  in  181 5.  He  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  study  of  law,  his  preceptor  being  John  Stanly,  a  relative 
of  the  family.  He  had  but  just  arrived  at  the  legal  age  of  manhood 
when  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  and  was  only 
twenty-five  j'ears  of  age  when  he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  superior 
courts  of  law  and  equity  —  one  of  the  youngest,  if  not  the  j'oungest, 
judge  ever  called  to  sit  on  the  bench.  He  resigned  his  seat,  however, 
in  1S25,  and  opened  a  law  office  in  Raleigh,  where  he  pursued  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  with  signal  success.  He  was  a  whig  in  politics, 
and,  in  March,  1841,  was  appointed  by  President  Harrison  secretary 
of  the  navy,  under  the  then  whig  national  administration.  But  when 
Mr.  Tyler,  who  became  president  on  the  death  of  Gen.  Harrison, 
showed  his  enmity  to  the  United  States  bank  by  vetoing  the  bills  re- 
chartering  that  institution,  Mr.  Badger  resigned  his  position  in  the 
cabinet.  In  1846  he  was  elected  United  States  senator,  a  position 
which  he  held  until  1855.  He  was  nominated  as  one  of  the  justices 
of  the  United  -States  supreme  court  by  President  Fillmore,  but  the 
nomination  failed  to  be  confimed  by  the  senate.  At  the  close  of  his 
senatorial  term  he  retired  from  public  life  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  Mr.  Badger  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  passed  the  ordinance  of  secession  in  May,  186 1, 
and  signed  his  name  to  that  instrument.  He  was  opposed  to  the 
measure,  however,  in  the  beginning,  and  used  all  the  powers  of  his 
eloquence  in  favor  of  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  After  the  adop- 
tion of  the  ordinance,  he  was  known  as  a  member  of  the  conservative 
party.     He  died  of  paralysis  at  Raleigh,  May  11,  1866. 

In  the  United  States  senate,  Mr.  Badger  was  regarded  as  one  of 
its  most  able  and  eloquent  debaters.  He  was  quick  at  repartee  and 
pungent  and  forcible  in  argumentation.  His  powers  of  analysis  were 
remarkable,  and  no  man  on  the  floor  of  the  senate  could  more 
plainly  discriminate  between  the  true  and  fallacious  in  debate.  He 
he  had  a  fine  sense  of  humor,  and  howev(;r  dry  or  abtruse  might  be 
the  subject  under  discussion,  he  would  invest  it  with  an  interest  that 
at  once  arrested  the  attention  of  his  audience.  As  has  been  stated 
in  this  sketch,  Mr.  Badger  resigned  his  seat  in  President  Tyler's  cabi- 
net, in  consequence  of  the  action  of  that  functionary  in  vetoing  the 
bills  to  re-establish  the  United  States  bank.  This  was  one  of  the 
great  issues  involved  in  the  presidential  election  of  1S40,  and  most  of 
the  whig  statesmen  of  that  day  were  in  favor  of  a  national  bank.  Mr. 
Badger  was  strongly  committed  to  that  measure,  but  he  did  not  act 


t 


,6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


hastily  when  he  found  the  president  inimical  to  the  bank.  One  bill 
had  been  vetoed,  and  another,  supposed  to  avoid  all  of  Mr.  Tj'ler's 
constitutional  objections,  had  been  passed  and  shared  the  same  fate 
of  the  former.  Mr.  Badger  looked  upon  this  as  an  abandonment  on 
the  part  of  the  president  of  his  former  pledges,  and  he  believed  he 
could  no  longer  consistently  hold  a  seat  in  his  cabinet.  In  giving  his 
reasons  for  withdrawing  he  used  the  following  plain  and  forcible  lan- 
guage: 

"  It  was  onl}'  from  the  newspapers,  from  rumor,  from  hearsay,  that 
I  learned  he  (the  president)  had  denied  the  constitutionality  of  the 
proposed  institution,  and  had  made  the  most  solemn  asseverations 
that  he  would  never  approve  a  measure  which  I  knew  was  suggested 
by  himself,  and  which  had  been,  at  his  own  instance,  introduced  into 
congress.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  have  not  supposed, 
and  do  not  now  suppose,  that  a  difference,  merely  between  the  presi- 
dent and  his  cabinet,  either  as  to  the  constitutionality  or  the  expedi- 
ency of  a  bank,  necessarily  interposes  any  obstacles  to  a  full  and 
cordial  co-operation  between  them,  in  the  general  conduct  of  his 
administration;  and,  therefore,  deeply  as  I  regretted  the  veto  of  the 
first  bill  I  did  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  retire  on  that  account  from 
my  situation.  But  the  facts  attending  the  initiation  and  disapproval 
of  the  last  bill  made  a  case  totally  different  from  that  —  one,  it  is 
believed,  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  our  cabinets;  presenting, 
to  say  nothing  more,  a  measure  embraced  and  then  repudiated  — 
efforts  prompted,  and  then  disowned  —  services  rendered,  and  then 
treated  with  scorn  or  neglect.  Such  a  case  required,  in  my  judgment, 
upon  considerations  private  and  public,  that  the  official  relations  existing 
between  the  president  and  myself  should  be  immediately  dissolved.' 

But  Mr.  Badger  did  not  go  out  alone.  Mr.  Ewing,  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  and  Mr.  Bell,  secretary  of  war,  for  the  same  reasons, 
stated  in  equally  strong  language,  joined  the  secretary  of  the  navy  in 
retiring  from  the  cabinet.  Mr.  Webster,  secretary  of  state,  had  also 
designed  to  retire,  but  was  prevailed  upon  to  remain.  Yet  even  he 
remained  under  the  expressed  conviction  that  the  president  would 
finally  approve  of  the  measure,  for  he  declared,  "  notwithstanding 
what  has  passed,  I  have  confidence  that  the  president  will  co-operate 
with  the  legislature  in  overcoming  all  difficulties  in  the  attainment  of 
these  objects;  and  it  is  to  the  union  of  the  whig  party,  b}?  which  I 
mean  the  whole  party,  the  whig  president,  the  whig  congress  and  the 
whig  people,  that  I  look  for  a  realization  of  our  wishes."  But  in  thus 
remaining  in  the  cabinet,  it  is  certain  that  Mr.  Webster  was  not  looked 
upon  by  his  party  as  having  exercised  the  same  degree  of  consistency 
and  true  fealtj'  to  his  party  as  was  the  case  with  Mr.  Badger  and  the 
other  cabinet  officers  that  joined  him  in  retiring. 

RICHMOND  MUNFORD  PEARSON 

was  born  in  June,  1S05,  in  Rowan  county  the  fourth  son  of  Col. 
Richmond  Pearson.     His  grandfather,  Richmond  Pearson,  was  a  na- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  47 

tive  of  Dinvvlddie  count}-,  Va.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  and  a  man  of  marked  courage.  He  died  in  1819.  He  had 
been  a  successful  merchant,  but  had  failed  at  the  close  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary war,  owing  to  the  sudden  fall  in  prices.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch,  at  the  time  of  his  father's  failure,  was  a  child  of  seven 
years  of  age,  and  would  have  been  unable  to  receive  a  liberal  educa- 
tion but  for  the  kindness  of  his  elder  brother,  the  Hon.  Joseph  Pear- 
son, member  of  congress  from  North  Carolina  for  fifteen  successive 
years.  He  received  his  early  education  under  John  Mushat,  one  of 
the  most  successful  instructors  of  his  day,  and  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
spending  his  boyhood  at  Brentwood,  the  residence  of  his  elder 
brother.  He  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1815,  and 
graduated  thence  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class  in  1S23,  deliv- 
ering the  Latin  salutatory.  Among  his  classmates  were  Gov.  Will- 
iam A.  Graham,  Hon.  Robert  B.  Gilliam  and  Daniel  W.  Courts. 
Choosing  the  law  as  his  profession,  he  entered  the  ofifice  of  Judge 
Henderson,  and  having  completed  his  course,  received  his  license  in 
1S26.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Salisbury, 
N.  C,  and  his  rise  was  at  once  rapid  and  marked,  his  earlj-  career 
giving  evidence  of  the  great  abilities  b}'  which  he  was  afterward  so 
eminentl}'  distinguished.  In  1829  he  represented  his  native  county  in 
the  legislature,  and  served  three  terms,  and  in  1836  was  elected  a  judge 
of  the  superior  court,  and  in  1S49  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
supreme  bench. 

Upon  the  death  of  Chief-Justice  Nash,  in  185S,  he  was  chosen  chief 
justice.  During  his  term  as  chief  justice  he  took  a  very  bold  stand  in 
support  of  the  integrity  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  would  not 
CX)untcnance  the  idea  of  its  suspension,  in  spite  of  the  strong  pressure 
brought  to  bear,  and  by  his  independent  and  almost  defiant  attitude 
on  this  question,  rendered  himself  exceedingly  unpopular.  He  was  a 
candidate  for  the  constitutional  convention  in  1865,  but  was  defeated 
by  Mr.  Haynes.  He  was  appointed  provisional  chief  justice  by  the 
military  authority  in  1865,  and  when  the  civil  authority  was  restored 
was  again  elected  to  that  office  which  he  held  until  his  death,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1878.  Elected  a  judge  when  he  was  but  thirty  years  old  he 
presided  over  the  courts  of  North  Carolina  for  more  than  forty  years. 
It  is  said  on  good  authority  that  after  the  death  of  Chief-Justice  Chase, 
that  the  commission  of  Judge  Pearson,  as  chief  justice  of  the  United 
States  had  been  made  out  and  signed  by  President  Grant,  but  learn- 
ing that  Judge  Pearson  was  sixty-eight  years  of  age,  he  appointed 
Justice  Waite. 

Judge  Pearson  was  the  greatest  master  of  the  common  law  the 
state  has  ever  produced,  among  the  many  honored  names  which  have 
stood  in  the  front  rank  of  American  jurists.  He  had  a  wondrous 
grasp  of  intellect  and  unequaled  reasoning  powers,  added  to  a  phe- 
nomenal memory.  The  facility  with  which  he  seized  the  strong 
points  of  a  case  was  remarkable,  and  his  views  were  logical,  plain 
and  forceful.  He  was  a  modern  high  priest  of  Coke  upon  Littleton, 
'and  he  was  such  a  master  of  the  law  as  a  science,  that  his  opinions 


48  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

Stand  high  m  England,  where  his  decisions  have  been  many  times 
quoted  in  Westminster  Hall.  The  young  disciples  of  the  law  who 
made  Richmond  Hill  their  home  felt  to  him  as  a  father,  and  his  com- 
munion with  them  in  the  classic  shades  of  that  famous  retreat  was 
like  the  converse  of  Plato  to  the  aspiring  Grecian  youths  in  the  groves 
of  the  Lyceum.  -As  a  man  he  was  distinguished  for  his  honesty  of 
purpose,  unbending  integrity,  inflexible  idea  of  justice,  and  conscien- 
tious devotion  to  what  he  considered  to  be  his  duty.  While  to  the 
eyes  of  the  world  he  seemed  somewhat  cold  and  austere,  to  those 
who  knew  him  intimately  he  was  a  genial,  generous,  warm-hearted  man. 
He  was  twice  married:  first,  June  12,  1S32,  to  Margaret  M.  Williams, 
daughter  of  United  States  .Senator  John  Williams,  of  Tennessee,  and 
niece  of  Hugh  L.  White,  also  United  States  senator  from  Tennessee, 
and  whig  candidate  for  the  presidency  in  1836;  and  second,  in  1859,  to 
the  widow  of  Gen.  John  Gray  Bynum,  and  daughter  of  Charles 
McDowell,  of  Morganton,  N.  C. 

RICHMOND  PEARSON 

was  the  son  of  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  and  was  born  at  Richmond 
Hill,  the  family  seat,  in  Yadkin  county,  January  26,  1852.  The  most 
of  his  life  was  spent  amid  the  familiar  scenes  of  his  childhood  until 
he  entered  Princeton  college,  at  the  early  age  of  seventeen.  At  col- 
lege his  conduct  was  excellent  and  his  progress  most  rapid.  He  rap- 
idly developed  those  qualities  of  mental  acquisition  and  retention  so 
essential  to  broad  and  comprehensive  scholarship.  He  was  fond  of 
the  occult  sciences  and  a  devotee  to  classic  literature.  He  early  be- 
came familiar  with  all  the  choicest  productions  of  the  great  English 
masters  in  prose  and  verse.  He  was  one  of  those  few  men  whose 
boundless  reading  found  expression  in  a  full  and  polished  vocabulary. 
In  private  life  he  was  a  fascinating  conversationalist,  which  is  the  re 
suit  of  natural  fluency,  large  information  and  good  breeding.  He 
graduated  in  1872,  and  took  up  the  study  of  law  under  his  eminent 
father,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  a  couple  of  years  later.  He  was 
married  in  1882,  to  Miss  Gabrielle  Thomas,  of  Richmond,  Va.  Mr. 
Pearson  has  done  much  in  the  way  of  public  improvements  about 
Asheville,  where  he  has  made  his  home  since  his  marriage.  He  has 
represented  his  county  in  the  legislature  upon  two  occasions,  in  1875 
and  1877. 

THOMAS  C.  FULLER, 

of  Raleigh,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  court  of  private  land  claims, 
recently  established  by  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  is  a  native 
of  the  town  of  Fayetteville,  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
prepared  for  college  by  John  B.  Bobbitt,  of  Louisburg,  N.  C,  and  at 
an  early  age  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  In  1850  he 
returned  to  Fayetteville  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  and 
manufacturing.     But  his  talents  drew  him  to  the  bar  —  at  that  time 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  49 

the  favorite  road  to  fame  and  fortune  in  North  Carolina.     In  1S55  he 
became  a  student  under  Richmond  M.  Pearson,  chief-justice  of  North 
Carolina,  whose  law  school  was  so  justly  famous,  and  the  ne.\t  year 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Fayetteville,  quickly  attaining 
by  his  merits  a  lucrative  business.     Although  a  union  whig  in  princi- 
ple and  ardentl}-  devoted  to  the  Union,  when  the  war  came  on  Mr. 
Fuller  did  not  hesitate  to  take  up  arms  for  the  south.     In  April,  1861, 
he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  F,  First  regiment  of  North  Car- 
olina volunteers,  commanded  by  Col.  D.  H.  Hill,  known  as  the  Bethel 
regiment,  because  it  was  engaged  with  such  credit  to  itself  in  the  first 
battle  of  the  war,  at  Big  Bethel  in  \'irginia.     When  his  term  of  en- 
listment expired  Mr.  Fuller,  together  with  Col.  J.  B.  Star,  of  Fay- 
etteville,  organized  a  battery  of  light   artillery,  of  which  Col.  Star 
was  captain  and  Mr.  Fuller  was  first  lieutenant,  and  he  continued  in 
active  service  with  the  company  until   November,  1863,  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  congress  of  the  Confederate  States.     During  the  subse- 
quent period  of  the  war  he  remained  in  the  Confederate  congress, 
and  although  the   youngest   member  of  the  body  he  was  far  from 
being   the  least  influential  or  the  least  useful,  and   his  counsel  was 
freely  sought  by  men  of  greater  years.     At  the  close  of  the  war  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  the  law  at  Fayetteville,  and  at  the  first  election 
in  1865  he  was  chosen  by  the  Cape  Fear  district  to  the  congress  of 
the  United  States,  but  the  house  of  representatives  refused  to  admit 
the  state  to  representation.     At  the  succeeding  election  he  was  again 
a  candidate,  but  his  opponent  was  awarded  the  certificate  by  the  mili- 
tary officers  under  whose  supervision  the  election  was  held. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1S72,  Col.  Fuller,  as  a  district  presi- 
dential elector,  made  an  extensive  canvass  and  warmly  urged  the 
election  of  Horace  Greeley,  as  a  peace  offering  on  the  part  of  the 
south,  and  as  indicating  the  purpose  of  Confederate  soldiers  to  fully 
accept  the  results  of  the  war;  and  wherever  his  voice  was  heard,  the 
Greeley  ticket  received  an  excellent  vote.  Since  that  time,  Col.  Fuller, 
though  taking  an  active  part  in  politics,  has  never  been  a  candidate 
for  any  position  until  his  name  was  presented  to  President  Harrison 
in  connection  with  the  high  office  he  now  holds.  His  practice  in  the 
circuit  court  of  the  United  States  being  large,  he  determined  to  move 
to  Raleigh,  as  a  more  convenient  location,  and  in  March,  1873,  he  did 
so,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Hon.  A.  L.  Merrimon,  then 
United  States  senatorand  the  present  chief-justice  of  North  Carolina 
and  Capt.  S.  A.  Ashe,  under  the  name  of  Merrimon,  Fuller  &  Ashe. 
This  firm  was  at  once  recognized  as  one  of  the  strongest  at  the  bar 
within  the  limits  of  the  state,  and  its  extensive  business  gave  full 
scope  to  Col.  Fuller's  fine  abilities  and  claimed  his  exclusive  attention. 
The  partnership  continued  until  1879,  when  Capt.  Ashe  withdrew  to 
enter  the  fields  of  journalism.  Col.  Fuller  and  Judge  Merrimon. 
however,  remained  together,  and  eventually  the  latter  was  appointed 
to  the  supreme  court  bench,  and  the  former  associated  himself  with 
George  H.  Snow,  Esq.,  under  the  name  of  Fuller  &  Snow.  Congress 
having  passed  the  act  establishing  the  court  of  private  land  claims,  to 

B— 4 


50  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

pass  upon  titles  based  on  Mexican  grants  in  the  territory  acquired 
from  Mexico,  on  June  lo,  i8gi,  President  Harrison,  at  the  instance  of 
Senator  Ransom,  and  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  bar  of  North 
Carolina,  appointed  Col.  Fuller  a  justice  of  that  court,  and  on  June  13, 
Judge  Fuller  took  the  oath  of  office  in  the  circuit  court  of  the  United 
States,  before  Judge  Seymour.  Col.  Fuller's  grandfather  was  Bar- 
tholomew Fuller,  a  .Baptist  minister,  who  was  born  in  what  is  now 
Franklin  county,  N.  C,  in  1756,  and  after  a  life  of  devoted  ministerial 
labor,  died  in  1827.  His  father,  Thomas,  was  born  in  Franklin  county, 
in  1800,  and  in  1825,  married  Catherine  Raboteau,a  daughter  of  John 
Raboteau,  of  Huguenot  descent.  To  them  were  born,  Sarah,  wife  of 
R.  H.  Blount,  of  Durham;  Bartholomew  Fuller, who  died  in  1884,  and 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In  1856,  Col.  Fuller  married  Miss  Caro- 
line D.  Whitehead,  daughter  of  Williamson  Whitehead,  Esq.,  of  Fay- 
etteville;  of  their  children,  W.  W.  Fuller,  of  Durham;  Kate,  wife  of 
J.  F.  Hill,  Esq.;  Frank  L.  Fuller,  Mattie,  Janet  and  Jones  Fuller, 
survive. 

Col.  Fuller  is  a  gentleman  of  hne  address  and  distinguished  pres- 
ence, gifted  as  a  raconteur  and  to  a  rare  degree  master  of  the  art  of 
pleasing.  Social  by  nature,  considerate  of  others,  with  a  most  affec- 
tionate disposition  and  full  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  he  is  a 
general  favorite  and  warmly  admired  for  his  personal  qualities.  In- 
deed, in  him  seem  to  be  commingled  the  best  characteristics  of  his 
French  and  English  blood.  No  man  is  more  constant  in  his  friend- 
ships or  more  unselfish  in  his  devotion  to  his  friends.  He  warmly 
espouses  their  cause  and  is  ever  ready  to  make  any  personal  sacrifice 
in  their  behalf.  And  thus  it  is  that  the  names  of  his  friends  through- 
out the  state  is  legion,  and  among  them  are  men  of  all  parties,  colors 
and  creeds.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  with  truth  that  the  appointment 
of  no  other  person  to  the  high  office  President  Harrison  has  conferred 
upon  him  would  have  given  such  general  satisfaction  and  such  genu- 
ine pleasure  to  the  people  of  the  state  without  regard  to  race  or 
political  affiliations.  As  a  lawyer  Judge  Fuller  has  had  a  most  dis- 
tinguished career.  His  powers  as  an  advocate  are  superb.  He  can 
move  a  jury  to  pity  or  arouse  their  indignation,  or  awaken  anger,  and 
sway  them  largely  at  his  will.  Some  of  his  addresses  will  long  be 
remembered  because  of  their  invective  and  his  arraignment  of  false 
witnesses  or  interested  parties,  and  no  suitor  or  witness  whom  he  has 
once  excoriated  ever  willingly  submits  to  the  ordeal  a  second  time. 
In  his  practice,  it  has  been  a  peculiarity  with  him  to  take  no  notes  of 
the  proceedings.  No  matter  how  involved  the  case,  how  many  wit- 
nesses are  examined,  how  many  days  the  trial  is  protracted,  he  makes 
no  memoranda,  but  always  as  bland  as  a  May  morning  and  apparently 
unmoved  in  the  most  trying  crisis  of  the  case,  he  mentally  arranges 
his  proofs  and  considers  his  strong  points,  and  at  the  end  of  a  tedious 
trial  often  astonishes  both  court  and  jury  with  his  perfect  mastery  of 
every  point  in  the  case  and  of  ail  the  evidence  that  bears  upon  it.  It 
has  been  said  that  he  has  never  appeared  against  a  man  for  his 
life,  while  he  has  defended  hundreds  charged  with  capital  crimes, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5  I 

and  many  without  compensation,  and  almost  invariably  with  success. 
But  as  distinguished  as  Judge  Fuller  is  as  an  advocate,  he  takes  equal 
rank  in  the  profession  for  his  sound  learning  and  discriminating  judg- 
ment as  a  counselor.  He  was  a  diligent  student  of  the  common  law 
under  the  learned  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  one  of  the  greatest  com- 
mon law  lawyers  of  this  century,  either  in  America  or  Europe;  and 
but  few  practitioners  are  more  conversant  with  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  our  jurisprudence  than  Judge  Fuller.  Gifted  with  quick 
perceptions  and  possessing  a  logical  mind,  admirably  poised,  deeplj' 
imbued  with  the  philosophy  of  the  law,  and  skilled  in  the  application 
of  its  principles  to  the  facts  of  any  case,  he  is  admirably  qualified  for 
high  judicial  station  and  will  adorn  the  bench  to  which  he  has  been 
so  worthily  appointed. 

WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM, 

a  distinguished  United  States  senator,  was  born  in  Orange  county, 
N.  C,  in  1792.  He  entered  North  Carolina  university  and  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  1815.  He  studied  law  and  was  adrnitted  to 
the  bar  in  1817,  and  very  soon  made  his  mark  in  the  profession.  He 
was  chosen  to  the  North  Carolina  house  of  commons  the  next  year, 
and  had  only  been  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  two  years  before 
he  was  chosen  a  judge  of  the  superior  court.  In  the  political  divis- 
ion of  that  day,  Mr.  Mangum  was  a  whig,  and  in  1823  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  congress  by  the  whig  party  of  his  district.  He  served 
one  term  and  was  re-elected,  but  before  the  completion  of  his  second 
term  he  resigned  to  again  accept  a  place  on  the  bench  of  the  super- 
ior court.  In  1 83 1  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  taking 
his  seat  in  that  body  December  5,  1831.  Near  the  end  of  his  six 
years'  term  he  resigned  his  seat  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of 
the  North  Carolina  legislature,  the  politics  of  which  had  changed 
during  his  incumbency  in  the  senate.  He  was  offered  the  nomina- 
tion for  congress  in  1837,  but  declined. 

At  the  presidential  election  in  1836  the  vote  of  the  South  Carolina 
electors  was  cast  for  Mr.  Mangum  for  president.  When  the  whig 
party  was  again  in  the  ascendency  in  the  state,  and  Bedford  Brown 
had  resigned  his  seat  in  the  United  States  senate,  Mr.  Mangum  was 
chosen  to  succeed  him.  He  served  this  time  from  December  g,  1840, 
to  March  3,  1853,  and  both  in  the  senate  and  in  the  house  he  was  one 
of  the  foremost  leaders  of  the  whig  side.  On  the  death  of  President 
William  Flenry  Harrison,  and  the  accession  of  Mr.  Tyler  to  the  pres- 
idency, and  after  the  resignation  of  Samuel  L.  Southard,  Senator 
Mangum  was  elected  president  pro  tan.  of  the  senate,  serving  the 
remainder  of  Mr.  Southard's  term,  and  the  next  session  of  congress 
entire.  At  the  close  of  this  term  he  retired  from  public  life,  seeking, 
after  so  long  and  conspicuous  an  official  career,  the  quiet  of  his 
home  at  Red  .Mountain. 

Mr.  Mangum  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Miss  Cain,  of  Orange, 
and  they  had  an  only  son  who  lost  his  life  at  the  first  battle  of  Bull 


52  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Run,  July  21,  iS6i.  This  sad  event  is  said  to  have  hastened  the  death 
of  the  father,  who  was  already  the  victim  of  nervous  prostration. 
Senator  Mangum  died  at  his  home  September  14,  1861.  P'ew  public 
men  in  the  south  have  filled  so  long  and  so  brilliant  a  public  career. 

ROBERT  STRANGE,  JR., 

was  born  in  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  July  27,  1S23.  He  was  the  second 
son  of  Hon.  Robert  Strange,  once  a  judge  of  the  superior  court,  and 
subsequently  a  United  States  senator.  Robert,  Jr.,  graduated  from 
the  North  Carolina  university  in  1S40,  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  practice.  Shortly  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  removed  to 
Wilmington,  and  was  soon  called  to  take  a  prominent  position  in 
public  life.  In  1852  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature  to  rep- 
resent the  county  of  New  Hanover,  and  took  a  leading  and  influen- 
tial part  in  the  legislation  of  that  session.  He  was  afterward  chosen 
state  solicitor,  for  the  duties  of  which  office  he  developed  a  high 
capacity.  His  knowledge  of  law  was  profound,  and  to  a  naturally 
bright  intellect  he  had  added  the  culture  of  a  finished  education  and 
a  rigid  discipline  of  mind.  He  was  noted  for  the  accuracy  of  his 
knowledge  and  for  the  versatility  of  his  talents.  He  held  an  exalted 
position  in  the  estimation  of  his  professional  associates,  and,  whether 
upon  the  bench  or  at  the  bar,  his  opinions  carried  with  them  great 
weight.  He  was  a  safe  counselor,  at  once  inspiring  the  confidence 
of  his  clients,  and  as  an  advocate,  he  had  few  if  any  superiors.  In 
whatever  position  he  was  placed,  his  integrity  and  honesty  of  pur- 
pose were  never  questioned. 

In  the  walks  of  private  life,  Mr.  Strange  was  gentle  and  unosten- 
tatious; he  had  a  large  circle  of  friends,  of  which  he  was  the  admired 
center.  His  sense  of  honor  was  high  and  he  was  incapable  of  doing 
an  ungentlemanly  act,  or  of  harboring  an  unworthy  thought.  No 
man  could  be  more  loyal  to  his  friends,  and  as  for  enemies  he  had 
none.  His  moral  and  religious  instincts  were  of  an  exalted  kind. 
His  life  was  pure  and  Christian-like,  and  he  had  before  him,  the 
bright  and  flattering  prospect  of  a  most  distinguished  career.  But 
his  death  was  premature.  While  arguing  a  case  in  court,  apparently 
in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood,  his  eloquent  voice  was  hushed,  and  he  was 
suddenly  called  to  a  higher  tribunal  than  any  earthly  court.  He  died 
in  the  very  zenith  of  his  useful  life,  January  24,  1S77.  Mr.  Strange 
was  twice  married;  first,  to  Sarah  Caroline,  daughter  of  Thomas  H. 
Wright.  Of  this  marriage,  three  sons  were  born,  Thomas  Wright, 
Rev.  Robert,  and  Joseph  Huske  Strange.  His  second  wife  was  Bet- 
tie  Andrews,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters,  Caroline  Wright  and 
Jane  Hawkins  Strange. 

JAMES  EDWARD  SHEPHERD, 

an  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  was  born 
near  Suffolk,   in  Nansemond  county,  Va,,  on  the  26th  of  July,  1S47. 


JAMES    E.    SHEPHERD,   Jud^e    Supreme    Court. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  53 

His  parents  were  Thomas  and  Ann  Eliza  I  Browne)  Shepherd;  both 
being  of  \'irginian  birth,  and  English  lineage.  They  had  several 
children,  of  whom  the  following  reached  maturity:  William  S.,  de- 
ceased; Elizabeth,  deceased;  James  E.  and  Frances  S.  When  Judge 
Shepherd  was  only  two  years  of  age,  he  lost  his  mother  in  death,  and 
his  father's  death  followed  in  1859.  Soon  thereafter  he  came  to 
North  Carolina,  along  with  his  older  brother,  William  S.  Shepherd, 
settling  at  Murfreesboro,  where  he  continued  his  home  till  the  war 
came  on,  when  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate 
army,  but  being  too  young  for  other  service,  he  was  made  "  marker," 
and  as  such  continued  for  twelve  months,  when  he  was  detailed  mili- 
tary telegraph  operator,  in  which  capacity  he  did  both  field  and  sta- 
tion work  till  the  close  of  the  war.  His  position  was  no  sinecure,  and 
he  distinguished  himself  by  his  activity,  skill  and  devotion  to  duty. 
When  the  close  of  the  war  came,  he  began  life  again,  under  adverse 
and  discouraging  circumstances.  His  brother,  Lieut.  William  S. 
Shepherd,  of  the  First  North  Carolina  regiment  of  state  troops,  hav- 
ing fallen  at  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  while  leading  his  company,  a 
brother's  counsel  was  lost.  He  had,  before  the  war,  attended  the 
neighboring  high  school,  and  had  thus  secured  a  fair  education,  but 
having  lost  all  of  his  pecuniary  means  he  was  unable  to  enter  college, 
and  in  order  to  support  himself  and  at  the  same  time  prosecute  his 
studies,  he  took  charge  of  the  telegraph  office  at  Wilson,  N.  C,  dur- 
ing several  years  that  followed,  in  which  he  diligently  continued  his 
several  studies  and  finally  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  He  after- 
ward entered  the  State  university,  where  under  the  direction  of  Hon. 
William  H.  Battle,  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  he  was  prepared 
for  the  bar,  and  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  iS6q,  and  opening  an 
office  in  Wilson,  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at  that 
place,  but  in  1S71  he  moved  to  Washington,  N.  C,  and  formed  a  co- 
partnership with  Major  Thomas  Sparrow  in  the  practice  of  law. 

In  1872,  Judge  Shepherd  was  niost  happily  married  to  Elizabeth 
B.,  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Silvester  T.  Brown,  of  Washington,  N.  C. 
Two  sons  have  blessed  the  happy  union — James  E.  (deceased)  and 
Silvester  B.  Shepherd.  The  career  of  Judge  Shepherd  from  the  early 
practice  of  his  profession  was  a  series  of  steady  successes,  and  he 
soon  rose  to  high  rank  at  the  bar.  In  1S75,  he  was  elected  to  the 
constitutional  convention  of  the  state  by  a  large  majority,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  the  work  of  that  body,  being  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  judiciary,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  municipal 
corporations.  Though  he  was  the  youngest  member,  he  wielded  a 
strong  influence  in  the  convention.  The  legislature  had  authorized 
the  organization  of  inferior  courts  in  the  several  counties  of  the  state, 
and  he  was  elected  as  the  first  chairman  of  the  inferior  court  of 
Beaufort  county  in  1876.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  judicial 
career,  which  has  since  been  continuous,  and  l)y  successive  and  grad- 
ual stages  has  culminated  so  happily  to  the  state.  In  the  summer  of 
1882,  he  was  nominated  for  judge  of  the  superior  court  for  the  first 
di  strict,  and  Judge  Eure,  the  incumbent  resigning,  he  was  appointed 


54  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

by  Gov.  Jarvis  to  fill  the  unexpired  term,  and  rode  the  Asheville  cir- 
cuit. At  the  ensuing  election  in  November  he  was  elected  by  the 
people,  and  served  on  the  superior  court  bench  with  such  acceptabil- 
it}'  that  in  i8S8  he  was  nominated  to  one  of  the  new  places  recently 
created  on  the  supreme  court,  and  was  elected  an  associate  justice, 
taking  his  seat  January  i,  iSSq.  On  the  bench  Judge  Shepherd  has 
exhibited  not  onlj-  fine  legal  ability  and  sound,  discriminating  judg- 
ment, but  a  moderation  and  courtesy  that  have  rendered  him  ex- 
tremely popular.  He  has  taken  high  rank  among  the  jurists  of  the 
state,  and  his  opinions  have  received  much  commendation  among 
the  members  of  the  bar.  In  the  summer  vacation  of  the  court,  he 
lectures  to  the  students  in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  his  work  in  this  field  is  regarded  as  most  excel- 
lent. 

For  many  years  Judge  .Shepherd  was  chairman  of  the  democratic 
executive  committee  of  Beaufort  count}^  and  for  a  number  of  j^ears 
he  was  an  efficient  member  of  the  congressional  committee  of  his 
district.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  and  is  largely  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  charity,  and  he  is  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
faith,  and  leads  the  life  of  a  consistent  Christian.  Affable,  kind  and 
considerate  of  others,  he  is  noted  for  his  gentle  bearing,  while  his 
sincerity  and  singleness  of  purpose  have  gained  him  a  high  place  in 
public  estimation.  He  is  singularly  modest  in  manner,  and  is  unos- 
tentatious in  character.  His  success  in  life  has  been  phenomenal, 
and  due  to  his  superior  endowments  enforced  with  firm  will  and  worthy 
ambition.  The  mental  and  moral  fibre  of  his  nature  was  hardened 
and  invigorated  in  the  school  of  adversit3\  Early  in  life  he  was  left 
an  orphan  and  to  face  unaided  the  vicissitudes  of  j^outh,  but  having 
character,  persistence  and  courage  he  surmounted  such  obstacles  as 
fell  in  his  way  to  a  bright  and  successful  career.  The  profession  of 
law  was  the  dream  of  his  ambitious  youth,  and  he  is  entirely  free  of 
political  ambition.  In  his  chosen  profession  his  career  has  been  a 
marked  success,  and  his  elevation  to  the  supreme  court  bench  was  a 
fitting  rounding  of  a  career  distinguished  for  learning,  ability  and 
integritj-. 

WILLIAM  LAWRENCE  SAUNDERS 

was  born  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  July  30,  1835.  He  entered  the  North 
Carolina  universitj-,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1S54.  He  then  be- 
gan the  study  of  law,  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Battle,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1856.  When  the  Civil  war  began,  he  was  resid- 
ing at  Salisbury,  and,  in  April,  1861,  volunteered,  enlisting  in  the 
Rowan  rifle  guards,  under  Capt.  Frank  AIcNeely.  The  guards  were 
ordered  to  Fort  Johnston,  but  in  June  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Saunders 
was  chosen  lieutenant  of  the  Rowan  artillery,  then  stationed  near 
Weldon,  and  went  immediately  to  join  the  army  in  ^'^irginia.  He  was 
chosen  captain,  in  1S62,  of  a  company  of  infantry  which  had  been 
enlisted   in  Salisbury,  as  a  part  of  the  Fortj'-sixth  North  Carolina 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  55 

regiment,  and  afterward  joined  Walker's  brigade,  and,  later  on, 
Cook's  brigade.  Tlie  brigade  participated  in  many  of  tlie  hardest- 
fought  battles,  and  Capt.  Saunders  was  successively  raised  in  rank, 
first,  to  major  of  his  regiment,  then  to  lieutenant-colonel,  then  to 
colonel.  At  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  Col.  -Saunders  received  a 
wound  in  the  right  cheek,  and  again,  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
in  1S64,  he  received  a  shot  in  the  face,  which  passed  out  on  the  right 
of  the  back  of  the  neck,  being  a  very  narrow  escape  from  a  fatal  wound. 
In  1864  Col.  Saunders  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Florida 
Call  Cotton,  who  departed  this  life  in  1S65.  In  1S70,  and  again  in 
1872,  Col.  Saunders  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  state  senate,  in  which 
office  he  fully  demonstrated  his  fitness  for  the  discharge  of  its  duties. 
He  entered  the  journalistic  field  in  1872,  becoming  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  Wilmington  Joiinia/,  and  his  accession  to  that  post  was  the 
means  of  strengthening  the  democratic  party  in  a  very  marked  de- 
gree. In  November,  1876,  he  established  the  Observer,  at  Raleigh,  to 
which  city  he  had  removed,  but  within  a  few  years  the  cares  of  editor- 
ship began  to  tell  upon  his  constitution,  and  by  the  advice  of  his 
physician,  in  1879,  he  quit  the  arduous  duties  of  journalism.  Almost 
immediately  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  state,  by  Gov.  Jarvis,  the 
incumbent  of  that  office,  Maj.  Engelhard,  having  died,  and  Col.  Saun- 
ders continued  to  hold  the  office  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  iSqg, 
he  having  for  many  years  been  an  invalid.  But  in  spite  of  ill  health 
and  the  pressure  of  official  duties,  he  found  time  to  devote  to  author- 
ship, and  up  to  the  date  of  his  death  he  had  been  engaged  in  writing 
a  history  of  the  colonial  government  of  North  Carolina,  several  vol- 
umes of  which  he  had  completed.  Col.  Saunders  was  a  man  of  broad 
views  and  of  a  character  above  reproach.  His  position  as  a  state 
officer  and  as  an  editor  gave  him  a  very  wide  acquaintanceship 
throughout  the  state,  and  the  high  consideration  in  which  he  was  held 
by  his  fellow  citizens  was  co-e.xtensive  with  his  acquaintanceship. 
Both  in  public  and  private  life  he  established  an  enviable  reputation, 
and  his  memory  will  be  perpetuated  through  the  invaluable  historic 
work  he  has  left  behind,  for  the  writing  of  which  he  had  unusual 
facilities  and  was  endowed  with  mental  abilities  which  peculiarly 
fitted  him  for  such  a  task. 

RICHARD  HENRY  BATTLE, 

lawyer,  was  born  in  Louisburg,  N.  C,  December  3,  1835.  lie  was 
educated  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill,  from 
which  he  graduated  with  honors  in  1854.  After  his  gratluation,  he 
served  four  years  as  a  tutor  of  Greek  and  mathematics  in  the  uni- 
versity, and  then  in  December,  1858,  commenced  the  practice  of  law 
in  Wadesboro,  X.  C.  In  November,  185S,  Mr.  Battle  was  joined  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Anna  Ruffin  Ashe,  daughter  of  1  Ion.  Thomas  S. 
Ashe,  late  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  and  to 
them  were  born  ten  children,  si.x  of  whom  now  survive.  Their  names 
are  Lucy   P.,   Louis  J.,  Carolina    B.,  Edmund  S.,  Rosa   11.  and  Will- 


56  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

iam  K.  Battle.  Mrs.  Battle  died  in  1S83.  In  1861  Mr.  Battle  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  and  master  in  equity,  and  served  as  such  until  Febru- 
ary, 1S62,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Forty-third  regiment  of 
North  Carolina  troops,  as  first  lieutenant.  He  served  with  that  rank 
until  the  summer  of  the  same  year,  when  he  was  appointed  quarter- 
master of  the  regiment  and  served  as  such  until  September.  His 
health  then  failing,  he  resigned  his  commission  and  became  private 
secretary  of  United  States  Senator  Vance,  who  was  elected  governor 
of  North  Carolina  in  1862.  Mr.  Battle  returned  to  Raleigh  in  1S62, 
and  in  1S64  was  appointed  auditor  of  the  state.  He  was  re-elected 
to  that  office  by  the  legislature,  in  1865,  and  served  until  the  war  was 
ended.  While  in  the  army  he  was  in  the  seven  days'  fight  around 
Richmond.  When  peace  was  restored  he  began  again  the  practice  of 
law  at  Raleigh,  and  has  followed  up  his  practice  ever  since.  In  18S6 
he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Scales,  judge  of  the  superior  court,  which 
appointment  he  declined.  ,  He  was  a  candidate,  in  1S75,  fo''  delegate 
to  the  constitutional  convention,  to  represent  Wake  county,  but  was 
defeated  by  his  republican  opponent.  In  iSSo  he  was  a  candidate  for 
the  state  senate  from  Wake  count}',  and  reduced  the  republican  ma- 
jority, averaging  300,  to  sixty.  Mr.  Battle  has  been  several  times 
chosen  as  a  delegate  to  the  democratic  state  conventions,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  executive  committee  from  1870  to  1888,  and  served 
for  the  last  four  years  of  that  time  as  chairman  of  the  committee. 

DANIEL  G.  FOWLE 

first  saw  the  light  in  Washington,  N.  C,  March  3,  1831.  Until  his 
fourteenth  year  he  attended  the  Washington  academy,  but  at  that 
time  became  a  student  in  the  excellent  school  known  as  the  "  Oaks," 
taught  by  William  G.  Bingham.  He  was  graduated  from  Princeton 
college  in  the  class  of  1851,  and  after  a  six  months'  vacation,  entered 
the  law  school,  then  under  the  direction  of  Chief-Justice  R.  M.  Pear- 
son, at  Richmond  Hill,  N.  C.  After  two  years  he  completed  the 
course  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  superior  courts  Decem- 
ber 31,1853.  At  this  time  M  r.  Fowle  took  up  his  residence  at  Raleigh 
and  became  the  assistant  of  the  late  Col.  H.  C.  Jones,  who  was  then 
reporter  of  the  supreme  court.  May  9,  1854,  he  opened  a  law  office 
at  Raleigh.  The  first  year's  success  was  not  flattering,  his  receipts 
for  the  entire  year  being  but  $64.  From  that  time,  how-ever,  he  rap- 
idly rose  in  his  profession.  On  the  15th  of  April,  1856,  he  was  so  for- 
tunate as  to  form  a  marriage  alliance  with  Miss  Ellen  Brent  Pearson, 
the  second  daughter  of  the  late  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  of  the  North 
Carolina  supreme  court.  He  was  a  strong  Union  man,  and  opposed 
secession  so  long  as  it  seemed  wise,  after  which  he  volunteered  in  the 
cause  of  his  people,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Raleigh  rifles,  after- 
ward assigned  to  the  Fourteenth  regiment.  North  Carolina  troops. 
Before  the  expiration  of  a  week  he  was  made  a  lieutenant,  and  soon 
after  was  elected  major  and  ordered  to  report  to  Col.  William  John- 
son, at  Raleigh,  to  assist  in  organizing  the  commissary  department. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  57 

In  August,  1861,  he  obtained  leave  to  resign  for  the  purpose  of  or- 
ganizing a  regiment  for  active  service.  He  was  largely  instrumental 
in  raising  several  companies,  which,  with  others,  were  organized  as 
the  Thirty-first  regiment  state  troops,  and  Major  Fowle  was  elected 
lieutenant  colonel.  This  regiment  was  ordered  to  Fort  Hill  and 
Col.  Fowle  was  placed  in  command.  They  remained  there  until 
December,  1861,  when  the  regiment  was  sent  to  Roanoke  Island,  and 
while  it  was  on  its  way  there.  Col.  Fowle,  on  the  6th  of  February, 
1862,  was  ordered  to  Raleigh,  and  was  on  the  Sound  when  the  Fetleral 
fleet  made  its  appearance.  Col.  Fowle  made  his  escape  with  his  men 
and  returned  to  Roanoke  Island,  where  a  council  of  war  was  held, 
and  our  subject  was  deputized  by  Col.  Short,  commandant  of  the  post, 
to  conduct  the  negotiations  for  the  surrender  of  the  2,300  troops  on 
Roanoke  Island  to  the  q,ooo  P'ederal  force.  The  surrender  was  suc- 
cessfully carried  out,  and  a  few  days  later  they  were  paroled,  with 
the  understanding  that  they  were  not  to  assume  active  hostilities 
again  during  the  war. 

In  October,  1862,  Col.  Fowle  was  elected  to  the  state  legisla- 
ture from  Wake  county,  and  at  the  end  of  the  session  Gov.  Vance 
tendered  him  the  office  of  adjutant-general  with  the  rank  of  major- 
general,  which  he  accepted  and  held  until  the  fall  of  1863,  when  he 
resigned  and  again  became  a  candidate  for  the  legislature.  He  was 
easily  elected,  and  presided  over  the  last  hour  of  the  Confederate 
legislature,  acting  as  speaker  pro  tan.  While  a  member  of  that 
august  body  he  introduced  the  famous  habeas  corpus  resolutions,  tak- 
ing the  ground  that  the  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus  gave  no  right 
to  arrest  except  upon  warrant  issued  upon  an  affidavit.  This  point 
was  sustained  and  is  now  a  well  established  principle  of  law.  In 
August,  1866,  he  was  appointed  a  provisional  judge  by  Gov.  llolden, 
and  in  January,  1866,  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court  of 
North  Carolina  by  the  legislature,  serving  until  November,  1867, 
when  he  was  nominated  as  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion which  was  held  in  Raleigh  in  1S68.  He  was  defeated  for  that 
honor,  but  two  years  later,  or  a  little  more,  was  nominated  by  the 
democratic  party  for  the  state  senate  and  lowered  the  usual  repub- 
lican majority  by  1,000  votes,  although  he  was  not  successful  in  gain- 
ing the  election.  In  1876  Mr.  Fowle  was  elected  an  elector  at  large 
on  the  Tildf-n  and  Hendricks  ticket,  ami  in  1880  was  barelj-  defeated 
for  the  nomination  for  governor  of  the  state.  He  stumped  the  state 
for  the  national  democratic  ticket  in  that  year,  and  again  in  1884 
spoke  throughout  the  state  for  Cleveland.  In  1888  he  was  nominated 
for  governor,  and  in  the  ensuing  campaign  made  a  thorough  canvass 
of  the  state.  When  the  ballots  were  covmted  at  the  close  of  the  con- 
test Judge  Fowle  was  found  to  be  elected.  By  this  time  he  had  be- 
come very  popular  all  through  the  state,  having  stumped  it  twice, 
and  his  pui)lic  record  having  been  long,  honorable  and  above  re- 
proach. His  term  of  office  as  governor  does  not  expire  until  1892. 
His  whole  political  course  has  been  conservative,  yet  loyal  to  the 
principles  held  by  the  party  which  he  espoused  on  entering  man's  es- 


58  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tate.  He  has  never  been  a  mere  party  worker  as  such,  but  has 
striven  to  ennoble  and  strengthen  the  whole  people  of  his  native  com- 
monwealth. In  her  hour  of  adversity  he  remained  true,  and  when 
the  time  came  to  drop  the  old  and  take  up  with  new  methods,  at  a 
time  when  the  state  was  plunged  in  trouble  and  peril  by  reason  of  the 
unforeseen  perils  of  reconstruction,  this  man  was  found  above  the 
clouds  of  personal  care.  That  was  thrown  aside  and  the  people's 
cause  championed.  It  is  to  such  men  that  North  Carolina  owes  its 
prosperity  and  very  existence  to-day.  He  has  long  been  held  in  re- 
spect and  esteem  by  his  native  state,  where  he  is  regarded  as  a  man 
of  great  talent  and  culture.  He  brought  to  his  life  work  a  mind 
keenly  alive  to  the  needs  of  the  day.  Educated  in  one  of  the  most 
thorough  and  proudest  colleges  in  the  land,  he  was  eminently  fitted 
to  take  his  place  in  the  dangerous  scenes  that  followed. 

Col.  Fowle  has  made  many  notable  speeches  as  a  public  man,  and 
his  name  is  sufficient  to  draw  immense  audiences  from  the  people.  In 
1877  he  was  selected  to  deliver  the  annual  address  at  Wake  Forest 
college,  and  also  at  the  Universit}'  of  North  Carolina.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  requested  to  repeat  his  address  at  Davidson  college, 
which  he  did.  In  June,  1877,  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  Wake  Forest  college,  and  a  little  later  Davidson  college 
gave  him  the  same  degree.  In  i8go  he  was  honored  with  the  same 
degree  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  subsequently  his 
alma  mater,  proud  old  Princeton,  bestowed  that  laurel  on  her  honored 
son.  Gov.  Fowle's  first  wife  died  December  13,  1862,  leaving  two 
children,  viz.:  Margaret  P.,  wife  of  Philip  H.  Andrews,  and  Martha, 
wife  of  David  B.  Avera.  He  was  again  married  on  the  30th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1867,  Miss  Mary  E.  Haywood,  daughter  of  Dr.  Thadeus  Hay- 
wood, becoming  his  wife.  This  latter  union  has  resulted  in  the  birth 
of  four  children,  as  follows:  Helen  W.,  Mary  E.,  Daniel  G.,  Jr.,  and 
one  now  deceased.  Mrs.  Fowle  died  April  14,  1886.  Gov.  Fowle  is 
the  son  of  Samuel  Richardson  Fowle,  who  was  born  at  Woburn,  Mass., 
in  February,  1797.  In  1817  he  removed  to  North  Carolina  and  founded 
the  southern  branch  of  this  old  American  family.  He  was  a  mer- 
chant at  Washington,  N.  C,  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and 
died  there  January  12,  1S77.  He  married  Martha  B.  Marsh,  daughter 
of  Daniel  G.  Marsh,  and  to  them  ten  children  were  born,  of  whom 
seven  are  now  living,  Daniel  G.  being  the  fourth  child.  The  mother 
passed  away  in  1843.  William  Fowle,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
was  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  The  first  member  of  the  Fowle  fam- 
ily to  come  to  America  was  George,  who  was  born  in  1610.  He  came 
from  England  in  1633,  and  settled  in  Massachusetts. 

E.  G.  READE. 

Edwin  Goodwin  Reade,  LL.  D.,  was  born  at  Mt.  Tirzah,  Person 
county,  N.  C,  on  the  13th  day 'of  November,  181 2.  He  is  the  second 
of  three  sons  of  Robert  R.  Reade  and  Judith  A.  Reade,  ncc  Gooch. 
He   was   but   a   prattling   child  when   his    father   died,   leaving  but 


) 


Er^  'by  F  SKi^'":"'  "  " 


£    5  r^j^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  59 

a  meager  estate  for  the  support  of  his  widow  and  famil}'.  Hence 
in  early  life  young  Reade  found  it  necessary  to  aid  his  mother  in 
gaining  a  support  for  the  family  and  did  work  on  the  farm,  in  the 
carriage,  and  blacksmith  shop,  and  in  the  tanyard,  and  being  ambiti- 
ous, and  of  determined  mind,  and  desirous  of  obtaining  a  liberal 
education  and  of  leading  a  professinal  life,  he  started  out  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  to  secure  an  education  by  his  own  exertions.  His  mother 
was  well  educated  for  her  daj',  and  thereby  was  enabled  to  give  her 
sons  at  home  the  rudiments  of  education,  which  together  with  that  of 
the  country  schools  was  all  the  early  education  they  had.  Our  sub- 
ject's first  academical  training  was  at  the  academy  of  George  Mor- 
row, in  Orange  county,  where  he  made  rapid  progress.  Next,  he 
entered  the  academy  of  Alexander  Wilson,  D.  D.,  at  Spring  Grove, 
in  Granville  county,  as  an  assistant  teacher,  remaining  here  until  he 
was  prepared  for  college.  Instead  of  entering  college,  he  began  the 
study  of  law  at  the  home  of  his  mother  in  1833,  reading  the  law  books 
of  Benjamin  Sumner,  a  retired  lawyer,  who  was  kind  enough  to  loan 
them,  and  to  occasionaly  examine  him.  He  secured  license  to 
practice  in  1835,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  a  preliminary  event 
in  his  life  may  well  be  mentioned  here:  It  was  his  becoming  a 
candidate  for  the  legislature,  and  solely  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
acquaintance  with  the  public  and  practicing  public  speaking. 

At  the  June  term  of  court,  when  candidates  were  accustomed  to 
declare  themselves,  the  democrats  nominated  two  candidates  for  the 
commons  and  one  for  the  senate,  and  who  made  speeches  from  the 
court  bench;  and  when  they  had  finished,  Mr.  Reade,  who  had  com- 
municated his  intention  to  but  one  other  man  in  the  county,  went 
upon  the  court  bench  and  declared  himself  a  whig  candidate,  in  a 
well-prepared  and  well-delivered  speech,  arraigning  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Jackson — an  apparent  folly  and  error,  if  done  with 
a  serious  view  to  election,  for  in  the  previous  election  there  were  but 
eleven  anti-Jackson  votes  in  the  county.  This  very  much  surprised 
the  democrats,  who,  fearing  the  ability  of  young  Reade  as  a  speaker, 
withdrew  one  of  their  candidates,  neither  of  whom  was  gifted  in 
speech,  and  substituted  in  his  place  James  M.  Williamson,  who  was  a 
college  graduate,  and  a  law  student  at  Greensboro,  under  his  brother- 
in-law  Judge  Dick,  the  elder.  The  young  men  proved  themselves 
good  speakers  and  able  canvassers,  and  made  an  able  and  interesting 
canvass;  and  many  of  the  voters  asserted  that  they  would  vote  for 
both  of  the  "  boys  "  as  an  honor  to  their  country.  They  did  so,  and 
Reade  was  defeated  by  only  one  hundred  votes.  He  had  accomplished 
his  purpose,  in  becoming  well  and  favorably  known,  and  soon  he  took 
prominence  among  public  men  and  in  public  affairs.  In  1S55,  without 
his  knowledge  or  solicitation,  the  whig-.American  party  nominated 
him  for  congress  in  opposition  to  Hon.  John  Kerr,  the  then  incumbent, 
and  after  a  spirited  and  able  contest,  Mr.  Reade  was  elected,  receiving 
a  hanilsome  majority  in  his  own  county,  then  more  than  two  to  one 
clemocratic.  Congress  was  not  congenial  to  his  nature,  and  the  day  of 
the  expiration  of  his  term  he  issued  a  card  declining  to  enter  the  race 


6o  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

for  a  second  term.  For  awhile  he  continued  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  the  superior  court,  and  quit  to  accept  an  appointment  as  a 
magistrate,  and  as  chief  justice  of  the  county  court.  He  presided 
without  compensation  for  a  number  of  years,  with  great  acceptability, 
niuch  satisfaction,  and  great  benefit  to  the  county,  the  effect  of  which 
is  manifest  to  this  day.  In  1S63,  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior 
court,  and  served  to  the  close  of  the  war,  at  which  time  all  offices 
were  vacated,  but  being  appointed  to  the  superior  court  by  the  gov- 
ernor, served  till  1S66,  when,  by  the  legislature,  he  was  elected  to  the 
supreme  court,  which  now  was  composed  of  Chief- Justice  Richmond 
Pearson,  and  Associate-Justices  Battle  and  Reade. 

In  1868,  the  new  state  constitution  was  adopted,  and  the  election 
of  judges  to  the  supreme  court,  was  delegated  to  the  people.  Judge 
Reade  was  nominated  by  both  the  democratic  and  republican  parties, 
and  was  elected,  and  served  with  honor  and  distinction  on  the  su- 
preme bench  till  1878,  when  his  term  expired.  Judge  Reade  had  ac- 
cumulated an  ordinary  fortune,  and  had  invested  all  of  it  in  the 
Raleigh  National  bank,  and  at  the  close  of  his  term  on  the  supreme 
bench,  in  1878,  he  was  elected  president  of  this  bank,  whose  stock  at 
this  time  was  worth  about  75  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  of  course  the 
bank  was  not  in  the  best  of  condition.  By  Judge  Reade's  assiduity 
and  acquirements,  and  financial  management,  the  bank  prospered, 
and  the  stock  was  soon  restored  to  par,  and  when  its  charter  e.xpired, 
its  stock  was  at  a  premium.  The  bank  was  re-chartered,  under  the 
name  of  the  National  bank  of  Raleigh,  and  Judge  Reade  elected  its 
president,  which  position  he  has  since  held,  marking  his  course  as  a 
financier,  a  success.  After  leaving  congress,  Judge  Reade  took  but 
little  part  in  politics.  He  was  of  the  old  line  whig  school;  and  when 
the  question  of  secession  was  proposed,  at  the  approach  of  the  Civil 
war,  he  opposed  the  measure.  He  was  elected  to  the  first  state  con- 
vention, which  was  to  pass  upon  the  measure,  but  which  was  voted 
down  before  the  time  for  the  convention  to  convene.  When  the 
second  state  covention  was  called,  and  secession  seemed  inevitable, 
he  refused  to  become  a  candidate.  He  accepted,  however,  the  or- 
dinance of  secession,  and  did  his  duty  to  the  state.  Before  he  took 
his  seat  on  the  superior  court  bench,  to  which  he  had  been  elected 
in  1863,  as  observed  above,  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Vance,  a  sen- 
ator in  the  Confederate  congress,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  Hon.  George  Davis,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
he  took  his  seat  on  the  superior  court  bench. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  almost  unanimously  elected  a  dele- 
gate to  the  state  convention  called  to  form  a  new  constitution  and  to 
return  to  the  Union.  In  the  election  there  were  but  fifteen  votes 
against  him,  and  without  the  least  expectation,  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  convention.  He  was  elected  by  acclamation,  after  an  in- 
formal ballot,  without  nomination,  had  been  cast,  and  several  mem- 
bers voted  for,  and  Mr.  Reade  having  the  largest  vote,  was  then 
elected  by  acclamation.  On  taking  his  seat  he  delivered  an  address, 
that  received  high  compliment,  both  north  and  south  and  in  congress. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  6l 

as  manifesting  the  prevailing  patriotic  sentiment.  During  and  since 
his  services  on  the  bench,  he  has  taken  no  part  in  poHtics,  not  even 
voting,  and  although  twice  nominated  for  congress,  he  declined  the 
honor.  On  the  incoming  of  President  Lincoln's  administration,  Hon. 
John  A.  Gilmer,  then  in  congress  from  North  Carolina,  wrote  to  Mr. 
Reade,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Seward,  to  know  whether  he  would 
accept  a  seat  in  President  Lincoln's  cabinet.  Mr.  Reade  answered 
that  he  would  not  accept  a  seat  in  anj-  cabinet,  but  he  stronglj-  urged 
Mr.  Gilmer  to  accept.  As  a  speaker,  Judge  Reade  is  clear,  logical 
and  pursuasive,  and  though  without  any  special  gifts  of  oratory,  he 
speaks  with  such  logic  and  simplicit}',  as  give  eloquence  and  fervor 
to  his  speech,  which  convinces  and  converts.  It  is  said  of  him,  when 
in  the  prime  of  his  life,  he  never  had  his  superior  in  the  history  of  the 
state  as  an  advocate  before  a  jurj'.  He  was  a  diligent  and  faithful 
judge,  of  clear  opinion  and  of  cogent  argument,  and  alwaj's  having 
the  courage  of  his  convictions.  In  some  of  the  most  important  and 
troublesome  questions  that  have  ever  come  before  the  supreme  court, 
Judge  Reade  has  written  the  opinion  always  in  singularly  clear  Eng- 
lish. He  sat  on  the  supreme  bench  at  a  time  when  political  warfare 
in  the  north  was  bitter  and  unscrupulous,  and  he  left  the  bench  with 
the  highest  regard  and  esteem  of  both  the  bar  and  the  people.  He 
is  a  man  of  universal  knowledge,  and  of  a  naturally  strong  legal  mind. 
In  1865,  the  University  of  North  Carolina  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  LL.  D. 

As  a  writer.  Judge  Reade  has  attained  distinction.  In  1855  he 
wrote  "  Pickle  Rod  Letters,"  in  favor  of  temi)erance.  He  wrote  a 
"Vindication  of  the  Legal  Profession,"  against  the  assault  of  the 
Rev.  William  Hooper,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  and  has  delivered  several  ad- 
dresses of  consequence  and  merit.  He  delivered  the  address  before 
the  bar  association  of  North  Carolina,  at  Asheville,  in  1884,  and  be- 
fore the  same  at  Raleigh,  at  the  close  of  his  term  as  president  of  the 
association  in  1886,  and  several  of  his  more  important  addresses  have 
been  published  in  pamphlet  and  are  models  of  their  kind.  He  has 
been  twice  happily  married.  His  first  wife  was  Emily  A.  L.  Moore, 
of  the  family  of  Gen.  Moore,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  and  of  the 
family  of  Bishop  Moore,  of  the  Episcopal  church.  .She  died  early  in 
1871,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Parmele,  widow  of  Benjamin  J.  Parmele.  Judge  Reade  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  he  joined  in  earl}'  life, 
and  of  which  he  has  been  an  active  member  ever  since,  and  a  ruling 
elder  for  more  than  thirty  j^ears.  His  character  and  disposition  have 
been  that  of  a  man  of  simple  faith  and  strict  probity.  He  is  plain, 
and  unostentatious,  conscientious  and  straightforward,  and  few  lives 
are  more  radiant  with  good  deeds  than  is  his.  1  le  has  done  much  to 
aid  the  distressed  and  his  charities  have  been  many,  but  in  a  quiet 
and  unpretending  manner.  By  reason  of  his  own  efforts  and  force 
of  energy  and  predominating  will-power,  he  has  arisen  from  an 
humble  station  in  life  to  one  of  distinction,  eminence  and  wealth,  and 
his  course  may  challenge  inquiry  and  would  doubtless  repay  it.    Such 


62  KORTH  CAROLINA. 

is  a  brief  outline  of  the  life  of  one  whose  i 

time  will  appear  among  the  most  honored  and  revered. 


is  a  brief  outline  of  the  life  of  one  whose  name  in  the  history  of  his 


JOHN  W.  HINSDALE, 

son  of  Samuel  Johnston  Hinsdale,  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  was  born 
February  4,  1843.  He  was  educated  in  Fayetteville.  Later  on  he 
entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  won  first  distinc- 
tion in  his  classes.  After  three  years'  study  at  Chapel  Hill,  he  joined 
the  Confederate  army  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  serving  on  the  staff  of 
his  uncle,  Lt.-Gen.  T.  H.  Holmes.  When  Gen  Pettigrew  was  pro- 
moted and  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  brigade,  young  Hinsdale 
became  his  adjutant-general,  and  as  such  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Seven  Pines.  Afterward  he  served  as  Gen.  Pender's  adjutant-gen- 
eral, in  the  seven  days'  fight  around  Richmond.  When  Gen.  Holmes 
was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  department 
he  was  accompanied  by  young  Hinsdale,  as  one  of  his  adjutant-gen- 
erals. During  the  last  years  of  the  war  he  was  colonel  of  the  Seven- 
ty-second North  Carolina  regiment,  otherwise  known  as  the  Third 
regiment  of  junior  reserves,  which  he  commanded  in  the  battles  of 
Kinston  and  Bentonsville,  N.  C,  and  surrendered  with  Gen.  J.  E. 
Johnston's  army,  at  High  Point,  N.  C.  He  was.  perhaps,  the  30ung- 
est  colonel  commanding  a  regiment  in  the  service.  After  the  war  he 
entered  the  Columbia  college  law  school,  in  New  York,  diligently 
acquired  a  fundamental  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  the  science,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  that  state  in  1866.  He  was  in  the  same 
year  admitted  to  the  practice  in  North  Carolina,  and  later  in  the  United 
States  supreme  court,  where  he  has  sucessfully  conducted  a  goodly 
number  of  important  cases.  The  colonel  first  began  practice  in  Fay- 
etteville, but  about  1S75  removed  to  Raleigh,  from  which  center  his 
clientage  was  greatly  increased,  and  in  North  Carolina,  without  in- 
vidious comparisons,  we  may  well  say  that  he  stands  easily  first  as 
one  of  the  ablest  attorneys  and  most  learned  counselors  of  our 
state.  Of  late  years  he  has  become  an  authority  and  given  his  atten- 
tion more  particularly  to  railroad,  insurance  and  corporation  cases. 
He  hasbeenfor  many  years  attorney  for  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  railroad 
company,  and  for  a  number  of  insurance  companies.  In  1S78  he  pub- 
lished an  annotated  edition  of  Winston's  North  Carolina  reports, 
thus  adding  to  his  reputation  of  a  sound  and  discriminating  lawyer. 
Col.  Hinsdale  may  be  said  to  be  a  thorough  progressive  man.  In 
his  extensive  law  library  of  4,000  volumes  are  to  be  found,  the  best 
and  latest  publications,  and  his  office  is  thoroughly  equipped  in  everj- 
respect  for  speedy  and  accurate  work.  Although  an  indefatigable 
worker,  the  colonel  enjoys  society,  and  is  never  happier  than  when 
surrounded  by  his  friends  at  his  hospitable  board.  An  ardent  demo- 
crat, he  has  never  sought  political  preferment,  but  confining  his  ener- 
gies closely  to  his  profession,  he  has  attained  an  honorable  and 
enviable   position  throughout   the   state.     He    is   a   member  of  the 


J^rr 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  63 

Episcopal  church,  and  married  in   1S69,  a  daughter  of  Major  John 
Devereux,  and  a  granddaughter  of   the  Hon.  T.  P.  Devereux. 

HON.  WILLIAM  HORN  BATTLE 

was  born  in  Edgecombe  countjr,  N.  C,  October  17,  1S02;  died  at 
Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.,  March  14,  1879.  He  was  the  eldest  of  six  sons  of 
Joel  Battle,  one  of  the  earliest  cotton  manufacturers  of  the  state.  He 
was  descended  on  both  sides  from  ancestors  who  took  an  active  and 
honorable  part  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  Mr. 
Battle  entered  North  Carolina  university,  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  at  the 
end  of  two  years,  graduated  with  honor,  being  appointed  to  deliver 
the  validictory  oration.  On  leaving  the  university,  he  began  the, 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Chief-Justice  Hcnduren,  one  of  the  pro- 
foundest  and  most  distinguished  jurists  in  North  Carolina.  Here  he 
read  law  for  more  than  three  3'ears,  and  so  proficient  did  he  become 
that  he  was  awarded  license  to  practice  in  all  the  state  courts  without 
an  examination,  a  singular  departure  from  a  long  established  rule. 
On  the  1st  of  June,  1825,  Mr.  Battle  was  joined  in  marriage  with  .Miss 
Lucy  M.  Plummer,  daughter  of  Kemp  Plummer,  a  distinguished  law- 
yer. She  was  an  estimable  and  highly  cultivated  lad}'  and  moved  in 
the  best  society  circles.  In  Januarj',  1827,  Mr.  Battle  settled  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Louisburg,  but  the  first  3'ears  of  his  pro- 
fessional career  were  not  the  most  promising,  and  he  delighted  to 
attribute  his  subsequent  success  to  the  charming  qualities  of  his  wife. 
He  was  elected  to  the  North  Carolina  house  of  commons,  as  the  rep- 
resentati\e  of  Franklin  county,  in  1833-4.  In  the  latter  year  he  was 
associated  with  Thomas  P.  Devereux,  as  supreme  court  reporter,  and 
reported  the  decisions  of  that  court  from  December,  1834,  to  Decem- 
ber, 1839,  inclusive.  In  1S35,  he  assisted  Gov.  Iredell  and  Judge 
Nash  in  preparing  the  revised  statutes  of  the  state,  and  to  him  alone 
was  entrusted  the  work  of  superintending  the  printing  of  the  volume 
in  Boston.  It  was  a  work  that  reffected  great  credit  upon  all  parties 
concerned  in  its  production. 

Mr.  Battle  removed  to  Raleigh  in  1839,  and,  the  same  year,  was 
chosen  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  which  nominated 
William  Henry  Harrison  to  the  presidency.  He  was  a  whig  in  pol- 
itics, but  was  not  a  partisan,  and  when  elevated  to  the  judiciary,  he 
abandoned  politics  altogether.  When  Judge  Toomer  withdrew  from 
the  superior  court  bench,  in  August,  1840,  Mr.  Battle  was  appointed 
in  his  place  by  Gov.  Dudley,  and  in  the  following  winter  he  was 
elected  by  the  legislature  one  of  the  judges  of  the  superior  court.  In 
1843  he  removed  to  Chapel  Hill  to  superintend  the  collegiate  educa- 
tion of  his  sons,  and  in  1845  was  elected  by  the  trustees  of  the  uni- 
versity to  the  professorship  of  law  in  that  institution.  He  held  this 
position  until  1868,  when  he  returned  to  Raleigh  and  associated  him- 
self with  his  sons,  Kemp  P.,  and  R.  II.  Battle,  Jr.,  in  the  practice  of 
law.  On  the  death  of  Judge  Daniel,  in  May,  1848,  Gov.  Graham  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Battle  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state,  but  the 


64  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

legislature  failed  to  confirm  the  appointment,  although  the  same 
body,  a  few  days  later,  without  opposition,  elected  him  a  superior 
court  judge  to  fill  the  vacancy  created  by  the  resignation  of  Hon. 
Augustus  Moore.  The  reasons  for  this  seeming  inconsistency  in  the 
action  of  the  legislature  were  given  in  a  letter  to  him,  requesting  his 
acceptance,  in  which  all  the  members  joined,  and  in  which  they  said: 
"  The  preference  of  another  to  you  for  a  still  higher  judicial  station 
was  owing  principally  to  your  residing  in  a  county  where  there  are 
already  three  judges,  a  governor  and  a  senator  in  congress."  This 
and  other  considerations  induced  him  to  accept  the  position,  but 
three  years  later,  in  1852,  he  was  called  to  the  supreme  bench,  and 
continued  to  preside  in  that  court  as  one  of  the  associate  justices 
until  the  inauguration  of  the  re-constructed  state  government  in  186S. 
In  1872-73,  Judge  Battle  was  again  appointed  as  sole  reviser  of 
the  statutes  of  North  Carolina  —  a  task  involving  too  great  labor  and 
responsiblity  to  impose  upon  a  single  individual.  But  his  singular 
qualification  for  such  a  work  was  amply  illustrated  in  "  Battle's  Re- 
visal,"  which,  though  unjustly  criticised  in  some  quarters,  would,  with 
proper  assistance  have  received  the  commendation  which  was  be- 
stowed upon  the  revised  statutes  and  revised  code  by  the  bar.  Dur- 
ing the  last  3'ear  of  Judge  Battle's  residence  in  Raleigh,  he  was  pres- 
ident of  the  Raleigh  National  bank.  In  the  spring  of  1874  he  lost 
his  wife,  a  blow  which  caused  infinite  grief,  but  he  was  cared  for  by 
his  eldest  son,  Kemp,  with  whom  he  afterward  removed  to  Chapel 
Hill,  where  he  magnanimously  took  up  the  work  of  restoring  the  uni- 
versity to  its  former  excellent  standing.  Judge  Battle  was  the  father 
of  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  reached  their  majority  —  six  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Two  sons,  Junius  and  W.  Lewis,  lost  their  lives  on 
the  battle  field,  and  but  three  sons  now  survive,  Kemp,  William  and 
Richard.  During  Judge  Battle's  career  as  court  reporter,  his  name 
appears  during  forty-two  years,  in  fifty-six  volumes  of  reports,  and  his 
opinions  as  a  justice  of  the  supreme  bench  are  recorded  in  twenty- 
one  volumes  of  the  supreme  court  reports  —  a  proud  memorial  of 
his  rare  qualities  as  a  lawyer  and  jurist. 

THEODORE    F.   DAVIDSON. 

Among  the  first  of  that  hardy  race  of  Scotch-Irish,  coming  from 
Pennsylvania  to  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  whose  descendants  have 
contributed  so  greatly  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  state  were  the  parents 
of  William  Davidson,  who  came  with  his  parents  from  Pennsylvania, 
his  native  state,  to  North  Carolina  as  early  as  1748.  During  the  Rev- 
olution William  Davidson  was  zealous  and  active  in  the  cause  of  in- 
dependence, and  was  a  major  of  militia,  rendering  efficient  service 
during  the  protracted  struggle  for  the  independence  of  the  colonies. 
He  was  a  whig,  and  being  in  the  prime  of  life,  of  substantial  prop- 
erty, high  standing  and  influence,  he  played  a  prominent  part  during 
the  Revolutionary  period.  He  represented  Rutherford  county  in  the 
general  assembly  of  1791,  and  was  active  in  promoting  the  passage  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  65 

the  law  creating  the  county  of  Buncombe  at  that  session.  Me  resided 
in  that  part  of  Rutherford  which  was  incorporated  in  the  new  county, 
and  the  latter  was,  in  pursuance  of  its  organic  act,  organized  at  his 
house  in  1792.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  first  court  for  Bun- 
combe county,  and  for  several  years  thereafter  represented  that 
county  in  the  senate.  He  died  in  the  year  iSoo.  One  of  his  sons, 
William  Mitchell  Davidson,  was  born  in  the  year  1773,  in  the  terri- 
tory then  embraced  in  Burke,  but  now  in  McDowell  county.  He 
married  Elizabeth  \'ance,  a  daughter  of  Capt.  David  Vance,  of  the 
Continental  troops  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  who  rendered  brilliant 
service  at  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Monmouth,  Ramsuer's  Mills, 
Kings  Mountain,  Cowpens,  and  many  other  minor  engagements. 
After  the  Revolutionary  war  Capt.  Vance  removed  to  Buncombe 
county,  and  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  court  of  that  county,  holdingthe 
office  till  his  death,  which  occurred  several  years  after  going  into  the 
office.  Among  his  descendants  are  United  States  senator  Z.  B.  Vance 
and  Gen.  R.  B.  Vance.  Unto  the  marriage  of  William  Mitchell  Da- 
vidson and  Elizabeth  V^ance  were  born  nine  children,  Allen  T.  David- 
son being  among  them.  The  father  settled  on  Jonathan's  creek  in 
Haywood  county,  and  here  reared  his  family;  and  here  he  became  a 
large  and  successful  farmer  and  stock  raiser.  He  died  in  1843,  but 
his  wife  survived  him  several  years,  dying  in  1861. 

Allen  T.  Davidson,  above  mentioned,  was  born  in  Haywood 
county,  N.  C,  May  9,  18 19.  He  received  his  education  at  the  com- 
mon schools  in  his  native  county,  and  at  the  Waynesville  academy; 
afterward  studied  law,  and  practiced  in  the  western  counties.  I'or 
many  years  he  was  president  of  the  Miners  &  Planters'  bank,  at 
Murphy,  N.  C,  and  was  otherwise  largely  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  western  North  Carolina.  He  was  director  in  various  rail- 
road companies,  and  filled  with  credit  to  himself,  many  responsible 
places  of  trust.  He  was  solicitor  of  Cherokee  county,  and  during  the 
time  of  the  Confederacy,  he  represented  his  district  in  the  Confeder- 
ate congress.  He  was  married  in  1842,  to  Adeline  Ilovyell,  and  to 
them  were  born  eight  children,  of  whom  six  survive,  viz:  Theodore  1'. 
Davidson;  Wilbur  S.  Davidson,  of  Beaumont,  Tex.;  Ella  H.,  wife  of 
T.  S.  Morrison,  of  Asheville,  N.  C;  Robert  V.  Davidson,  of  Galves- 
ton, Tex.;  Betty,  widow  of  William  S.  Childs;  and  Addie,  wife  of 
W.  B.  Williamson,  of  Asheville,  N.  C. 

Theodore  F.  Davidson,  who  is  now  the  distinguished  attorney- 
general  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Haywood  county,  N.  C., 
March  30,  1845.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  Asheville,  by  Col. 
Stephen  Lee,  a  cousin  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  ancl  had  been  ap- 
pointed a  naval  cadet,  at  Annapolis,  when  the  breaking  out  of  hos- 
tilities between  the  sections  of  the  LInion,  changed  the  course  of  his 
life.  Responding  with  alacrity  to  the  call  of  his  state,  he,  on  April  16, 
1861,  being  just  sixteen  years  of  age,  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Bun- 
combe rifles,  W.  W.  Mc  I^owell,  captain,  that  being  the  first  company 
organized  in  the  state,  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  This  comi^any  was 
assigned  to  the  First  North  Carolina  regiment,  and  was  disbanded  at 
«— 5 


66  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  end  of  six  months,  its  term  of  enUstment.  However,  young 
Davidson,  at  once  enlisted  in  Company  C,  of  the  Thirty-ninth  regi- 
ment, Col.  David  Coleman,  commanding  the  regiment,  serving  with 
the  western  army.  He  was  made  sergeant-major,  and  held  that  posi- 
tion till  after  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  when  he  was  commissioned 
as  aide  to  Gen.  Robert  B.  Vance,  who  was  assigned  the  command  of 
the  military  district  of  western  North  Carolina.  Subsequently  he 
served  as  assistant  adjutant-general,  on  the  staff  of  his  brigade,  suc- 
cessively commanded  by  Col.  John  B.  Palmer  and  Gen.  James  G. 
Martin,  which  post  he  held  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  participa- 
ted with  gallantry  and  heroism,  in  the  campaigns  of  Chickamauga, 
Cumberland  Gap,  Kentucky,  and  East  Tennessee.  A  portion  of  the 
brigade  to  which  he  belonged,  about  May  i,  1S65,  fired  the  last  hos- 
tile guns  in  the  great  drama  of  the  war,  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

As  soon  as  peace  was  restored,  young  Davidson  resumed  his  stud- 
ies, under  the  direction  of  his  old  preceptor.  Col.  Lee,  and  toward 
the  close  of  the  year  1865,  he  began  the  study  of  the  law  under  Judge 
J.  L.  Bailey,  at  Asheville,  and  two  years  later  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
In  1868  he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father,  in  the  practice  of 
the  law,  and,  on  the  dissolution  of  that  partnership,  upon  the  retire- 
ment of  his  father,  in  1SS2,  he  became  a  partner  of  Col.  James  G. 
Martin,  of  Asheville.  In  1867,  Mr.  D^.vidson  was  elected  solicitor  for 
Claj'  county,  and  he  retained  that  office  until  it  was  abolished  by  the 
constitution  in  1868.  He  opposed  the  adoption  of  that  constitution 
with  all  his  powers,  and  early  took  an  active  part  in  the  political  con- 
tests of  that  time.  In  1872,  his  talents  for  organization  and  his  zeal, 
led  to  his  selection  for  the  arduous  post  of  chairman  of  the  demo- 
cratic executive  committee  for  Buncombe  county,  the  exacting  duties 
of  which  position  he  acceptably  discharged  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  also  chairman  of  the  democratic  congres- 
sional executive  committee  for  the  ninth  district.  In  1878  the  people 
of  Buncombe  county  called  upon  him  to  represent  them  in  the  state 
senate,  the  district  being  then  composed  of  Buncombe  and  Madison; 
and  two  years  later  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  position.  At  the 
first  session,  he  was  assigned  to  the  chairmanship  of  the  important 
committee  on  corporations.  Western  North  Carolina  being  at  that 
time,  largely  interested  in  the  extension  of  railroad  construction;  and 
at  the  succeeding  session  he  was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee, 
and  the  recognized  leader  of  the  body.  In  1879  he  was  appointed 
director,  for  the  state  at  large,  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  rail- 
road, whose  completion  was  of  such  vast  importance  to  the  western 
counties;  and  in  1881  he  was  made  director  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  insane  asylum,  the  act,  establishing  that  institution,  having 
been  zealously  and  ably  advocated  by  him. 

In  1882  Mr.  Davidson  was  appointed  judge  of  the  criminal  court 
of  Buncombe,  called  the  "  Inferior  court,"  which  position  he  filled 
with  great  acceptability  and  credit  to  himself  until  June,  1884,  when 
the  state  democratic  convention,  recognizing  his  excellent  talents,  his 
purity  of  character  and  sound  learning,  nominated  him  for  attorney- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  67 

general.  He  was  elected  together  with  the  rest  of  the  democratic 
state  ticket  by  a  handsome  majority,  after  a  warm  campaign,  in  which 
he  made  an  able  and  extensive  canvass  of  the  state,  winning  many 
encomiums  for  the  excellency  of  his  political  addresses.  At  the  end 
of  his  term,  so  satisfactorily  had  he  discharged  his  duties  as  attorney- 
general  and  reporter  of  the  supreme  court's  decisions,  that  there  was 
ifo  opposition  to  his  re-nomination  by  the  state  democratic  conven- 
tion, and  he  was  again  chosen  for  a  four  years'  term  by  an  increased 
popular  majority.  As  attorney-general  ^Ir.  Davidson  has  largely  in- 
creased the  high  reputation  he  has  so  long  enjoyed  as  a  safe  and 
learned  jurist,  and  he  has  so  conducted  the  affairs  of  his  office  as  to  en- 
hance the  respect  and  confidence  with  which  he  has  ever  been  re- 
garded. In  1866  Mr.  Davidson  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Sarah 
Katherine  Alexander,  a  daughter  of  Capt.  A.  M.  Alexander,  of 
French  Broad,  near  Asheville,  of  whom,  however,  he  was  bereaved  in 
July  of  1SS7. 

J.  N.  HOLDING 

is  one  of  the  active,  progressive  business  men  of  Raleigh.  A  man  of 
sound  judgment  and  indefatigable  in  enterprise  he  is  making  his 
mark  in  the  capital  city  of  the  state.  Mr.  Holding  was  born  at  Wake 
Forest,  November  4,  1857,  and  received  his  education  there,  gradu- 
ating in  1S80.  He  chose  the  law  as  his  profession  and  after  reading 
law  a  year  at  Raleigh  he  entered  a  law  school  at  Greensboro  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1882.  Shortly  afterward  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  W.  H.  Pace,  Esq.,  which  at  once  brought  him  into  full  prac- 
tice and  which  still  continues,  Mr.  Holding  becoming  each  year  more 
and  more  esteemed  as  a  lawyer  worthy  of  trust  and  public  confidence. 
In  May,  1889,  Mr.  Holding  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Maggie  M. 
Askew,  daughter  of  William  F.  Askew,  Esq.  (deceased),  a  resident 
of  Falls  of  Neuse,  and  to  them  has  been  born  a  son,  Arthur  Newton. 
In  addition  to  his  law  practice,  Mr.  Holding  is  engaged  in  business 
enterprises.  He  is  half  owner  of  the  Raleigh  Paper  company,  and  of 
the  paper  mills  known  as  the  .Askew  Paper  mills,  at  Falls  of  Neuse, 
near  Raleigh.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Raleigh  Cotton  factory,  and 
in  the  Land  Improvement  company;  and  in  the  Acid -phosphate  com- 
pany, and  also  in  the  North  Carolina  Wagon  company,  of  which  he 
is  also  a  director  and  the  attorney.  Mr.  Holding  is  likewise  the  at- 
torney for  the  city  of  Raleigh.  With  a  clear  and  discriminating 
judgment  and  full  of  energy,  he  has  not  hesitated  to  embark  in  new 
enterprises  calculated  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lives,  and  his  progressive  activitj'  is  appreciated  by  his 
friends. 

Mr.  Holding  has  a  strong  political  influence  in  Wake  county,  being 
one  of  the  leaders  of  the  democratic  party,  who  has  never  sought  office 
and  whose  zeal  is  based  only  on  a  desire  to  promote  good  government.. 
He  has  been  chairman  of  the  county  committee  and  has  represented 
his  county  frequently  in  the   district  and   state  conventions.     He  is  a 


68  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

man  of  enlarged  sympathies  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Odd 
Fellows,  and  is  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Baptist  Sunday- 
school,  of  which  church  he  is  a  consistent  and  useful  member.  The 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Mr.  Willie  Holding,  who  was 
born  in  Wake  county,  in  1830,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Wake.  He  is  a  farmer,  who  stands  deservedly'  high  in  his 
community.  In  1856  he  married  Miss  Nancy  C.  Pace,  daughter  of 
Solomon  and  Eliza  Pace,  and  to  them  were  born  six  sons:  J.  N. 
Holding,  Henry  G.,  William  W.,  Thomas  E.,  Otto  K.  and  Solomon  P. 
Holding.  In  18S7,  the  mother  of  Mr.  I.  X.  Holding,  died  at  the  age 
of  fifty  years.  The  father  of  Mr.  Solomon  Holding  was  Isam  Holding, 
\yho  was  born  in  Wake  county  in  1795,  where  he  resided  during  his 
life.  He  was  a  large  land  owner,  being  possessed  of  between  five  and 
six  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Wake  and  Franklin  counties.  He  was 
a  successful  planter  and  a  man  of  ample  means.  He  died  in  Wake 
county  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 


DAVID  MILLER  CARTER 

was  born  in  Fairfield,  Hyde  count}^  N.  C,  January  12,  1830.  He 
was  of  Revolutionary  lineage,  being  a  descendant  of  Capt.  Peter 
Carter,  of  Virginia,  who  rendered  efficient  service  in  the  war  for  in- 
dependence, and  in  after  life  removed  to  the  fertile  and  attractive 
shores  of  Pamlico  Sound,  where  his  family  have  ever  since  held  high 
social  position.  David  Carter,  a  son  of  the  Revolutionary  hero,  was 
a  man  of  intelligence,  education,  high  character  and  influence.  For 
twenty  years  he  presided  over  the  county  court  of  Hyde  county,  and 
administered  the  affairs  of  the  county  with  credit  to  himself  and  ad- 
vantage to  the  people.  He  served  as  a  representative  in  the  house 
of  commons  for  nine  years  consecutively,  and  in  18 16  was  returned  to 
the  state  senate.  His  son,  David  Carter,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Hyde  count3%  in  1801,  and,  like  his  father, 
was  possessed  of  large  estates.  He  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  the 
development  of  his  properties,  and  was  much  engaged  in  constructing 
canals  in  the  swamps.  Although  exerting  strong  influence,  only  once 
did  he  accept  political  preference.  In  1S46  he  represented  his  district 
in  the  senate.  He  married  Sallie  Lindsay  Spencer,  a  daughter  of 
Peleg  Spencer,  an  influential  planter  of  the  same  county,  by  whom  he 
had  eight  children.  He  died  in  1862,  and  his  wife  survived  him  six 
years.  The  eldest  child  of  this  union  was  David  Miller  Carter,  who 
was  born  in  1S30,  and  reared  amid  aftluence  in  a  region  noted  for  its 
wealth  and  generous  hospitality.  At  an  early  age  he  was  put  to 
school  at  the  celebrated  Lovejoj'  academy,  at  Raleigh,  and  after 
being  thoroughly  prepared  for  college,  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  1S47,  where  he  graduated  with  distinction  in  1851. 
He  remained  at  Chapel  Hill,  studying  law  with  Judge  Battle,  and  in 
January,  1852,  obtained  his  county  court  license.  A  year  later,  having 
received   his  superior  court  license,  he   formed  a   partnership  with 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  69 

Judge  Richard  S.  Donnell,  an  eminent  lawyer  at  Washington,  N.  C, 
and  at  once  entered  upon  a  leading  practice.  He  was  chosen  solicitor 
for  the  county  of  Hyde,  and,  although  residing  at  Washington,  held 
that  office  for  many  years. 

Hardly  had  Mr.  Carter  entered  upon  the  duties  of  this  position  be- 
fore he  was  called  on  to  prosecute  Rev.  G.  W.  Carrowan  for  the 
murder  of  a  schoolmaster  named  Lassater.  Carrowan  was  a  man  of 
great  influence,  a  minister  who  had  been  much  esteemed  and  who 
wielded,  by  virtue  of  his  superior  mental  capacity  and  strong  will  and 
self-assertion,  a  sort  of  despotic  power  over  the  people  in  a  wide  scope 
of  territory.  The  victim  had  been  waylaid  and  shot  from  the  bush, 
and  the  circumstances  implicating  Carrowan  were  not  generally 
known.  It  required  unusual  nerve  in  a  young  lawyer  to  start  such  a 
prosecution,  but  young  Carter  was  equal  to  his  duty.  Edward  j. 
Warren,  of  Washington,  w^s  employed  to  assist,  and  on  the  the  trial 
the  evidence  was  so  adroitly  made  manifest  as  to  secure  the  convic- 
tion of  the  accused.  As  soon  as  the  verdict  was  announced;  Carrowan 
drew  a  pistol,  and  quicklj'  shooting  Mr.  Warren,  blew  his  own  brains 
out.  Carter  was  fortunately  out  of  the  room,  and  happily'  though  the 
ball  was  directed  at  Warren's  heart,  his  watch  saved  his  life.  Though 
not  tall.  Col.  Carter  was  a  man  of  large  frame  and  capable  of  great 
endurance.  His  mind  was  comprehensive  and  his  disposition  studi- 
ous. His  logic  was  severe  and  he  brought  to  the  consideration  of 
any  subject  of  discussion  rare  analytical  powers  and  a  fine  intelligence. 
So  equipped,  he  soon  took  high  rank  even  among  the  giftecl  men 
who  then  adorned  the  bar  of  the  Pamlico  region.  In  politics  he  was 
a  whig  and  devoted  to  the  Union  of  the  states.  Early  in  1861,  the 
question  of  having  a  constitutional  convention  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union  was  submitted  to  the  people,  who  at  the  same  time  chose  del- 
egates to  represent  them  if  the  convention  should  be  called;  while  a 
majority  of  the  voters  decided  against  the  convention.  Col.  Carter 
was  elected  as  the  delegate  from  Hyde.  The  war  quickly  came  on, 
and  disregarding  his  Union  proclivities,  he  volunteered  as  a  soldier, 
and  on  May  i6,  iS6i,  was  commissioned  captain  of  Company  E,  of 
the  F"ourth  North  Carolina  regiment,  state  troops.  Col.  George  B. 
Anderson  commanding.  The  regiment  at  once  went  to  the  front, 
and  Capt.  Carter  shared  all  the  vicissitudes  of  its  arduous  toils.  At 
the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  May  31,  1862,  his  regiment  suffered  heavily, 
and  he  himself  received  wounds  that  were  deemed  at  the  time  neces- 
sarily mortal.  On  that  day  the  Fourth  regiment  carried  into  action 
678  men,  and  lost  in  killed  seventy-seven,  of  whom  two  were  captains, 
and  wounded  286,  of  whom  there  were  Ave  captains  —  a  total  loss  of 
^b;:,,  or  more  than  fifty  per  cent. 

It  was  months  before  Capt.  Carter  recovered  sufficiently  to  per- 
mit his  return  to  duty;  but  he  won  his  promotion  and  was  commis- 
sioned lieutenant-colonel,  and  in  December  was  appointed  a  military 
judge  on  the  corps  court  of  Jackson's  corps;  and  later  was  appointed 
presiding  judge  of  the  Third  army  corps  (A.   P.  Hill's).     However, 


70  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

in  August,  1862,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  assembly,  and  he 
discharged  the  duties  of  legislator  in  the  trying  times  of  the  war 
with  fidelity.  After  the  failure  of  Lee  at  Gettysburg,  and  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg,  he  perceived  that  the  defeat  of  the  Confederate  cause 
was  inevitable,  and  he  then  began  to  be  a  zealous  advocate  for  peace. 
In  the  assembly,  he  took  an  active  part  in  discussing  questions  per- 
taining to  the  enforcement  of  the  Confederate  conscript  law,  earn- 
estly urging  that  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  should  be 
maintained.  In  January,  1S65,  he  was  sent  as  a  member  of  the  as- 
sembly, together  with  Hon.  John  Pool,  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Person,  and 
Col.  E.  D.  Hall,  on  a  secret  mission  to  President  Davis,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  urging  some  accommodation  with  the  United  States.  After 
the  war  had  closed  he  returned  to  Washington,  and  in  1S66,  formed 
a  partnership  with  Judge  E.  J.  Warren,  which  continued  until  Judge 
Warren's  death.  In  1867  he  served  his  people  acceptably  in  the  sen- 
ate, and  in  1872  was  nominated  for  congress  by  the  democrats,  but 
the  district  being  largely  republican  failed  of  election.  Two  years 
later  he  removed  to  Raleigh,  where  he  at  once  took  the  position  his 
wealth,  capacity  and  character  commanded.  He  was  then  in  the  full 
meridian  of  his  fine  powers;  and  though  there  were  more  learned 
technical  lawyers  at  the  bar,  it  was  generally  conceded  that  in  breadth 
of  intellect,  and  comprehensive  views  and  strength  and  power,  he 
had  few  equals  and  no  superior  in  the  state.  He  was  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  culture,  literary  in  his  tastes  and  gifted  as  a 
conversationalist. 

Mr.  Carter's  large  landed  interests  in  the  low  lands  of  Hi'de  that 
were  to  be  developed  by  canalling  much  engaged  his  attention;  but 
he  was  a  director  of  the  Raleigh  National  bank,  a  director  of  the 
Home  Insurance  company,  a  trustee  of  the  university,  and  a  member 
of  the  executive  committee;  chairman  of  the  board  to  build  the  gov- 
ernor's mansion  —  and,  what  occupied  him  more  than  any  other  pub- 
lic employment,  was  president  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  state 
penitentiary.  This  appointment  opened  to  him  a  large  field  for  the 
useful  exercise  of  his  great  talents,  and  he  made  himself  master  of 
every  detail  of  the  vast  work  committed  to  his  supervision  and  dis- 
played at  all  points  his  fine  capacity  and  intelligence. 

Col.  Carter,  was  in  April,  185S,  married  to  Isabella  Perr}^  daugh- 
ter of  David  B.  Perry,  Esq.,  a  wealthy  planter,  of  Beaufort  county, 
and  had  b}'  her  four  children,  of  whom  David  M.,  and  .Sallie  Lindlaj^ 
Carter  alone  survive.  His  first  wife  dying  in  1S66,  Col.  Carter  in 
May,  1868,  married  Mrs.  Harriet  Armistead  Benbury  (a  daughter  of 
Joseph  Ryan,  Esq.,  of  Bertie  county,  and  a  step-daughter  of  Hon. 
David  Outlaw),  the  widow  of  Capt.  John  Benbury,  of  Edenton,  and 
has  by  her  three  children  of  whom  two  survive  —  Laura  Carter  and 
Francis  Spencer  Carter.  Col.  Carter  became  very  corpulent  after 
the  war,  and  toward  the  end  of  his  life  suffered  from  heart  trouble, 
of  which  disease  he  expired  at  Baltimore,  in  January,  1879.  Mrs. 
Carter  survived  him  eight  years,  and  died  May  3,  18S7. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  71 


CHARLES  MANLY  BUSBEE. 


Among  the  j'ounger  North  CaroHnians  who  have  attained  dis- 
tinction, none  has  occupied  a  more  notable  field  than  Charles  Manly 
Busbee,  an  eloquent  speaker,  a  wise  and  safe  counselor  and  a  learned 
lawj'er,  and  at  the  head  of  the  great  order  of  Odd  Fellows  in  Amer- 
ica. Mr.  Busbee's  ancestors  were  among  the  pioneer  settlers  in  Wake 
count3^  X.  C,  and  his  grandfather,  Johnson  Busbee,  for  thirty  years, 
presided  over  the  county  court  of  Wake  and  directed  the  local  con- 
cerns of  the  county.  Perrin  Busbee,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  Wake  count}'  when  she  was  prolific 
of  great  men.  He  was  a  profound  lawyer,  a  ready  debater,  and  the 
idol  of  his  political  party.  Genial  in  his  disposition,  kindly  in  his 
sympathies,  generous  in  his  nature,  and  gifted  with  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  wit  and  humor,  he  was  popular  with  all  classes  of  his  fellow 
citizens  irrespective  of  party  atiiliations,  and  his  memory  is  held  in 
high  esteem  by  the  people  of  the  county.  Unhappily  he  died  before 
he  had  even  reached  middle  life,  but  he  left  four  sons  to  perpetuate 
his  name.  His  wife  was  the  lovely  and  talented  daughter  of  James  F. 
Taylor,  Esq.,  who  had  been  attorney-general  of  the  state,  whose 
father,  Philip  Taylor,  was  a  captain  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
While  each  of  the  sons  has  won  success  in  his  chosen  field,  the  eldest, 
Charles  Manly  Busbee,  has  attained  a  most  distinguished  position. 
He  was  born  in  Raleigh,  October  23,  1845,  ^"'i  was  educated  at  the 
Raleigh  academy,  and  entered  Hampden-Sidney  college,  Virginia. 
But  while  still  in  the  junior  class  he  left  his  studies  and  entered  the 
Confederate  army  as  a  private  soldier,  being  then  in  his  eighteenth 
year.  After  a  short  service  in  the  ranks  he  was  promoted  to  sergeant- 
major  of  the  Fifth  North  Carolina  infantry,  and  gallantly  served  in 
that  famous  regiment.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  and 
at  the  bloody  battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  May  12,  he  was 
captured  and  confined  at  Fort  Delaware  and  Fort  Pulaski.  During 
his  captivity  he  was  subjected  to  one  of  the  most  savage  ordeals  of 
the  war.  The  Confederate  authorities  had  assigned  quarters  to  Fed- 
eral prisoners  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  and  in  that  part  of  the  city 
within  the  reach  of  the  Federal  artillery.  To  retaliate,  the  Federal 
government  selected  500  Confederate  prisoners  and  exposed  them  on 
Morris's  Island  to  the  fire  of  the  Confederate  batteries  on  Sullivan's 
Island,  and  Mr.  Busbee  was  one  of  the  victims  so  chosen.  He  was 
placed  in  front  of  the  Federal  redoubts,  immediately  under  the  fire 
of  the  Confederate  batteries,  and  was  exposed  to  death  by  disease 
and  by  the  shells  of  his  own  friends.  In  December,  however,  he  was 
paroled,  and  in  the  following  March  was  exchanged.  He  returned 
at  once  to  his  regiment  then  in  the  trenches  before  Petersburg,  and 
shared  their  sufferings  in  the  final  tlays  of  the  war.  He  was  constantly 
under  fire  there  and  during  the  retreat  to  Appomatox,  where  h(-  was 
surrendered. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Busbee  attended  the  University  of  North  Car- 


72  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

olina  for  half  a  session,  and  then  addressed  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  law,  obtaining  his  license  to  practice  in  1867.  He  was  reading 
clerk  of  the  North  Carolina  senate  in  the  winter  of  1866-;,  and  in 
May,  1867,  was  elected  county  solicitor  for  Wake  county,  which  office 
he  tilled  until  it  was  abolished  in  186S.  Mr.  Busbee  has  met  with 
gratifying  success  in  his  business,  and  has  for  ten  years  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  well-known  law  firm  of  Reade,  Busbee  &  Busbee.  Mr. 
Busbee  was  a  member  of  the  state  executive  committee  of  the  dem- 
ocratic party,  and  has  always  been  influential  in  party  councils.  He  was 
the  leader  of  the  ticket,  being  candidate  for  the  state  senate  in  1874, 
when  for  the  first  time  the  county  gave  a  majority  for  the  democratic 
part}',  and  in  the  memorable  campaign  of  1884  he  was  brought  for- 
ward for  the  house  and  was  triumphantly  elected,  leading  his  ticket. 
In  1886  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  commissioners  to  refund 
the  debt  of  the  state  in  regard  to  the  construction  bonds  of  the  North 
Carolina  railroad,  a  delicate  duty  he  well  discharged.  In  1870  Mr. 
Busbee  joined  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a  member 
of  Mantio  lodge.  No.  8,  of  the  city  of  Raleigh.  In  1874  he  was  elected 
a  representative  to  the  sovereign  grand  lodge,  and  he  served  contin- 
uously in  that  national  legislature  of  the  order  until  1S88,  when  he 
was  elected  deputy  grand  sire.  At  the  session  of  1890  he  was  elected 
grand  sire,  the  highest  office  known  to  the  order.  Mr.  Busbee  has 
successfully  discharged  all  the  duties  of  his  exalted  position,  and  has 
won  the  admiration  of  the  million  members  of  the  fraternity.  When 
he  was  in  the  height  of  his  usefulness  he  suffered  a  severe  illness, 
and  from  all  over  the  United  States  there  came  words  of  affectionate 
interest,  and  throughout  North  Carolina  a  tender  solicitude  was  mani- 
fested that  amply  illustrated  the  great  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by 
his  people.  In  his  religious  affiliations  Mr.  Busbee  is  an  Episco- 
palian, and  for  many  years  has  been  a  vestryman  of  Christ  church, 
Raleigh.  His  character  is  indeed  well  rounded,  and  he  is  a  fine 
specimen  of  a  North  Carolina  gentleman  —  one  who  resides  in  a 
family  homestead  where  the  lustre  of  departed  virtue  is  reflected  in 
the  present  worth  of  the  occupants.  He  resides  in  a  dwelling-house 
occupied  for  more  than  three-quarters  of  a  century  by  his  family,  and 
where  at  one  time  four  generations  were  gathered  around  the  hearth. 
On  July  28,  1868,  Mr.  Busbee  led  to  the  altar  Miss  Lydia  L.  Little- 
john,  of  Oxford,  an  ornament  of  her  sex,  who  died  in  1887,  leaving 
the  following  children:  James  L.  Busbee,  Perrin,  Louisa  T.,  Soph}'  D., 
Isabel  B.  and  Christine.  On  January  21,  i8qi,  Mr.  Busbee  was  again 
married,  to  Miss  Florence  Eleanor  Cooper,  a  lovely  daughter  of  Har- 
vey Cooper,  Esq.,  of  Kentucky,  and  niece  of  Mrs.  Vance,  the  wife  of 
Senator  Vance. 

WILLIAM   RUFFIN  COX 

was  born  March  11,  1S32,  in  Scotland  Neck,  Halifax  county,  N.  C. 
His  family  is  of  English  extraction,  his  paternal  grandfather,  baptized 
in  Old  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  London,  having  belonged  to  the  English 


X 


.NORTH  CAROLINA.  73 

navy,  though  afterward,  ciurhig  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  was  in  the 
American  merchant  service,  in  which  he  was  captured  bj-  tlie  British. 
His  father,  Thomas  Co.k,  was  a  native  of  Chowan  county,  N.  C,  and 
a  prominent  merchant,  having  been  a  partnerin  the  firm  of  Martlain, 
Cox  &  Co.,  Plymouth,  N.  C,  and  Devereux,  Clark  &  Co.,  of  Philadel- 
phia, houses  largely  engaged  in  exporting  to  and  importing  from  the 
West  Indies,  owning  the  vessels  employed  in  their  trade.  Thomas 
Cox  was  also  a  member  of  the  senate  of  North  Carolina,  from  Wash- 
ington county,  and  a  leading  advocate  of  the  building  of  the  first 
railroads  in  the  state.  It  may  be  added  that  the  late  Mrs.  Gen. 
John  II.  Winder,  of  Baltimore,  was  a  sister  of  Thomas  Cox.  The 
w'lie  of  Thomas  Cox,  whose  maiden  name  was  Olivia  Xorfleet,  was  a 
daughter  of  Marmaduke  Norfieet,  a  well  known  planter  in  the  east- 
ern portion  of  North  Carolina,  and  she  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Wel- 
don  N.  PIdwards,  of  Warren  county.  In  1825  Thomas  Cox  removed 
to  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  and  there  died  in  1S36.  His  widow  after- 
ward removed  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  where  her  death  occurred  years 
afterward.  William  Ruffin  Cox,  their  son,  received  his  first  scholas- 
tic training  at  the  Vine  Hill  academy  in  his  native  county.  After 
going  to  Tennessee,  with  his  widowed  mother,  he  was  placed  in 
school  near  Nashville,  and  was  prepared  for  college.  In  1S46  he  en- 
tered Franklin  college,  from  which  he  graduated  with  distinction  in 
1850.  Choosing  the  law  for  his  profession,  he  attended  the  Lebanon, 
Tenn.,  law  school,  at  which  he  graduated  in  1852,  having  as  precep- 
tors. Judges  Green,  Carruthers  and  Ridley,  and  as  fellow-students 
Gen.  Bate,  now  United  .States  senator  from  Tennessee,  Judge  Mc- 
Henry  and  Judge  East,  both  of  whom  have  been  members  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Tennessee. 

Going  to  the  Nashville  bar,  Mr.  Cox  formed  an  advantageous 
partnership  with  the  Hon.  John  G.  Ferguson,  an  experienced  and 
accomplished  lawyer,  with  whom  he  continued  to  practice  during 
his  residence  in  that  state.  In  1857,  Mr.  Cox  returned  to  North 
Carolina,  and  relinquished  the  practice  of  his  profession  to  engage 
in  agriculture,  settling  in  Edgecombe  county.  In  1859,  he  removed 
to  Raleigh,  and  the  folhnving  year  was  nominated  by  the  democrats 
as  a  candidate  for  the  house  of  commons,  on  the  ticket  with  E.  G. 
Haywood  and  Henry  Mordecai.  opposing  the  Hon.  Sion  PI.  Rogers, 
Hon.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  and  |.  P.  11.  Russ,who  after  a  spirited  contest, 
were  elected  by  a  small  majority.  Upon  the  outbreak  of  hostilities 
between  the  states  of  the  Union  in  1S61,  he,  having  contributed  to  the 
equipment  of  an  artillery  company,  was  employed  in  recruiting  a 
company  of  infantry,  when  Gov.  Ellis  tendered  him  a  commission  as 
major  of  the  Second  regiment  of  North  Carolina  troops,  of  which  the 
gallant  C.  C.  Few  was  colonel,  judge  W.  P.  Bynun  lieutenant-colonel. 
Judge  W.  T.  Faircloth,  quartermaster,  and  Judge  Ililliard  com- 
missary. On  the  death  of  his  colonel  at  Sharpsburg  (Antictam),  he 
became  lieutenant-colonel  following  the  promotion  of  Judge  Bynun, 
and,  on  the  resignation  of  the  colonelcy  by  that  gentleman  for  the 
purpose   of  accepting  the  office  of  solicitor,  to  which   he   had  been 


74  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

elected  after  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Mr.  Cox  came  into  full 
command  of  the  regiment,  at  the  head  of  which,  and  of  the  brigade, 
which  he  commanded  later,  he  participated  in  the  various  battles  of 
Stonewall  Jackson's  corps.  In  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  he  was 
shot  down,  being  wounded  in  three  places,  and  leaving  half  of  his 
men  killed  or  wounded  on  the  field.  Brigadier-General  Stephen  D. 
Ramseur,  in  his  report  of  the  Chancellorsville  campaign,  said:  "  x\nd 
last  though  not  least,  the  manly  and  chivalrous  Cox  of  the  Second 
North  Carolina,  the  accomplished  gentleman,  splendid  soldier,  and 
warm  friend,  who,  though  wounded  five  times,  remained  with  his 
regiment  until  exhausted.  In  common  with  the  entire  command,  I 
regret  his  temporary  absence  from  the  field,  where  he  loves  to  be." 
Disabled  bj'  his  wounds,  he  could  not  follow  Gen.  Lee's  army  to 
Gett3'sburg,  but  on  its  way  back  from  Pennsylvania  rejoined  it,  find- 
ing that  in  the  meantime,  he  had  been  recommended  by  his  superior 
officers  for  promotion,  and  being,  in  fact,  promoted  shortly  after- 
ward to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  After  the  battle  of  Spottsyl- 
vania  court  house,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  Ramseur's  brigade, 
composed  of  the  Second,  Fourth,  Fourteenth  and  Thirtieth  regi- 
ments, with  part  of  the  First  and  Third  of  Stuarts'  brigade,  and  at- 
tached to  Gen.  Ewell's  corps,  a  position  which  he  held  till  the  close  of 
the  war,  the  celebrated  brigade  maintaining  its  full  prestige  under  his 
leadership.  In  the  battle  of  the  12th  of  May,  at  the  close  of  a  gal- 
lant charge,  he  had  the  honor  to  receive  on  the  field,  with  the  other 
officers  of  the  brigacie,  the  thanks  of  Gen.  Lee.  His  brigade  on  the 
death  of  Gen.  Jackson,  served  with  Gen.  Ewell,  Jackson's  succes- 
sor, until  it  was  detached  from  the  army  of  northern  Virginia,  and 
made  what  is  known  as  the  \^alley  campaign,  participating  in  numer- 
ous battles  with  varied  success,  under  Generals  Early  and  Gordon, 
but  always  against  overwhelming  numbers.  Returning  from  this 
campaign,  he  joined  Gen.  Lee  in  front  of  Richmond,  where  he 
again  had  the  good  fortune  to  win  the  acknowledgments  of  that 
noble  chieftain,  lighting  his  sad  heart  with  a  gleam  of  sunshine  even 
amid  the  fast  gathering  clouds  of  overwhelming  disaster.  The 
incident  has  been  well  told  by  Senator  Z.  B.  \'ance  in  a  public  ad- 
dress, and  may  be  fitly  given  here  in  his  words: 

"  During  the  retreat  from  Petersburg  to  that  memorable  spot  which 
witnessed  the  final  scenes  of  that  once  splendid  army  of  northern 
Virginia,  when  everything  was  in  the  utmost  confusion,  the  soldiers 
straggling  hopelessly  along,  thousands  deliberately  leaving  for  their 
homes,  and  the  demoralization  increasing  every  moment,  and  the 
flushed  and  swarming  enemy  pressing  them  closely,  a  stand  was  made 
to  save  the  trains,  upon  which  all  depended.  Some  artillery  was 
placed  in  position,  and  Gen.  Lee,  sitting  on  his  horse  on  a  commanding 
knoll,  sent  his  staff  to  rally  the  stragglers,  mixed  in  hopeless,  inextri- 
cable confusion,  behind  a  certain  line,  when  presently  an  orderl}-  col- 
umn comes  in  view,  a  small  but  entire  brigade,  its  commander  at  its 
head,  and  files  promptly  along  its  appointed  position.  A  smile  of 
momentary  joy  passed  over  the  distressed  features  of  the  general  as 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  75 

he  calls  out  to  an  aide,  '  What  troops  are  those?'  '  Cox's  North  Caro- 
lina brigade,'  was  the  reply.  Then  it  was  that  taking  off  his  hat,  and 
bowing  his  head  with  Godly  courtesy  and  kindly  feeling,  he  said, 
'God  bless  gallant  old  North  Carolina.'  " 

It  was  in  accordance  with  the  fitness  of  things  that  the  brigade 
whose  gallantry  drew  forth  this  invocation  should  have  matle,  as  it 
did  make,  the  last  charge  in  the  last  battle  at  Appomatox,  its  com- 
mander still  at  its  head.  Unfortunately  the  written  testimony  borne 
by  his  superior  officers  to  the  valor  and  cfficiencj'  of  his  brigade  was 
destroyed  aniidst  the  general  confusion  and  disorder  that  prevailed 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  but  its  tleeds  are  imprinted  in  the  hearts  of 
those  whom  it  served,  and  will  not  grow  dim  while  they  live.  As  for 
himself,  the  deeds  of  Gen.  Cox  are  in  part  recorded  on  his  person, 
which  bears  the  marks  of  no  less  than  eleven  wounds  received  in 
battle. 

When  the  war  ended  Gen.  Cox  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Raleigh,  and,  not  long  afterward,  was  elected  president  of 
the  Chatham  railroad.  In  the  early  days  of  reconstruction,  most  of 
his  friends  being  bound,  he  kept  aloof  from  politics;  but  at  the  first 
election  under  the  constitution  adopted  in  i86S,  he  consented  to  stand 
for  the  office  of  solicitor  of  the  metropolitan  district,  though  without 
expectation  that  he  would  be  elected,  as  the  district  was  republican 
by  about  four  thousand  majority.  Nevertheless,  he  was  elected  by 
twenty-seven  majority;  holding  the  office  for  six  years,  and  justifying, 
by  the  ability  and  lidelity  with  which  he  performed  its  duties,  alike 
the  choice  of  his  friends  and  the  trust  of  his  opponents.  In  1.873  he 
was  made  chairman  of  the  state  educational  association,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  during  that  year  and  the  two  following  ones,  being  instru- 
mental, as  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  in  establishing  the 
Nortk  Carolina  Joitnial  of  Education,-^  monthly  devoted  i)rincipally 
to  the  cause  of  common-school  education,"  and  having  on  its  list  of 
contributors  the  best  literary  talent  of  the  state.  Established  at  a 
critical  time  in  the  history  of  public  education  in  North  Carolina,  this 
periodical,  it  can  be  hardly  doubtfcd,  exerted  a  decisive  influence  in 
favor  of  the  cause.  His  services  in  this  relation  afford  not  the  least 
of  his  many  titles  to  the  grateful  esteem  of  the  people. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1S75,  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence  was  celebrated  at  Char- 
lotte, N.  C,  in  the  presence  of  30,000  jjeople,  who  were  addressed  by 
Hon.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  (jOv.  Walker,  of  X'irginia, 
Gov.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina,  and  other  able  and  distinguished 
gentlemen.  Gen.  Cox  also  delivered  an  address  which  was  re- 
markable for  the  broad  and  lofty  i^atriotism  that  pervaded  it,  and  in 
which  he  thus  described  the  spirit  and  requirements  of  the  jieople  of 
North  Carolina,  who,  in  this  respect,  may  be  said  to  have  represented 
the  people  of  all  the  other  states  of  the  south:  "North  Carolina 
has  always  been  attached  to  the  principles  upon  which  the  govern- 
ment is  founded.  But  give  her  the  rights  guaranteed  her  by  law, 
secure  her  local  self-government  and  libcrtv,  ami  she  will  be  lound  as 


/D  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

true  and  loyal  as  any  in  the  most  favored  portions  of  the  country. 
We  have  no  war  to  make  upon  the  government,  but  will  hold  up  to 
merited  condemnation  any  party  which  through  corrupt  and  partisan 
ends  may  seek  to  array  section  against  section."  On  the  occasion  of 
a  banquet  given  at  the  Yarborough  house.  Raleigh,  in  honor  of  the 
second  annual  meeting  of  the  cotton  states  congress,  held  in  that  city 
in  July,  1S75,  he  presided,  and  welcomed  the  guests,  declaring  with 
emphasis  that  the  true  purpose  of  such  conventions  was  the  develop- 
ment of  the  resources  of  the  states  and  the  promotion  of  the  wel- 
fare of  the  citizens  by  a  national  and  comprehensive  policy.  He,  in- 
deed, lost  no  fit  opportunity  to  reinforce  the  national  sentiments  of 
the  people.  When  the  chairmanship  of  the  democratic  state  e.xecu- 
tive  committee  became  vacant  by  the  death  of  Hon.  D.  M.  Bar- 
ringer,  Gen.  Cox  was  elected  to  that  office,  which  he  filled  with 
marked  vigor  and  ability,  contributing  largely  bj-  his  rare  powers  of 
organization  and  unsleeping  vigilance,  and  scarcely  less  by  his 
personal  character  and  acknowledged  patriotism,  to  the  success  of 
his  party  in  the  campaign  of  1S76.  His  name,  at  this  period,  was 
brought  forward  by  the  people  of  his  district  in  connection  with  the 
nomination  for  the  governorship  of  the  state,  but  he  declined  to  com- 
pete for  the  honor,  in  opposition  to  Hon.  Z.  B.  Vance.  He  was  chosen 
a  delegate  from  the  state  at  large  to  the  democratic  national  con- 
vention at  St.  Louis,  in  1876,  as  he  had  been  chosen  a  delegate 
from  the  state  at  large  to  the  convention  which  nominated  Seymour 
and  Blair,  in  1S6S,  though  he  declined  to  attend  the  St.  Louis  con- 
vention. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1S77,  Mr.  Cox  was  appointed  by  Gov. 
Vance,  judge  of  the  Sixth  judicial  district  of  North  Carolina,  com- 
prising the  central  portion  of  the  state,  an  office  which  he  held  until 
he  resigned  to  canvass  for  a  seat  in  congress,  not  desiring  to  connect 
the  office  of  judgeship  with  politics.  He  made  an  efficient  judge, and 
filled  the  position  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
public.  His  dignity  and  urbanity  of  deportment,  and  his  intellectual 
culture  marked  his  service  on  the  bench,  and  during  his  judgeship  he 
rendered  several  able  decisions,  among  them  one  of  more  than  local 
interest,  and  which,  although  contrar}-  to  the  rulings  of  two  of  his  as- 
sociates on  the  superior  court  bench,  was,  upon  appeal  to  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state,  sustained  in  terms  peculiarly  complimentary  to 
his  judicial  capacity.  The  case  referred  to  was  that  of  the  State  vs. 
J.  F.  Hoskins  et  al.,  in  which  he  sustained  the  constitutionality  of  the 
act  of  congress  upon  which  the  Federal  courts  base  their  claim  to  re- 
move to  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  .States  for  examination  the 
cases  of  revenue  officers  charged  with  criminal  offenses  by  the  state. 
As  mentioned  above,  Gen.  Cox,  on  nearing  his  judicial  term  of  office 
resigned  to  canvass  for  congress;  subsequently  he  was  elected  to  the 
forty-seventh  congress,  and  re-elected  to  the  forty-eighth,  and  to  the 
forty-ninth  congress,  receiving  on  each  occasion  increased  majorities. 
For  six  years  he  ably  represented  the  Fourth  congressional  district  in 
congress.     In  the  forty-seventh  congress  he  served  on  the  committee 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  77 

on  pensions;  and  on  a  select  committee  to  investigate  charges  against 
an  officer  of  the  house.  In  the  forty-eighth  congress  he  served  on  the 
committees  on  foreign  affairs  and  militia:  in  the  forty-ninth  congress 
he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  civil  service  reform,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs.  In  addition  to  attending  to 
the  work  pertaining  to  these  committees,  the  Congressional  Record 
shows  he  took  active  part  in  the  discussion  of  measures  not  connected 
with  the  committees  on  which  he  served;  indeed,  in  the  short  session  of 
the  forty-ninth  congress  he  addressed  the  house  in  speeches  on  such 
measures  not  less  than  seven  times.  He  spoke  on  such  subjects  as 
classification  and  compensation  of  public  officers;  corruption  in  pub- 
lic office;  civil  service  commission;  American  labor  and  Chinese  im- 
migration;- inter-state  commerce;  diplomatic  and  consular  service; 
wrongs  to  American  fishermen;  and  the  preparation  and  submission 
of  reports,  all  received  his  earnest  thought  and  consideration. 

A  few  extracts  from  some  of  the  speeches  he  made  while  in  con- 
gress ma}'  fitly  be  given  here,  as  they  embody  those  patriotic  senti- 
ments and  conservative  views  which  Mr.  Cox  has  ever  held  and 
advocated.  In  the  house  he  spoke,  on  June  9,  1SS6,  in  reference  to 
civil  service,  and  in  that  speech,  "  Let  us  Stand  by  our  Pledge,"  Mr. 
Cox  said:  "Talk  about  it  being  aristocratic  to  appoint  men  on  ac- 
count of  merit  instead  of  political  influence;  why,  sir,  it  is  the  very 
genius  and  essence  of  democracy.  It  brings  the  offices  within  the 
reach  of  the  people,  and  says  to  the  tenant  of  the  humblest  hamlet, 
qualify  yourself  to  serve  your  country,  and  if  you  have  merit  you 
shall  be  rewarded  without  respect  to  influence  or  power.  There  is  in 
the  treasury  department  to-day  a  chief  of  A.  division  who,  but  a  short 
time  ago,  was  an  obscure  village  boy.  He  was  selected  hy  a  competi- 
tive examination,  entered  at  the  lowest  grade,  rose,  and  by  his  merit 
was  appointed  to  his  present  position  without  extraneous  influence  or 
patronage,  for  indeed,  neither  of  his  senators  had  ever  heard  of  him." 
On  American  Labor  and  Chinese  immigration,  Mr.  Cox  said  in  con- 
gress: "It  is  the  part  of  statesmanship  to  foster  and  cherish  the 
laboring  and  wage-earning  persons  of  our  native  population,  '  man 
the  worker,  man  the  brother."  The  poor  should  feel  that  in  the  halls 
of  congress  they  have  friends  and  protectors.  Knights  of  Labor  if 
j'ou  please,  instead  of  those  who  are  neglectful  of  their  interest. 
True  statesmanship  points  the  duty  we  owe  to  this  class  of  our  citi- 
zens, and  bids  throw  around  them  every  protection  which  the  law  can 
secure.  They  should  be  made  to  feel  that  instead  of  submitting  to 
the  restrictions  and  exactions  of  protective  organizations,  whose  rules 
are  often  arbitrary,  that  through  their  representatives  in  congress, 
they  can  secure  every  redress  the  laws  of  the  land  can  guarantee  to 
them.  No  one  will  deny  that  the  laborers  in  this  country,  through 
the  organization  of  capital,  are  exposed  to  many  grievances.  They 
have  escaped  the  abuses  of  the  old  world  merely  to  have  others  to 
fasten  upon  them  in  the  new,  yet,  we  are  not  Utopian  enough  to  sup- 
pose that  mere  legislation  will  prove  a  panacea  for  all  such  evils,  the 
thews  and  sinews  of  government  are  its  revenues.     Let   the  grant 


78  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  supplies  be  coupled  with  the  securing  of  prerogatives.     With  hon 
est  and  capable  men  at  the   helm  they  may  rest  at  ease.     The  power 
is  in  the  ballot  and  not  in  the  bullet." 

On  the  reduction  of  tariff  Mr.  Cox  made  an  able  speech  in  con- 
gress, and  made  use  of  these  words,  taken  from  the  Congressional 
Record:  "  This  cry  against  pauper  labor  on  the  part  of  high  pro- 
tectionists is  but  the  song  of  the  siren.  And,  if  necessary  to  effect 
their  purpose,  they  are  ready  to  renew  their  war  upon  all  foreigners. 
What  is  pauper  labor?  As  Mr.  Lincoln  w^ould  say,  '  I  desire  to  speak 
to  plain  people,'  and  doing  so  insist  the  term  itself  is  an  insult  to  the 
laborers  of  this  country.  Labor  is  capital,  as  much  so  as  manufac- 
tures, and  one,  though  poor,  should  not  be  arraigned  as  a  pauper, 
simply  because  he  fails  to  possess  that  wealth  which  gives  him  immunity 
from  toil.  The  principles  of  the  democratic  party  compel  it  to  oppose 
its  encroachment  upon  the  constitution,  high  protective  tariff  and 
class  legislation;  to  discountenance  partisanism;  to  maintain  the 
nghts  of  the  poor  against  the  aggressive  power,  and  preserve  the 
polls  from  military  usurpation.  All  tariff  should  be  levied  in  a  spirit 
of  equity,  caution  and  compromise,  so  that  the  great  interests  of  agri- 
culture, manufacture  and  commerce  be  equally  preserved,  and  an 
intelligent  ballot,  cast  by  an  intelligent  freeman,  is  the  right  preser- 
vation of  those  rights.  What  democracy  has  most  to  fear  is  a  per- 
suasive eloquence  of  the  purchasing  power,  wielded  by  a  corrupt  party 
or  privileged  classes." 

Gen.  Cox  is  an  intellectual  and  able  speaker;  and  in  his  public 
addresses  has  pronounced  much  sound  doctrine,  and  expressed 
both  high  and  moral  culture  and  noble  sentiment.  He  is  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  deliver  public  addresses,  and  one  of 
his  most  noted  of  recent  date  was  on.  the  life  and  character  of 
Maj.-Gen.  Stephen  D.  Ramseur,  before  the  Ladies  Memorial  associa- 
tion, of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  May  lo,  1891,  when  among  other  things  he 
said: 

"  In  the  late  war,  and  by  the  chronicles  of  that  war,  we  were  de- 
nounced as  rebels  and  traitors,  as  if  the  promoters  of  such  epithets 
were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  in  our  Revolutionary  war  Hancock, 
Adams  and  their  compeers  were  denounced  as  rebels  and  traitors, 
while  Washington  and  P'ranklin  broke  their  oath  of  allegiance  to  join 
this  despised  class.  Indeed,  the  very  chimney-sweeps  in  the  streets 
of  London  are  said  to  have  spoken  of  our  rebellious  ancestors  as  their 
subjects  in  x^merica.  Therefore,  with  a  conscience  void  of  offense, 
while  we  would  not  and  should  not  forget  our  hallowed  memories  of 
comradeship  and  of  common  suffering,  we  cherish  them  alone  as 
memories,  and  seek  no  willows  upon  which  to  hang  our  harps,  no 
rivers  by  which  to  sit  down  and  weep  while  we  sing  the  songs  of  long 
ago." 

Gen.  Cox  holds  a  position  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  North 
Carolina,  that  might  be  coveted  by  any  man;  he  has  been  intimately 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  state  for  over  thirty  years,  and  has 
all  that  time  worked  zealously  to  advance  her  interests.     Upon  retir- 


/ 


(ylt^    ?^ 


/h-'-z^C^i..-^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  79 

ing  from  congress,  he  turned  his  attention  chiefly  to  agriculture,  in 
which  he  has  become  prominent  and  very  successful.  In  fact  he  has 
alwa^'s  been  interested  in  this  pursuit,  and  his  operations  as  an  agri- 
culturist have  been  and  are  observed  and  appreciated  throughout 
the  state.  In  the  advancement  of  agriculture  he  has  borne  an  influ- 
ential part,  having  been  a  member  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  state  agricultural  society,  and  often  delivered  addresses  before 
such  associations.  Xor  has  he  wholly  passed  over  financial  affairs, 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact,  among  others,  that  he  was  a  director  of 
the  National  bank,  of  Raleigh.  In  addition  to  his  prominence  in  so 
many  spheres  of  secular  activitJ^  he  is  a  zealous  churchman,  having 
been  for  man}'  years  a  member  and  vestryman  of  Christ  church, 
Raleigh,  a  regular  attendant  at  the  dioceasan  conventions,  and  a 
joint  trustee  with  others  over  the  propert)-  of  the  diocese.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1857,  Miss  P.  B.  Battle,  daughter  of  James  .S.  Battle,  who  was 
a  planter  and  manufacturer,  of  Edgecombe  county,  of  whom, 
however,  he  was  bereaved  in  1880.  One  son,  P.  B.  Cox,  survives  her. 
In  1.SS3  Mr.  Cox  married  Miss  Fannie  Augusta  Ljman,  daughter  of 
Right  Reverend  Theodore  B.  Lyman,  of  Raleigh.  She  died  Au- 
gust 21,  1885,  leaving  two  surviving  sons. 


AUGUSTUS  SUMMERFIELD  MERRIMON, 

chief-justice  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1830,  at  Cherryfields,  in  the  present  county  of  Transylvania,  N.  C, 
then  constituting  a  part  of  the  county  of  Buncombe.  His  father 
was  Branch  H.  5lerrimon,  of  whose  family  history,  previous  to  his 
leaving  \'irginia,  little  is  known.  He  was  born  in  Dinwiddie  county, 
in  that  state,  removing  to  Tennessee  in  early  life;  a  youth  without 
large  advantages,  but  subdued  by  good  influences,  engaging  in  the 
ministry,  in  which  duty  he  served  in  the  Holston  conference  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  for  sixty  years;  a  man  of  earnest  piety, 
strong  natural  powers,  with  considerable  culture;  he  was  an  effective 
and  eloquent  preacher.  In  the  course  of  his  ministerial  service,  he 
was  sent  to  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  where  he  married  Mary  E., 
daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  Paxton,  a  lady  of  great  excellence, 
who  did  much  in  after  life  to  mould  the  character  of  her  son,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  William  was  of  good  family,  brother  of  Judge 
Paxton,  of  the  superior  courts  of  North  Carolina.  Sarah  Grace,  his 
wife,  was  a  McDowell,  of  the  Revolutionarj'  stock  of  the  McDowells 
of  \'irginia  and  North  Carolina.  Soon  after  his  marriage.  Branch  H. 
Merrimon,  removed  to  Mills  River,  in  Henderson,  also  then  a  part  of 
Buncombe  county,  where  he  added  to  his  ministerial  duties,  the  avo- 
cations of  merchant  and  farmer.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  Charles  McDowi'll,  on  the  road  between  Hcn- 
dersonville  and  Asheville,  and  afterward  to  Hooper's  creek,  in  Hen- 
derson county.  There  he  devoted  himself,  earnestly'  and  almost  ex- 
clusively, to  farm  life  and  its  incidental  works,  in  which  was  included 


8o  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

the  operation  of  a  saw  mill,  in  connection  with  which,  the  career  of 
his  subsequently  distinguished  son  was  largely  guided  and  influenced. 
Augustus  S.  Merrimon  began  in  this  rural,  industrious  and  secluded 
life,  the  development  of  those  characteristics  which  controlled  and 
shaped  his  after  life.  Biography  has  an  end  more  noble  and  more 
useful  than  to  amuse  or  astonish,  or  to  unduly  exalt  the  subject  of  it. 
It  is  to  stimulate  by  example,  to  encourage  by  the  picture  of  bravely 
fought  adversity,  by  the  illustration  of  the  honors  that  crown  patient 
conflict  with  untoward  conditions.  And  all  these  seemed  to  oppose 
with  concentrated  forces  the  onward  progress  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  His  father's  circumstances  denied  him  the  advantages  of  the 
higher  schools;  the  exactions  of  a  life  of  daily  toil  restricted  his  ef- 
forts at  self-improvement.  Yet,  like  the  missionary  Livingston,  com- 
pelled in  his  boyhood  to  the  daily  drudgery  at  the  blacksmiths'  forge, 
yet  contriving  to  store  up  during  the  process  of  manual  labor,  an  as- 
tonishing stock  of  knowledge,  by  keeping  his  book  laid  up  on  the 
heaving  bellows  constantly  before  his  eye;  so  did  the  young  Merri- 
mon, following  the  plow,  succeed  in  committing  to  memory,  and  un- 
derstanding well,  the  book  he  still  preserves  and  cherishes  as  the  key 
that  opened  up  his  book  of  knowledge,  Towne's  Analysis,  reading  it 
by  snatches  as  he  trudged  along  in  the  soft  furrows;  or  as  he  watched 
the  saw  slowly  and  methodically  notching  its  way  through  the  leis- 
urely traveling  log,  acquiring  a  thorough  master}'  of  some  standard 
works,  and  even  an  intelligent  knowledge  of  Blackstone,  long  before 
that  light  of  legal  science  was  taken  up  seriously  as  his  professional 
guide.  His  appetite  for  knowledge  was  constantly  whetted,  as  its 
value  became  more  largely  recognized;  and  he  was  gratified  when  at 
last  his  father  sent  him  to  Asheville  to  the  school  of  Mr.  James  Nor- 
wood, a  teacher  in  his  day  of  high  repute,  and  for  whom  his  former 
pupil  still  retains  profound  respect  and  warm  affection.  At  this  school 
young  Merrimon  needed  no  spur  to  excellence  except  his  ambition, 
and  the  conviction  of  his  absolute  dependence  on  his  own  exertions. 
He  was  an  eager  and  apt  pupil,  rapidly  surpassing  in  the  English 
branches  of  learning  (he  attempted  none  other),  all  his  fellow  stu- 
dents, and  receiving  from  his  teacher  the  written  expression  of  his 
judgment,  that  he  was  the  best  English  scholar  he  had  ever  had. 
Compelled  by  the  exhaustion  of  means  to  suspend  his  regular  school 
studies  at  the  end  of  eight  months,  he  received  the  striking  tribute 
to  his  proficiencies  of  being  chosen  by  his  teacher  as  his  assistant  in 
the  school  in  those  branches  in  which  he  excelled,  and  in  such  capac- 
ity he  remained  with  Mr.  Norwood  six  months  longer.  After  he  had 
detached  himself  altogether  from  the  school,  he  was  anxious  to  go  to 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  His  poverty  forbade;  and  then  he 
began  earnestly  to  study  law,  the  ultimate  object  of  all  his  hopes  and 
plans.  With  the  study  of  law  he  read  closely  history  and  general 
literature,  and  thoroughly  familiarized  himself  with  the  history  of  the 
feudal  system,  so  intimately  connected  with  the  validity  of  the  Eng- 
lish common  law.  He  wasted  not  an  hour;  his  defects  in  education 
demanded  incessant  application  to  correct  and  overcome  them.     In 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  8l 

twelve  months,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  license  to  practice  in  the 
county  courts  of  the  state,  and  in  twelve  months  more,  to  practice  in 
the  superior  courts;  and  then  his  professional  life  began. 

In   viewing  the   earl}-  part  of  a  career,  afteward  so  brilliant  and 
distinguished,  one  of  those  contrasts  in  past  and  after  conditions  pre- 
sents Ttself,  apparently  designed  by  Providence  as  encouragement  to 
the  oppressed,  yet  courageous   hewer-out  of  his  own  fortune;  a  dark, 
gloomy  back-ground  against  which  the  achievements  of  after  years 
stand   out   in  lustrous   relief;  a  contrast,  not  of  humiliation,  but  of 
honor,  as  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  to  patience,  hope,  toil  and 
manly   courage.      Mr.  Merrimon  was  practically  self-dependent,  he 
was  without  money;  not  so  absolutely  without  friends,  however,  that 
he  did  not  find  some  willing  to  wait  for  the  rise  in  his  fortunes,  which, 
to  their  prophetic  eye,  his  intense  ambition,  his  indomitable  industry, 
his  irreproachable  character,  seemed  to   assure.     Yet  these   secured 
for  him  only  the  bare  means  for  bodil}'  sustenance;  for  all  else,  his 
was  a  life  of  labor,  of  hardship,  of  privation,  to  which,  in  the  after 
time  of  prosperity  he  might  refer  with  gratitude  as  the  agencies  to 
the  training  which  enabled  him  to  achieve  so  much;  and  also  with 
pride  that  to  himself  mainly  he  owed  the  power  that  enabled  him  to  put 
them  so  far  behind  him.     Mr.  Merrimon  was  soon  made  county  at- 
torney for  Buncombe  and  other  western  counties.     He  soon  entered 
upon  an  encouraging  practice  at  the  bar,  for  suitors  of  both  political 
jjarties  perceived  his  studiousness,  his  careful  preparation  of  his  cases, 
and  his  fidelity  to  his  clients.     He  entered  early  into  the  spirit  of  pol- 
itics without  becoming  a  professional  politician.     Yet  his  adaptation 
to  politics  as  well  as  to  law  was  readily  admitted  by  his  countrymen; 
and  in  i860,  he  was  elected  to  the  house   of  commons,  defeating  his 
able  and   poi)ular  opponent,  David  Coleman,  by  twenty-eight  votes. 
This  was  for  the  session  immediatelj'  preceding  the  war;  Ellis,  a  dem- 
ocrat, was  governor,  Mr.  Merrimon  was  a  whig.     Party  spirit  was 
intensely  heated,  the  immediately  agitating  question  being  the  recog- 
nition  of  the  certainty  of  approaching  civil   war.     As  a  test  of  the 
question,  a  bill  introduced  into  the  house  at  the  instance  of  Gov.  Hllis, 
asked  anticipatory  provision  of  $300,000  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing 
arms  and  munitions  of  war.     The  sessions  of  the  legislature  at  that 
time  began  in  the  month  of  November,  and  the  advocates  of  the  bill 
urged  its  passage  before  the  coming  of  the  Christmas  holidays.    The 
legislature  of   1 860-1   contained   many   men   of  ability  and   some  of 
great  distinction,  and  many  able  speeches  were  made  for  and  against 
the  bill.     Mr.  Merrimon  opposed  it  and  in  debate  contributed  largely 
to  the  delay  of  its  passage  until  after  the  holidays.     The  war  was  ap- 
proaching and  the  excitement  in  the  legislature  increased  with  the 
progress  of  the  session,  and  in  February  Mr.  Merrimon  made  a  pow- 
erful argument  against  the  doctrine  of  secession  to  a  crowded  and 
e.xcited  house. 

About  this  time  a  general  election  was  ordered  to  ascertain  the 
voice  of  the  people  on  the  question  of  secession,  and  th(^  popular  vote 
was  decided  in  its  opposition  to  the  call  of  a  convention.     But  when 

B-6 


82  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Mr.  Lincoln  issued  iiis  proclamation  calling  upon  North  Carolina  to 
furnish  its  quota  of  troops  to  aid  in  suppressing  the  insurgent  states,  a 
convention  was  at  once  called  and  the  state  passed  the  ordinance  of 
secession,  and  joined  in  the  movement  against  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. Mr.  Merrimon  soon  volunteered  in  the  "  Rough  and  Ready 
Guard."  Its  members  were  chiefly  from  the  county  of  Buncombe, 
and  up  to  the  secession  of  the  state,  had  mostly  been  Union  men. 
While  the  company  was  drilling  in  camp  at  Raleigh,  Gov.  Ellis  com- 
missioned Mr.  Merrimon  as  captain  on  Col.  William  Johnson's  staff, 
in  the  commissary  department,  and  he  engaged  at  once  actively  in  his 
new  duties,  serving  usefully  at  Weldon,  Ocracoke,  Fort  Macon  and 
elsewhere.  This  department  was  soon  merged  in  that  of  the  Con- 
federate states;  and  in  the  same  year  Mr.  Merrimon  was  appointed 
by  Judge  French,  solicitor  for  the  Eighth  judicial  district,  and  at  the 
end  of  his  pro  tern,  term  he  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  same  office, 
which  he  held  to  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Merrimon's  sincere  con- 
victions made  him  a  Union  man,  not  in  sympathies  nor  in  action,  but 
in  judgment.  He  never  hoped  for  the  success  of  the  southern  cause, 
but  his  sympathies  bound  him  to  his  own  people.  During  the  course 
of  the  long  struggle,  his  effort  was  to  aid  in  preserving  law  and  order 
and  so  much  respect  for  civil  authority  as  was  possible  during  the  ex- 
istence of  active  hostilities.  He  had  occasion  to  exert  such  influences 
powerfully  and  usefully  at  the  very  outset  of  the  war.  A  portion  of 
the  people  of  Madison  county,  of  strong  Union  sentiments,  bitterly 
hostile  to  secession  and  its  advocates,  made  an  inroad  upon  Marshall, 
the  county  seat  of  Madison,  the  citizens  of  which  most!}'  favored  the 
southern  cause,  and  committed  many  acts  of  violence  and  plundering 
stores  of  supplies.  This  flagrant  outrage  was  bitterly  resented  by  the 
people  of  the  adjoining  county  of  Buncombe;  and  a  body  of  armed 
men  to  the  number  of  1,000  or  more,  under  the  lead  of  popular  and 
prominent  men,  hurried  at  once  into  Madison  to  capture  and  punish 
the  marauders.  The  justices  of  the  peace  were  about  to  open  a  term 
of  the  county  court.  The  Buncombe  people  were  intent  upon  their 
violent  purpose.  Solicitor  Merrimon  would  not  consent  to  ignore  or 
disregard  the  civil  power.  A  violent  contention  arose  between  the 
opposing  opinions.  That  of  Mr.  Merrimon  prevailed,  that  state's 
warrants  be  issued  for  the  arrest  of  the  offending  parties,  and  that 
the  sheriff  of  Madison,  if  he  chose,  might  summon  as' many  of  the 
Buncombe  militia  as  he  saw  fit  to  act  as  a  civil  posse.  This  course 
was  pursued,  the  warrants  were  served  as  far  as  the  offenders  could 
be  reached,  and  the  civil  power  was  vindicated,  and  military  ardor 
was  appeased  by  its  application  to  the  service  of  legal  civil  process. 
But  Mr.  Merrimon's  triumph  was  achieved  at  much  personal  risk,  be- 
cause it  was  alleged  among  some  of  the  Buncombe  soldiers  that  he 
had  advised  the  issue  of  the  warrants  to  screen  his  Union  friends  from 
just  military  punishment.  Violent  opposition  to  his  counsel  anci  per- 
sonal injury  to  himself  were  threatened  and  imminent.  But  prudent 
counsel  prevailed  and  the  law  was  suffered  to  take  its  regular  course. 
When  the  war  closed,  Mr.  Johnson,  then  president  of  the   United 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  83 

States,  issued  his  proclamation  for  an  election  of  delegates  to  the  state 
convention  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Raleigh.  This  was  in  1865.  Mr. 
Merrimon  was  a  candidate  for  the  convention,  but  was  defeated  by  a 
small  majority  by  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart.  The  canvass  and  the  elections 
also  were  conducted  under  the  shadow  of  bayonets.  The  irregular, 
insubordinate  violent  body,  known  as  "Kirk's  Men,"  were  everywhere 
present,  fully  armed,  and  breathing  out  vengeance  against  Mr.  Merri- 
mon, for  as  solicitor,  it  had  fallen  to  his  duty  to  prosecute  a  number 
of  them.  His  life  was  often  in  jeopardy;  but  he  passed  through  the- 
trial  without  bodily  harm.  At  the  session  of  the  legislature  which 
followed  the  sitting  of  the  convention,  Mr.  Merrimon  was  elected 
judge  of  the  Eighth  judicial  district,  and  David  Coleman  was  made 
solicitor  of  the  same  district.  The  histor}'  of  his  brief  judicial 
career,  if  fully  set  forth,  would  be  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  his- 
tory of  a  remarkable,  turbulent  period.  It  afforded  admirable  illus- 
tration of  the  firmness,  the  judgment  and  the  patriotism  of  Judge 
Merrimon.  The  war  was  nominally  over,  the  armies  had  disbanded 
and  the  soldiers  had  returned  to  their  homes.  But  if  it  was  not  war, 
it  certainly  was  not  peace.  In  the  war,  and  in  some  localities,  neigh- 
bor had  fought  against  neighbor,  and  besides  the  wounds  of  battle, 
indelible  injury  had  been  inflicted  by  the  men  of  both  sides  on  the 
homes  and  families  of  each  other.  They  all  returned  home  to  find 
that  the  civil  law  was  almost  in  abeyance,  and  each  man  became  a 
law  unto  himself,  with  assumed  right  and  dutj'  to  avenge  past  wrongs. 
Men  brought  home  with  them  their  side-arms  or  readily  procured 
them.  In  some  localities,  communities  were  arra3'ed  against  each 
other  like  hostile  camps,  and  whenever  the  men  of  opposite  sides 
met,  there  was  frequently  sure  to  be  blood-shed  and  death.  It  was 
chaos  until  the  arm  of  the  civil  law  should  resume  its  sway.  The 
opening  of  the  courts  seemed  to  promise  the  renewal  of  war  rather 
than  the  restoration  of  peace,  for  the  court-grounds  were  seen  to  be 
filled  with  armed  men  waiting  and  eager  for  collision  with  each  other. 
At  the  opening  of  the  court  in  Clay  county,  at  the  first  term  after 
the  war,  there  was  no  grand  jury  to  which  to  entrust  the  inquisition 
into  crime  or  violence  —  no  magistrates  to  draw  a  grand  jury,  and 
only  a  sheriff  as  a  nucleus  around  which  order  might  form.  There 
were  hundreds  of  armed  men  waiting  for  pretext  for  collision.  Judge 
Merrimon,  with  quick  judgment,  saw  the  danger,  and  with  prompt  de- 
cision, adopted  his  line  of  action.  He  suggested  to  the  magistrates 
appointed  by  Gov.  Holden  (but  who  had  not  yet  qualified),  to  be 
sworn  in,  after  which  jurors  were  drawn  and  summoned  and  a  grand 
jury  drawn,  sworn  and  charged.  On  the  first  day  of  the  term,  a  dan- 
gerous outbreak  took  place  in  which  si.xty  to  eighty  persons  were  en- 
gaged. The  judge  at  once  directed  the  sheriff  to  summon  and  swear 
sixty  trusty  and  resolute  men  of  both  parties  or  factions,  to  see  that 
they  were  well  armed,  and  to  instruct  them  to  shoot  without  hesita- 
tion the  first  man  guilty  of  violence  with  intent  to  create  general  dis- 
turbance. The  knowledge  of  this  preparation  calmed  the  turbulent 
element,  and  the  court  was  held  without  the  incident  of  a  single  act 


84  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  further  disorder.  The  same  course  of  action  secured  quiet  in  the 
county  of  Cherokee,  where  danger  was  still  more  imminent.  This 
statement  is  made  at  some  length,  because  it  marked  an  important 
era  in  the  history  of  the  state.  It  was  then  that  the  voice  of  war  was 
finally  hushed,  appeal  to  violence  no  longer  made,  and  when  the  nor- 
mal reverence  for  law  began  to  be  resumed.  x'Ynd  it  was  mainly  be- 
cause a  man  of  courage,  firmness  and  judgment  represented  the  law 
in  its  peaceful  majesty. 

This  was  in  the  spring  of  1866,  when  Judge  Merrimon  rode  the 
western  circuit.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  rode  the  Wake  circuit, 
in  many  of  the  counties  of  which  violence  and  disorder  had  been  rife. 
Firmness  of  action  pursued  in  one  circuit  produced  like  happy  results 
in  the  other.  While  holding  court  in  Johnston  county,  he  received 
military  orders  from  Gen.  Sickles  to  suspend  proceedings  in  a  case 
before  the  court,  in  which  indictments  had  been  found  against  a  large 
body  of  men  charged  with  outrageous  and  causeless  riot.  Judge 
Merrimon  refused  to  obey  the  order,  but  as  the  case  was  continued 
on  affidavit,  there  was,  therefore,  no  open  conflict  of  authority'.  A 
similar  order  having  been  issued  to  another  county,  where  Judge 
Merrimon  was  engaged  in  holding  court,  he  determined  to  resign  his 
seat  on  the  bench,  not  finding  himself  able  to  resist  a  power  then  so 
overwhelming,  and  he  tendered  his  resignation  to  Gov.  Worth.  The 
governor,  however,  persuaded  him  to  withhold  it  until  after  the  trial 
of  the  celebrated  "  Johnson  will  case  ",  which  was  to  be  heard  in 
Chowan  county.  Of  this  case,  it  is  only  possible  to  say  here,  that  it 
was,  perhaps,  the  most  important  civil  case  ever  tried  in  North  Caro- 
lina. It  involved  the  validity  of  bequests  amounting  to  over  one 
million  dollars,  and  there  was  the  largest  and  the  most  brilliant  array 
of  legal  talent  ever  present  at  one  time,  engaged  in  one  case  at  the 
North  Carolina  bar.  The  trial  lasted  four  weeks,  and  resulted  in 
establishing  the  will;  and  then  Judge  Merrimon's  resignation  took 
effect.  He  subsequently  opened  his  law  office  in  Raleigh,  removing 
from  Asheville,  his  former  residence,  with  the  chief  view  to  the 
important  business  of  the  federal  courts.  His  first  partner  in  the  law 
was  Mr.  Samuel  F.  Phillips,  afterward  United  States  solicitor  general. 
Subsequently  the  firm  (to  anticipate  somewhat)  was  Merrimon, 
Fuller  &  Ashe,  and  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  latter  to  engage  in 
journalism,  Merrimon  &  Fuller. 

Judge  Merrimon  had  taken  much  interest  in  public  affairs,  and 
since  the  war  much  of  his  efforts  were  directed,  in  conjunction  with 
that  of  others,  to  the  restoration  and  security  of  good  government. 
To  that  end,  he  identified  himself  with  the  democratic  party,  and  was 
a  member  (and  part  of  the  time  chairman)  of  its  executive  committee. 
That  committee  in  186S  nominated  him  as  the  democratic  candidate 
for  governor,  but  he  declined  the  nomination.  He  was  also  nomi- 
nated for  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court.  The  election  was 
practically  decided  by  Gen.  Canby,  and  Mr.  Holden  was  declared 
governor.  Meanwhile  Judge  Merrimon  was  an  active  and  able  con- 
tributor to  the  press,  arousing  the  people  to  a  sense  of  the  dangers 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  85 

which  threatened  their  liberties.  In  the  violation  of  those  liberties 
which  attended  the  course  of  the  "  Kirk  war  "  he  was  especially  se- 
vere in  his  denunciation  of  those  who  were  its  chief  instruments,  and 
exhibited  his  usual  courage  and  decision  in  defending  the  rights  of 
the  people.  He  was  of  the  iirst  to  make  application  for  writs  of 
habeas  corpus  in  the  cases  of  those  citizens  seized  and  held  by  Kirk 
under  the  orders  of  the  governor,  and  participated  largely  in  the 
struggle  for  the  restoration  of  free  government.  In  1 871,  in  the  elec- 
tion for  delegates  to  a  state  convention  to  be  called  by  a  majority  of 
the  votes  of  the  people  of  the  state,  Judge  Merrimon,  with  D.  M. 
Barringer,  Ex-Gov.  Thomas  Bragg  and  Green  Alford,  was  a  candi- 
date for  delegate  from  the  county  of  Wake,  and  was  defeated.  But 
he  was  much  in  the  eyes  and  minds  of  men  for  his  able  and  persistent 
maintenance  of  law  and  libert}-.  He  had  made  many  able  speeches 
when  and  where  required,  and  was  regarded  as  the  most  available 
candidate  the  democratic  party  could  present  for  governor;  and  at 
the  convention  held  in  Greensboro  in  1872,  he  was  nominated  by  ac- 
clamation. His  opponent  was  Tod  R.  Caldwell,  of  Burke  county. 
The  campaign  was  an  arduous  and  also  a  very  able  one.  Mr.  Merri- 
mon spoke  in  most  of  the  counties  of  the  state,  and  the  people,  eager 
for  instruction  in  the  newly  revived  principles  of  law,  order  and  lib- 
erty, heard  him  with  avidity  and  received  impressions  of  lasting  en- 
durance. He  was  defeated  nominally.  He  was  believed  to  have 
been  fairly  elected,  and  a  contest  was  proposed  but  abandoned,  be- 
cause the  executive  committee  of  his  party  thought  it  unadvisable. 

At  the  legislature  of  1872  his  name  was  presented  as  a  candidate 
for  the  senatorial  nomination.  Zebulon  B.  Vance  was  also  a  candi- 
date. The  latter  had  been  elected  to  the  senate  at  the  session  of 
1870,  but  had  been  denied  his  scat,  and  was  now  again  a  candidate. 
The  conflict  was  a  warm  one  between  the  two  gentlemen,  ending 
after  a  few  days  contest  in  the  withdrawal  of  both.  The  next  week, 
however,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Vance  again  introduced  his  name  into 
the  caucus.  Eighteen  friends  of  Mr.  Merrimon  indignantly  withdrew 
from  the  caucus,  and  on  the  same  ciay  his  name  was  presented  in 
open  session  of  the  legislature,  and  those  eighteen  friends  were  joined 
by  the  republicans  and  Mr.  Merrimon  was  elected.  It  is  just  to  him 
to  say  that,  though  at  the  time  he  was  bitterly  assailed  for  apparent 
conllict  with  his  political  associates,  the  whole  transaction  occurred 
without  his  knowledge  or  procurement.  It  was  only  upon  the  advice 
of  judicious  and  honorable  men,  whose  fidelity  to  the  democratic 
party  was  above  reproach,  that  he  accepted  the  nomination.  His 
fidelity  to  his  party  long  since  effaced  all  susi)icion  of  his  party  in- 
tegrity and  only  some  few  traces  of  personal  bitterness  remain. 

His  service  of  six  years  in  the  senate  was  honorable  to  himself,  to 
his  party  and  to  his  state.  He  was  an  indefatigable  student;  he 
familiarized  himself  with  the  important  questions  of  the  day;  he  was 
as  watchful  there  as  he  had  been  in  less  exalted  stations,  for  lil)erty 
and  the  supremacy  of  the  law,  and  was  thoroughly  well  informed  on 
questions  of  finance;  he  spoke   ably  and   frequently   upon  a  bill    for 


86  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  expansion  of  the  currency,  favoring  an  increased  issue  of  green- 
backs to  the  extent  of  $50,000,000.  Congress  passed  the  bill  with 
which  he  was  largely  identified,  but  it  was  vetoed  by  President  Grant. 
In  so  brief  a  resume  of  his  senatorial  career,  it  is  impossible  to  more 
than  refer  to  his  speeches  on  the  Louisiana  question,  the  southern 
questions — many  of  them  —  the  Japan  refunding  bill,  the  Thurman 
bill  in  respect  to  the  Pacific  railroad  companies  and  others,  indicat- 
ing wide  range  of  information  and  strong  powers  of  argument.  He 
was  an  active  member  of  the  committee  on  the  postoffice,  on  post 
roads,  on  privileges  and  elections,  on  claims,  on  rules,  on  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  also  of  the  committee  to  visit  South  Carolina  to 
investigate  its  presidential  election  affairs,  etc.  His  senatorial  term 
expired  March  4,  1879,  and  he  continued  to  pursue  his  practice  at 
the  bar  until  1S83,  when  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Jarvis  associate 
justice  of  the  supreme  court  upon  the  resignation  of  Associate-Justice 
Ruffin.  This  position  he  held  until  the  death  of  Chief-Justice  Smith. 
The  vacancy  was  filled  by  Gov.  Fowle,  who  appointed  Judge  Merri- 
mon,  and  at  the  next  democratic  convention  he  was  unanimously 
nominated  as  the  candidate  for  chief-justice  and  elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  upwards  of  forty  thousand  votes,  and  this  was  the  crowning 
honor  of  his  life. 

As  Chief-Justice  Merrimon  is  still  living,  and  in  the  full,  enjoyment 
of  his  mental  powers,  eulogy  of  him  as  a  jurist  would  hardly  be  in  good 
taste.  Great  respect  for  the  profession  of  the  law,  faithfulness  to 
his  clients  and  indomitable  industry  characterized  him  while  at  the 
bar;  and  these  qualities,  added  to  decided  natural  ability,  great  self- 
reliance,  a  well  deserved  character  for  high  personal  integrity,  a 
ready  command  of  language,  insured  his  success  as  a  counselor  and 
advocate,  and  entitled  him  to  the  promotion  he  has  received  from  the 
executive  and  the  people  in  his  profession.  While  on  the  superior 
court  bench,  his  administration  of  the  duties  of  that  difficult  office 
was  unanimously'  admitted  to  be  admirable.  Punctual,  prompt, 
quick  and  decided,  but  ever  just  and  courteous,  he  inspired  the  offi- 
cers of  court,  litigants,  jurors  and  by-standers  with  proper  respect  for 
the  law  and  him  who  so  well  administered  it.  Like  qualities  he  ex- 
hibits still,  when  occasion  demands,  in  the  dignified  court  of  appeals 
in  which  he  so  well  presides.  The  labors  of  the  court  are  great,  and 
his  industry  is  quite  equal  to  his  full  share  of  them.  His  able  opin- 
ions, to  be  found  in  a  score  of  volumes  of  the  supreme  court  reports 
of  North  Carolina,  beginning  with  the  eighty-ninth,  already  published 
—  and,  it  is  hoped  in  many  more  cases  to  be  decided  in  the  future  — 
are  and  will  be  a  lasting  monument,  acre  pcrcnnius,  to  his  strong  sense 
of  justice,  his  powers  as  a  logician  and  his  wide  legal  learning. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  married  Margaret  J.  Baird,  daughter 
of  Israel  Baird,  of  Buncombe  county.  Mr.  Baird  was  a  member  of 
that  large  and  influential  family  so  closely  associated  with  the  charac- 
ter and  progress  of  his  county.  His  wife  was  of  the  prominent  Penn- 
sylvania family  of  Tates,  which  famil}-  also  has  been  and  is  now 
usefully  prominent  in  western  North  Carolina.     Mrs.  Merrimon  was 


JOS.    J.    DAVIS,  Judge  Supreme  Court. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  8/ 

beautiful  in  person,  her  beauty  enlightened  by  great  loveliness  of 
character,  culture  and  intelligence.  Her  devotion  to  her  husband, 
her  cheerful  endurance  of  sacrifice  through  his  struggles,  her  faith, 
her  hope,  her  courage,  made  her  a  noble  help-meet  for  him  who  had 
set  out  to  conquer  the  difficulties  of  life  and  continually  to  grasp  its 
highest  rewards.  She  lives  to  enjoy  the  conquests  achieved  over 
fortune  with  pride  in  welcoming  the  honors  that  have  come  to  her 
husband.  Judge  Merrimon  lives  in  the  enjoyment  of  vigorous  health, 
the  fruit  of  regular  sj'stematic  habits  from  boyhood,  of  the  most 
rigid  temperance  in  ail  things,  of  the  most  perfect  abstinence  from  all 
the  usually  condoned  weaknesses  of  youth,  of  the  absolute  avoidance 
of  all  those  habits  which  custom  has  made  so  well  nigh  universal. 
He  has  always  been  a  close  and  careful  student  of  his  profession,  and 
an  ardent  reader  of  the  purest  literature,  and  thus  has  largely  sup- 
plied his  early  deficiencies  in  education.  He  is  clear,  chaste  and 
strong  as  a  writer,  and  luminous,  animated  and  effectiv-e  as  a  speaker. 
In  this  last  characteristic,  in  his  warmth  and  impetuositj'  in  debate, 
he  gives  striking  illustration  of  the  conquest  he  has  achieved  over 
himself.  His  warmth  betrays  the  existence  of  strong  internal  fires. 
The  subjugation  of  all  the  passions  which  lead  to  evil  prove  the 
mastery  he  has  gained  over  them.  He  has  reached  his  aim  in  life  by 
the  most  rigid  and  unrelaxed  self-discipline. 

JOSEPH  J.  DAVIS. 

On  the  13th  day  of  April,  1828,  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  was  born 
Judge  Joseph  J.  Davis.  His  youth  was  spent  amid  the  scenes  of 
plantation  life,  and  his  early  scholastic  training  was  at  the  Male 
academy  of  Louisburg,  under  Mr.  John  B.  Bobbitt,  an  educator  of 
considerable  repute  in  his  day.  After  receiving  a  thorough  academi- 
cal education  at  the  Louisburg  male  academy,  he  attended  for  one  year 
the  well  known  Wake  Forest  college,  and  subsequently  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where,  in  1S50,  he  received  the  degree 
of  bachelor  of  laws.  Being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June  of  1S50,  he 
located  at  Oxford,  N.  C,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession. However,  he  continued  here  less  than  three  years,  then  lo- 
cated at  Louisburg,  in  his  native  county.  Mr.  Davis  soon  rose  to 
high  rank  as  a  lawyer,  and  was  conducting  a  good  practice  when  the 
Civil  war  came  on.  In  1862  he  became  captain  of  Company  G,  h'orty-  ■ 
seventh  regiment.  North  Carolina  troops.  The  company  had  been 
raised  in  his  own  county  and  the  county  of  Granville,  mainly  by  his 
effort  and  by  those  of  his  first  lieutenant,  Dr.  P.  P.  Peace,  and  he  was 
made  its  captain,  and  remained  as  such  till  the  battle  of  Gettysburg, 
when,  upon  July  3,  when  in  the  charge  made  liy  Gen.  Pettigrew,  he 
was  captured  and  made  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  afterward  confined 
first,  at  Fort  Delaware,  and  later  at  Johnson's  Island;  and  just  a 
short  time  before  the  close  of  hostilities  he  was  paroled,  but  soon  the 
war  closed,  and  again  Mr.  Davis  took  up  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion at  Louisburg.     1  le  was  soon  called  into  public  life,  being  elected. 


88  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

as  a  democrat  to  the  house  of  commons  from  Franklin  county.  He 
had  been  a  whig  and  union  man  before  the  war,  but  since  has  faith- 
fully co-operated  with  the  democratic  party.  He  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  in  iS66,  and  after  serving  one  term  withdrew  from  public 
life,  to  give  his  time  and  attention  to  the  exclusive  practice  of  his 
profession,  continuing  activel}'  engaged  till  1874,  when  the  democratic 
party  made  him  its  candidate  for  congress  from  the  "Metropolitan" 
or  Fourth  district.  The  district  was  republican  by  a  fair  majority, 
and  Mr.  Davis  entered  the  race  against  this  majority  and  a  strong 
opponent,  but  after  a  spirited  and  ably  contested  campaign,  he  was 
elected,  as  he  was  also  re-elected  in  1S76  and  1878.  He  served  six  years 
in  congress  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people; 
evidence  of  which  is  manifest  in  the  fact  of  his  re-electons. 

Declining  to  enter  the  race  for  a  fourth  term  in  congress,  Mr. 
Davis  retired  again  to  private  life  and  to  the  practice  of  law.  As  a 
legislator,  his  record  bears  evidence  of  faithful,  honest  and  able  ser- 
vice, and  his  course  in  congress  was  marked  for  its  fidelity  to  prin- 
ciple, and  sincerity  of  purpose,  and  in  the  halls  of  legislation  and  in 
congress,  as  well  as  at  the  bar,  or  in  the  social  or  business  world,  Mr. 
Davis  has  proven  himself  the  honest  man,  the  cultured  gentleman, 
and  the  learned  scholar  that  he  is.  He  had  gained  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  the  people;  he  had  distinguished  himself  at  the  bar  as 
an  able  and  profound  lawyer,  and  b}'  his  pleasant  disposition,  genial 
character  and  noble  principles,  he  had  become  a  popular,  well-known 
and  influential  man,  and  in  1887,  when  by  the  death  of  Judge  ThoniasS. 
Ashe,  a  vacancy  on  the  supreme  court  bench  was  occasioned.  Gov. 
Scales,  in  his  wise  choice,  selected  Mr.  Davis  as  the  fittest  man  for  the 
vacancy,  appointing  him  to  the  exalted  position.  The  people  were 
well  pleased  with  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Davis  to  this  judgeship,  and  at 
their  regular  election  in  1888,  voiced  their  confidence  in  his  fitness  for 
the  position  by  electing  him  for  a  term  of  eight  years.  This  was  a 
well  deserved  promotion,  and  since  sitting  on  the  bench  of  this  high 
tribunal,  Judge  Davis  has  justified  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  his 
friends,  and  his  judgeship  has  been  characterized  as  one  of  learning, 
wisdom  and  purity.  As  a  jurist,  he  is  profound,  exact,  and  sincere, 
and  his  urbanity  of  character  praiseworthy;  and  among  members  of 
the  bar  he  sustains  their  highest  esteem  and  respect;  and  among  his 
brother  members  of  the  supreme  court  he  seems  to  enjoy  happy  rela- 
tions, and  among  whom  he  presents  a  pleasing  and  striking  appear- 
ance on  the  bench,  as  he  bears  himself  with  dignity,  and  wears  an 
expression  of  nobility  and  intelligence. 

Judge  Davis  has  continued  his  fixed  residence  at  Louisburg,  where 
he  is  especially  honored  and  esteemed  In  social  circles,  he  sustains 
prominence  as  a  man  of  culture  and  moral  and  religious  principle, 
and  throughout  his  course  he  has  been  a  faithful  Episcopalian  in 
church  faith.  He  has  twice  been  happily  married.  In  October,  1S52, 
he  wedded  Catherine  Shaw,  of  Louisburg,  a  daughter  of  Robert  J. 
Shaw,  a  merchant.  To  them  were  born  five  children,  of  which  four 
survive.     In  1881,  his  first  wife  died,   and  in   1SS3,  he  married  for  a 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  89 

second  wife  Louisa  Kittrell,  of  Oxford,  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Kit- 
trell,  of  Granville  county.  Judge  Davis  comes  of  an  old  and  re- 
spected North  Carolina  family.  It  is  not  remembered,  whether  his 
paternal  grandfather,  William  Davis,  was  born  in  North  Carolina  or 
not,  but  he  was  of  W^elsh  lineage;  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  parti- 
cipated in  the  Revolution  for  American  Independence.  The  judge's 
father,  Jonathan  Davis,  was  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  where 
he  lived  a  long  and  useful  life  as  a  planter.  He  was  born  in  1769,  and 
died  in  1S42.  He  married  Mary  Butler,  by  whom  he  hatl  eleven 
children  of  whom  Judge  Davis  is  the  youngest  but  one.  and  that  one 
died  in  infancy.  Mary  Butler  was  born  in  King  William  county, 
Va.,  but  when  an  infant  was  brought  to  North  Carolina,  by  her 
parents,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  they  were  of  English  ancestry.  She 
was  a  granddaughter  of  Rev.  John  Pomphret,  an  early  and  power- 
ful Presbyterian  minister  of  Virginia,  and  from  whom  descends  a  long 
line  of  descendants.  And  such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  life  and  a 
mention  of  the  family  history  of  one  of  North  Carolina's  honored 
sons,  who  has  attained  to  distinction  as  a  man  of  legal  and  general 
learning,  and  gained  a  gratif3'ing  place  in  the  affection  and  esteem  of 
his  countrymen,  and  to  his  good  name,  excellent  character,  and  life 
achievements  our  pen  cannot  do  justice. 

WILLIAM  NATHAN  HARRELL  SMITH 

was  born  September  24,  1S12,  in  Murfreesboro,  Hertford  county, 
N.  C.  His  father  was  William  L.  Smith,  a  native  of  Lyme,  Conn., 
and  after  having  studied  medicine  removed  to  Hertford  county, 
N.  C,  where  he  married  and  died,  his  death  occurring  in  1813.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  half-brother  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Mur- 
dock,  D.  D.,  the  distinguished  ecclesiastical  historian,  orientalist  and 
philosopher,  who  was  accustomed  each  Sabbath,  at  least  in  his  later 
years,  to  read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  in  seven  different  tongues.  Our 
subject  received  his  preliminary  scholastic  training  in  Murfreesboro, 
N.  C,  Kingston,  R.  I.,  Colchester,  Conn.,  at  which  last  place  he  was 
prepared  for  college.  In  1830  he  entered  Yale  college,  and  graduated 
in  1834.  Such  distinguished  characters  as  Morrison  R.  Waite,  chief 
justice  of  the  I'nitecl  States,  William  M.  Evarts,  secretary  of  state, 
and  Edward  Pierrepont,  once  minister  to  Great  Britain,  were  fresh- 
men in  Mr.  Smith's  senior  year  in  Yale  college.  From  the  academi- 
cal department  of  Yale,  Mr.  Smith  was  passed  to  the  law  department, 
where  under  the  instructions  of  Judge  David  S.  Daggett  and  Prof. 
Hitchcock,  he  was  qualified  for  the  bar.  After  a  visit  of  some  six 
months  in  Texas,  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Hertford, 
his  native  county.  He  rose  rapidly  at  the  bar  and  was  soon  to  enter 
public  life.  In  1840  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  commons  as  rep- 
resentative from  Hertford  county;  and  in  the  year  1848,  was  elected 
to  represent  the  Hertford  district  in  the  state  senate,  and  during  his 
service  in  this  body  he  was  chosen  by  the  legislature,  state  solicitor 
for  the  superior  court    of  the  P'irst  judicial  district,  comprising  the 


<;0  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

northeastern  portion  of  the  state.  This  office  he  held  for  two  con- 
secutive terms  of  four  years  eacli,  the  second  term  expiring  in  1857, 
in  which  year  he  was  nominated  by  the  whigs  of  his  district,  for 
congress,  and  was  defeated  by  a  small  majority,  which,  however,  he 
overcame  at  the  next  election,  in  1859,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  house 
of  congress  just  as  the  sectional  conflict  was  about  to  merge  into  Civil 
war. 

At  once  Mr.  Smith  became  a  prominent  figure  in  the  parliamentary 
struggles  of  the  period.  During  the  long  and  exciting  strife,  consum- 
ing a  period  of  eight  weeks,  which  preceded  the  organization  of  the 
house,  Mr.  Smith  was  nominated  for  the  speakership  by  the  southern 
whigs,  in  opposition  to  John  Sherman,  nominated  by  the  republicans, 
and  Thomas  S.  Bocock,  the  democratic  nominee.  Some  of  the  more 
moderate  republicans  known  as  "  The  People's  Party,"  having  signi- 
fied their  intention  to  vote  for  Mr.  Smith,  a  tacit  agreement  was  made 
by  which  a  majorit}-  of  the  democrats  were  to  transfer  their  votes 
from  Bocock  to  Mr.  Smith,  who  would  have  been  elected  speaker, 
but  Mr.  Smith  refusing  to  pledge  himself  to  Mr.  E.  Joy  Morris,  of 
Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  certain  republicans  above  alluded  to,  to  con- 
stitute the  committee  on  ways  and  means  in  the  interest  of  protection, 
the  republicans,  with  the  honorable  .exception  of  Mr.  Milliard,  of 
Pennsylvania,  withheld  their  votes,  and  Mr.  Sherman  having  with- 
drawn, Mr.  Pennington,  of  New  Jersey,  was  finally  elected  speaker. 
Mr.  Smith  held  his  seat  in  congress  till  the  close  of  the  session,  being 
present  at  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln,  in  March,  1S61.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Confederate  congress  during  its  existence,  being 
elected  to  the  Provisional  congress,  in  July,  1861,  and  subsequently  to 
the  first  and  second  permanent  Confederate  congresses,  representing 
the  First  electoral  district  of  North  Carolina.  During  the  course  of 
this  congressional  service,  Mr.  .Smith  was  closely  associated  with  such 
able,  discreet  and  enlightened  statesmen  as  ex-Gov.  William  A. 
Graham,  a  member  of  the  Confederate  senate  from  North  Carolina, 
and  John  Baldwin,  a  Confederate  representative  from  Virginia.  On 
the  iSth  of  March,  1S65,  the  second  permanent  Confederate  congress 
adjourned,  to  be  followed  in  less  than  one  month  by  the  memorable 
scene  at  Appomatox  C.  H.,  and  after  which  Mr.  Smith,  for  a  time, 
employed  himself  with  his  private  affairs,  but  before  the  close  of 
1865,  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  commons  of  North  Carolina,  and 
here  zealously  promoted  the  reconstruction  of  the  state  government 
under  the  plan  of  President  Johnson. 

In  1868,  during  the  exciting  presidential  campaign  of  this  3'ear, 
the  action  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina, 
called  forth  a  solemn  protest  from  the  bar  against  judicial  interfer- 
ence in  political  affairs,  which  was  signed  by  one  hundred  and  fifty 
members  of  the  bar,  including  B.  F.  Moore,  Ex-Gov.  Thomas  Bragg, 
and  E.  Graham  Haywood,  three  of  its  most  prominent  members. 
This  protest  was  treated  by  Chief-Justice  Pearson  as  contempt  of 
court,  and  argument  was  heard  thereon  at  length.  Mr.  W.  N.  H. 
Smith  was  associated  with    Ex-Judge  Battle,    Ex-Judge  Fowle,   Ex- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  9I 

Judge  S.  J.  Person,  and  Ex-Judge  Barnes  for  the  defense,  and  in  an 
able  speech  bore  eloquent  testimony  to  Mr.  Moore's  consistent  sup- 
port of  the  dignity-  and  prerogatives  of  the  judicial  tribunals  of  the 
county,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  motion  to  discharge  the  rule  on 
payment  of  costs.  In  March,  1870,  Mr.  Smith  removed  to  Norfolk, 
Va.,  still  retaining,  however,  his  practice  in  the  courts  of  North  Caro- 
lina. While  residing  in  Norfolk,  it  was  in  the  winter  of  1870,  that 
Gov.  \V.  W.  Holden  was  impeached  for  misdemeanor  in  office,  and 
tried  before  the  senate  of  the  state,  sitting  as  a  high  court  of  impeach- 
ment, presided  over  bj'  the  chief-justice,  the  trial  being  protracted 
over  many  weeks.  Mr.  Smith,  although  a  political  opponent,  was 
selected  by  Gov.  Holden,  as  one  of  his  counsel,  and  made  the  closing 
argument  in  his  defense,  vindicating  his  official  conduct  with  masterly 
power.  Two  years  were  spent  in  Norfolk,  and  then  Mr.  Smith  re- 
turned to  North  Carolina,  settling  at  Raleigh,  where  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  George  N.  Strong,  under  the  firm  name  of  Smith  & 
Strong,  which  continued  till  the  elevation  of  his  partner  to  the  bench. 
In  1S73  Mr.  Smith's  political  disabilities  were  removed  by  a  special 
act  of  congress,  there  being  only  one  other  person  in  the  state  to 
whom  the  act  applied,  Mr.  Burton  Craige,  a  former  member,  like 
himself,  of  the  Federal  and  Confederate  congresses.  In  1874  Mr. 
Smith  received  from  the  Wake  Forest  college  of  North  Carolina,  the 
degree  of  LL.D.,  and  on  the  24th  of  June,  of  the  same  year,  it  being 
the  fortieth  anniversary  of  his  class,  there  was  held  a  general  meeting 
of  the  Yale  alumni,  and  here  Mr.  Smith  made  a  touching  speech  to 
only  twenty-five  present,  out  of  the  original  si.xty-five  who  graduated 
in  the  class  with  him,  and  many  of  whom  he  had  never  met  since 
they  parted,  forty  years  before. 

January  12,  187S,  Mr.  Smith  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Vance,  chief- 
justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  thus  receiving  the 
unusual  honor  of  being  elevated  at  once  from  the  bar  to  the  head  of 
the  bench.  The  appointment,  wholly  unsought  by  him,  was  approved 
alike  by  the  bar  and  thd  public,  to  whom  his  abilities  as  a  lawyer  and 
his  traits  as  a  man.  pointed  him  out  as  the  fit  person  for  the  place. 
To  a  legal  mind  of  'a  high  order,  enriched  by  wide  and  varied  learn- 
ing the  fruit  of  unremitting  study,  he  added  the  rare  faculty  of  seiz- 
ing the  points  of  a  case  at  a  glance,  and  the  power,  j'et  more  r^re 
perhaps  of  maintaining  his  intellectual  balance  in  the  presence  of'all 
snares  and  under  all  surprises.  He  was  besides,  a  writer  noted  for 
the  perspicuity  and  purity  of  his  stj'le,  and  a  cogent,  logical  and 
strong  speaker,  and  especially  he  excelled  in  the  argument  of  cases 
in  the  courts  of  last  resorts,  where  his  practice  had  perhaps  exceeded 
that  of  any  other  lawyer  in  the  state.  He  was  a  pleasant  and  court- 
eous gentleman,  scrupulously  just,  and  possessed  singular  purity  of 
character.  He  was  ever  conservative  in  principle,  and  his  patriotism 
and  zealous  devotion  to  the  great  principles  of  constitutional  liberty 
were  undoubted.  His  death  occurred  November  14;  18S9,  while  still 
on  the  supreme  bench  as  chief-justice.     He  married,  January,  1839, 


92  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Mary  O.  Wise,  daughter  of  William  B.  Wise,  who  was  a  merchant  of 
Murfreesboro,  N.  C.  This  marriage  gav^e  issue  to  two  sons,  who  are 
now  surviving,  the  eldest,  William  W.  Smith,  is  a  prominent  insur- 
ance agent;  and  the  youngest,  E.  Chambers  Smith,  who  is  a  repre- 
sentative member  of  the  bar,  and  chairman  of  the  state  democratic 
executive  committee.     They  both  reside  at  Raleigh,  X.  C. 

DUNCAN  CAMERON. 

Indeed  but  verj*  few  men  of  North  Carolina  were  better  known 
and  more  highly  appreciated  as  an  advocate,  judge,  statesman  and 
financier,  than  Duncan  Cameron,  born  in  Prince  Edward  county,  Va., 
in  1777,  and  dying  in  North  Carolina  in  1853.  The  Cameron  family 
was  ancient  and  highly  respected.  There  were  four  brothers  (two 
of  them  ministers),  who  came  to  America  from  .Scotland.  Rev.  John 
Cameron,  one  of  these  brothers  was  the  father  of  Duncan  Cameron, 
our  subject.  He  was  a  native  of  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Sir  Ewan  Cameron,  chief  of  the  Clan  Cameron,  the 
Lochiel  whom  Macaulay  portrays  as  "  a  man  in  personal  qualities  un- 
rivaled among  the  Celtic  princes;  a  gracious  master,  a  trusty  ally,  a 
terrible  enemy;  a  man  with  countenance  and  bearing  singularly 
noble;  a  courtier  with  manners  that  would  have  graced  the  levees  of 
Louis  the  XIV,  to  whom  he  bore  in  contenance  a  striking  resem- 
blance, though  greatly  exceeding  him  in  stature;  in  courage  and 
skill,  in  the  use  of  weapons  without  an  equal,  a  mighty  hunter,  with 
his  own  hands  killing  the  last  wolf  of  the  savage  bands  that,  up  to 
that  period,  had  wandered  through  the  British  islands;  a  fierce 
soldier,  but  a  wise  and  prudent  statesman,  and  though  unlearned,  a 
liberal  patron  of  letters.  His  high  qualities,  if  fortune  had  placed 
him  in  the  English  parliament  or  the  French  court,  would  have  made 
him  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  age."  Such  was  the  man,  the 
progenitor  of  the  Rev.  John  Cameron,  who  emigrated  to  \'irginia 
during  colonial  times,  and  married  Ann  Owen,  daughter  of  Col. 
Thomas  Nash,  elder  brother  of  Gov-  Abner  Nash  and  Gen.  Francis 
Nash,  both  distinguished  in  North  Carolina  Revolutionary  annals. 
There  were  born  of  this  union  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  all,  with 
the  exception  of  one  daughter,  Jean,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Syme, 
D.  D.,  long  time  rector  of  Blandford  church,  Petersburg,  Va.,  remov- 
ing to  North  Carolina  and  becoming  prominent  in  social,  political 
and  professional  life,  inheriting  the  father's  virtue,  piety  and  abilities. 
The  eldest  son,  Duncan,  the  subject  of  this  mention,  came  to  North 
Carolina  before  he  became  of  age;  studied  law  under  Paul  Carring- 
ton,  of  Virginia,  and  was  soon  (in  1798)  admitted  to  the  bar  of  North 
Carolina.  He  first  settled  at  Martinsville,  then  the  county  seat  of 
Guilford,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Hillsboro,  where  he  soon  be- 
came a  successful  and  prominent  practitioner.  In  1S03  he  married 
Rebecca,  the  only  daughter  of  Richard  Bennehan,  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant and  planter  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  present  county  of 
Durham,   then  a  portion  of   Orange.     By   his  marriage   with   Miss 


79f   ^f^ 


.^7 


^  ^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  '  93 

Bennehan  ludge  Cameron  had  two  sons  and  six  daughters.  Of  his 
children,  his  older  son  and  all  his  daughters,  except  Margaret,  who 
married  Mr.  George  W.  Mordecai,  of  Raleigh,  a  lawyer  and  banker, 
died  unmarried  after  reaching  maturity,  and  Mrs.  Mordecai  dying 
without  issue.  The  only  living  descendants  of  Duncan  Cameron  are 
the  children  of  his  younger  son,  the  late  Paul  C.  Cameron. 

The  career  of  Judge  Duncan  Cameron  is  part  of  the  history  of  his 
time.  In  his  relations  to  his  state  and  to  society,  to  politics,  to  law,  to 
finance,  to  education,  to  measures  of  internal  improvement,  he  was 
always  conspicuous.  His  reputation  was  early  made,  and  though  of 
rapid  rise,  was  of  enduring  stability.  For  every  position  in  Hfe  in 
which  he  was  placed,  he  proved  his  eminent  fitness.  By  his  assiduity 
and  acquirements,  he  soon  attained  fame  and  fortune.  In  1800  he 
was  appointed  clerk  of  the  court  of  conference  (then  the  court  of  last 
jurisdiction),  and  prepared  and  published  the  reports  of  cases  decided 
in  that  court.  It  was  entitled,  "  Reports  of  Cases  Determined  by  the 
Judges  of  the  Superior  Courts  of  Law  and  Equity  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina,  at  their  meeting  on  the  loth  of  June,  1800,  held  pur- 
suant to  an  act  of  assembly  for  settling  questions  of  law  and  equity 
arising  in  the  circuit."  In  i8o6,-'7,-'i2  and  '13,  he  represented  Orange 
county  in  the  house  of  commons.  In  1814,  he  was  elected  judge  of 
the  superior  court,  vice  Edward  Harris,  deceased,  and  after  presiding 
with  satisfaction  to  the  bar  and  country,  he  resigned  this  position  jn 
1S16.  In  1S19.  1822  and  1823,  he  was  in  the  senate  of  the  state  legis- 
lature. His  course  in  the  legislature  was  marked  by  dignity,  urbanity 
and  patriotism;  especially  in  the  exciting  periods  of  war  with  England 
(the  war  of  1812),  was  he  a  leading  and  unllinching  advocate  for  its 
prosecution.  He  was  the  devoted  friend  of  internal  improvement, 
and  of  all  schemes  to  develop  the  state,  with  which  subject  no  one 
was  more  familiar.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  internal 
improvement,  and  in  his  judgment  and  opinion  the  people  placed  full 
confidence  and  respect.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  to  build 
the  present  state  capitol  of  North  Carolina.  For  years  he  presided 
over  the  largest  banking  institution  in  the  state,  "  The  Bank  of  the 
State  of  North  Carolina,"  whose  affairs  he  conducted  with  unparal- 
leled skill  and  success  from  1829  to  1849.  He  directed  the  affairs  of 
this  bank  with  singular  wisdom,  fidelity  and  great  financial  ability, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  George  W.  Mordecai.  As 
a  financier,  he  was  unrivaled,  not  only  because  of  the  clearness  of  his 
judgment,  but  also  the  integrity  of  his  character  and  the  proverbial 
caution  of  the  race  from  which  he  came.  In  private  life  he  was  a 
sincere  and  unshrinking  friend,  a  kind  neighbor,  just  and  charitable, 
and  throughout  the  long  career  of  his  life  he  was  a  Christian,  sincere 
and  benevolent.  He  wa.s  the  founder  of  Christ  church  at  Raleigh,  and 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  that  built  the  church. 

Soon  after  his  marriage  Judge  Cameron  selected  a  fine  site  for  a 
dwelling  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Stagville,  and  there  erected 
the  commodious  dwelling  in  which  his  large  family  was  reared,  and 
which  yet  remains  in   perfect  preservation,  after  the  lajjse  of  three- 


94  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

quarters  of  a  century.  He  tested  or  inspected  every  plank  or  piece 
of  timber  that  entered  into  its  construction,  and  inexorably  rejected 
whatever  was  faulty  or  defective.  In  the  construction  of  this  dwell- 
ing, the  careful  prudent  characteristics  of  Judge  Cameron  were  strik- 
ingly displayed,  and  to-day  the  building  stands  as  sound  as  when  it 
came  from  the  hands  of  the  builders,  and  though  of  wood  it  has  gone 
without  material  intermediate  change  or  repair.  Taste  and  judg- 
ment were  exhibited  in  the  selection  of  the  site,  on  the  margin  of  the  ' 
broad  valleys  or  bottoms,  which  distinguish  the  confluence  of  the 
Eno,  Flat  and  Little  rivers,  uniting  not  far  below  F'airntosh  (the 
name  given  Judge  Cameron's  residence),  and  here  form  the  Neuse. 
The  land  had  originally  Been  densely  set  with  massive  forests  of  oak, 
hickory  and  other  "hard-wood"  trees,  indicative  of  great  strength 
and  depth  of  soil,  and  here  along  the  broad  bottoms  of  the  rivers 
above  named,  swept  luxuriant  fields  covered  with  the  wealth  of  the 
crops  of  wheat,  corn,  cotton  and  other  products,  all  responding  gen- 
erously to  good  land  tilled  with  care  and  intelligent  system.  The 
taste  and  judgment  which  guided  in  the  selection  of  the  site,  also 
controlled  in  the  adornment  of  the  domain,  and  sturdy  oaks  with 
massive  trunks  and  wide-spreading  boughs,  standing  in  stately  parks, 
or  over-shadowing  the  road  sides  in  long  extending  avenues,  gave  it 
a  baronial  aspect  more  characteristic  of  English  than  American  scen- 
ery. On  this  magnificent  estate,  comprising  many  large  plantations, 
worked  by  a  great  and  constantly  increasing  bod}'  of  slaves,  were  ex- 
hibited the  best  of  agricultural  skill,  the  most  admirable  -foresight, 
the  most  sagaciously  economical  administration  of  vast  and  various 
occupations,  joined  with  the  most  humane  consideration  for  the  vast 
body  of  workers,  and  also  the  most  watchful  care  for  the  comfort  of 
those  who  had  passed  the  age  of  active  work,  and  the  judicious  pro- 
vision and  care  for  those  who  had  not  reached  that  period.  A  wise 
economy  was  observed  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  several  plantations,  in 
their  several  parts  and  in  the  aggregate.  Looms  converted  into 
clothing  for  the  slaves,  the  wool  clipped  from  the  flocks,  or  the  cotton 
picked  from  the  fields,  all  the  products  of  the  estate,  all  the  work  of 
its  own  trained  and  skilled  labor.  Shoe-makers,  wagon-makers, 
blacksmiths,  artisans  of  many  kinds,  combined  to  make  the  opera- 
tions of  the  large  plantations  self-sustaining.  The  cultivated  fields 
supplied  the  breadstuffs,  the  large  herds  of  hogs  and  cattle  provided 
the  meats,  the  cotton  fields  and  the  sheep  folds  furnished  the  material 
which  domestic  skill  converted  into  clothing.  The  sick  were  care- 
fully tended  in  well  equipped  hospitals  under  care  of  skillful  physi- 
cians, or  nursed  through  their  sickness  by  the  females  of  the  white 
family,  nor  was  the  care  of  the  souls  of  the  slaves  neglected,  for  di- 
vine services  were  regularly  held  in  the  neat. chapel  on  the  Fairntosh 
farm,  or  in  other  places  of  public  worship  on  one  of  the  plantations. 
It  was  patriarchal  life  on  a  grand  scale,  in  which  one  great  family 
was  combined,  where  the  interest  of  the  master  and  servant  mani- 
fested its  mutuality,  where  the  hard  hand  of  the  master  was  restrained 
by  the  joint  influences  of  humanity  and  interest,  and  where  the  slave 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  95 

bent  cheerfully  to  a  burden  he  could  not  feel  as  oppression.  Slavery 
was  divested  of  its  sterner  features,  as  master  and  slave  regarded 
each  other  with  mutual  good-will  and  affection.  Judge  Cameron 
found  it  necessary  to  extend  his  investments  to  other  states  to  provide 
employment  for  the  growing  number  of  his  slaves,  and  established 
large  cotton  plantations  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  and  continued 
an  active  and  close  attention  to  his  vast  agricultural  interests,  till  in 
old  age,  when  his  son,  Paul  C.  Cameron,  assumed  the  management 
of  the  vast  and  varied  interests. 

Thus  we  have  reviewed  the  career  of  Judge  Cameron,  as  related 
to  his  agricultural  associations  and  achievements,  but  it  must  not  be 
forgotton  that  Judge  Cameron  was  a  warm  friend  of  education,  and 
did  much  to  supply  the  educational  needs  of  the  people.  In  the  de- 
cay of  the  old  Episcopal  school  for  boys,  establised  at  Raleigh,  in 
1833,  upon  the  sale  of  the  property,  Judge  Cameron  became  the  pur- 
chaser, and  b}'  his  wish,  and  under  his  direction,  St.  Mary's  school 
for  girls,  became  the  successor  of  the  Episcopal  school  for  boys,  and 
is  to-day  a  prosperous  and  popular  school  for  the  education  of  girls, 
and  to  this  property,  upon  the  death  of  Judge  Cameron,  succeeded 
his  son,  Paul  C.  Cameron,  whose  heirs  upon  his  death,  in  turn  suc- 
ceeded to  it.  He  was  for  a  number  of  years,  an  active  and  faithful 
trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Judge  Cameron  may 
justly  be  classed  among  the  eminent  and  great  men  of  his  day;  and 
had  v/e  space,  there  are  countless  other  achievements  and  events  of 
his  life  that  might  enlist  interest,  and  appear  worthy  of  considera- 
tion. As  a  lawyer,  he  was  the  equal  of  any  of  his  time;  he  had  an 
excellent  logical  mind,  and  was  profound  as  a  jurist,  and  was  an  able 
judge.  As  an  advocate,  his  name  is  conspicuous  in  many  of  the  im- 
portant cases  of  his  day.  Particularly  was  he  prominent,  as  the  lead- 
ing counsel  for  the  defense,  in  the  great  suit  of  Earl  Granville,  in  the 
circuit  court  of  the  United  States,  involving  the  title  to  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  northern  half  of  the  states  of  North  Carolina  and  Ten- 
nessee. Mr.  Cameron  gained  the  suit  In  the  lower  court,  and  the 
noble  Earl,  whose  counsel  was  William  Gaston,  appealed  to  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  United  States,  but  the  suit,  in  consequence,  prob- 
ably, of  the  war  of  1812,  was  discontinued. 

As  a  citizen,  Judge  Cameron  was  of  the  progressive  order.  He 
was  a  man  of  keen  and  scrutinizing  observation,  and  a  student  of 
political  economy,  and  his  learning,  and  his  universal  and  farseeing 
judgment,  enabled  him  to  be  the  statesman  he  was;  in  the  halls  of 
legislature,  he  excelled;  on  the  bench  as  a  judge,  or  liefore  the  bar  as 
an  advocate,  he  was  of  power  and  intluence;  in  speech,  he  couched 
his  thoughts  and  propositions  in  simple  and  effective  language,  and 
from  the  rostrum  as  a  speaker,  he  was  possessed  of  eloquence  and 
grace;  and  of  a  strong  persuasive  power.  He  was  a  ready  speaker, 
and  went  to  the  point.  As  a  man,  he  was  universally  esteemed,  and 
when  death  came  to  him,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-six  years, 
an  honored  grave  opened  to  receive  him,  and  into  its  bosom,  sank  the 
remains  of  one,  whose   life  was  pure,  noble,  useful   and  exemjjlary; 


96  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  though  now,  his  race  is  run,  and  Judge  Duncan  Cameron  is  no 
more,  he  Hves  yet,  in  affectionate  remembrance,  as  a  good  man,  a 
profound  lawyer,  an  able  judge,  a  skilled  financier,  honest  and  worthy 
citizen,  a  Christian  gentleman. 

THOMAS  RUFFIN. 

The  fourth  son  of  Chief-Justice  Ruffin  was  Thomas  Rufhn,  who 
like  his  illustrious  father  wore  the  ermine  on  the  supreme  bench  of 
North  Carolina  with  distinguished  ability.  He  was  born  in  1824,  and 
after  an  excellent  preparatory  education,  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  in  1840,  graduating  with  honors  in  1844.  Coming 
early  to  the  bar,  he  located  first  in  Rockingham  county,  where  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  Dillard,  cementing  a  friendship 
that  lasted  through  life.  Their  business  was  extensive  and  lucrative. 
In  1854  Judge  Ruffin  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  superior  court,  and 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  the  law  officers  of  the 
state.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Graham,  and  resided  there  at 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  He  entered  but  little  into  politics,  but 
served  one  term  in  the  assembly,  and  was  a  strong  democrat  in  prin- 
ciple. On  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  he  immediately  volunteered;  and 
on  May  3,  1861,  was  commissioned  captain  of  Company  E,  Thir- 
teenth regiment,  North  Carolina  troops.  In  October,  1861,  on  the 
death  of  Judge  Dick,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  court, 
and  held  the  courts  of  the  eastern  circuit  for  one  term.  But  he  con- 
sidered that  his  place  was  at  the  front,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
resigned  his  commission  and  was  appointed  lieutenant-colonel  of  his 
regiment.  At  the  battle  of  South  Mountain,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  stubborn  encounters  of  the  war,  he  was  severely  wounded,  and 
in  March,  1863,  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army,  but  was  soon 
afterward  appointed  a  member  of  the  corps  court  for  the  western 
army.  He  was  on  the  field  a  man  of  decided  capacity  and  fearless 
courage,  and  always  manifested  great  calmness  in  positions  of  diffi- 
culty and  danger.  He  was  kind  to  his  soldiers,  and  dilligent  in  secur- 
ing them  all  possible  comforts,  and  with  sympathetic  actions  and 
words  he  soothed  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and  wounded. 

After  the  war  Judge  Rufifin  returned  to  his  profession  with  renewed 
vigor.  At  the  bar  he  was  honest,  laborious,  learned,  able  and 
self-reliant.  He  was  a  splendid  advocate,  often  truly  eloquent, 
language  was  pure  and  forcible,  and  his  argument  convinc- 
ing while  his  bearing  commanded  the  admiration  of  the  court  and 
suitors.  As  an  orator  he  was  more  like  Caesar  than  Cicero,  more 
like  Fox  than  Burke.  He  was  formidable  in  debate,  and  fertile  in 
intellectual  resources.  He  was  again  associated  with  Judge  Dillard, 
until  the  latter  was  elevated  to  the  supreme  court  bench,  and  on  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Dillard,  February  11,  1881,  the  eyes  of  the  state 
at  once  turned  to  Judge  Ruffin  as  the  most  worthy  successor.  Gov. 
Jarvis  appointed  him  to  the  vacancy  with  the  concurrence  of  the  en- 
tire state.     On  the  supreme   court  bench,  he  was  accorded   the  high 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  97 

consideration  which  his  learning  and  a])ility  merited.  His  opinions 
were  alwaj's  strong.  The  public  was  fond  of  comparing  him  with  his 
great  father,  and  many  thought  him  the  equal  in  some  respect  of  the 
eminent  chief-justice.  But  his  health  failed  him  and  on  September  23, 
1883,  he  retired  from  the  bench  and  resumed  the  practice,  associating 
himself  with  Maj.  John  \V.  Graham,  at  Hillsboro,  N.  C.  His  health 
was  however  precarious,  and  he  was  not  as  active  in  the  practice  as 
he  had  formerly  been,  and  on  May  23,  1889,  he  passed  away,  univers- 
ally lamented  by  the  people  of  the  state.  In  early  life  Judge  Rufifin 
married  Miss  INIary  Cain,  of  Hillsboro,  and  left  an  interesting  family 
surviving  him,  consisting  of  three  sons  and  a  daughter  and  widow. 

GOV.   ABNER    NASH 

was  born  in  Prince  Edward  county,  V^a.,  August  8,  1716.  He  removed 
with  his  parents  at  an  early  age  to  Newbern,  N.  C,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  early  educational  training.  He  entered  the  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  while  yet  a  young  man,  and  practiced  his  profes- 
sion successfully  throughout  the  state.  His  first  experience  in  public 
life  was  upon  the  occasion  of  his  being  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  first 
provincial  congress  which  met  in  North  Carolina  in  1774,  and  pre- 
vious to  the  Revolution,  and  durmg  its  continuance  was  faithful, 
brave  and  earnest  in  the  patriot  cause.  In  1775  he  was  a  member 
of  the  provincial  council,  and  also  a  member  of  the  council  and  com- 
mittee that  framed  the  state  constitution,  as  well  as  first  speaker  of 
the  house  of  commons  that  assembled  in  North  Carolina  in  1776,  and 
speaker  of  the  senate  in  1779.  In  the  latter  part  of  1779  he  was 
elected  governor  of  the  state,  which  office  he  held  until  1781.  During 
his  administration  North  Carolina  passed  through  the  gloomiest  period 
of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  being  a  man  of  mild  temper  ami  fail- 
ing health.  Gov.  Nash  could  not  have  been  equal  to  the  situation,  yet 
all  his  official  actions  bore  the  stamp  of  a  strong  will,  a  clear  mind 
and  a  good  heart.  His  first  assembly  in  April,  1780,  made  Gen.  Rich- 
ard Casswell  commander  of  all  the  militia  of  the  state,  although  by 
the  constitution  the  governor  was  commander-in-chief,  and  later  on 
the  same  body  appointed  a  board  of  war  to  manage  military  opera- 
tions, which  was  another  encroachment  upon  the  governor's  preroga- 
tive. Gov,  Nash  was  a  man  of  fine  natural  ability  and  large  acquire- 
ments, a  thorough  Christian  gentleman.  His  death,  which  occurred 
while  on  a  visit  to  the  city  of  Fhihulelphia,  on  the  2d  of  December, 
1786,  was  deeply  mourned  throughout  the  state. 

RICHARD  HENDERSON. 

Some  philosopher  has  said  that  adversity  scourges  some  men  into 
greatness.  Thus  it  was  with  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  rose  from  the  utmost  obscurity  and  poverty  to  a  na- 
tional reputation  is  almost  a  satire  upon  those  educational  institutions 
of  which  Col.  Ingersoll  speaks  as  being  a  place  where  "  diamonds  are 
li— 7 


98  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

dulled  and  brickbats  are  polished."  Richard  Henderson  was  born  in 
Hanover  county,  Va.,  1734.  His  parents  were  very  poor,  and  he 
grew  to  manhood  before  he  learned  to  read  and  write.  While  quite 
a  lad  he  was  appointed  a  constable,  and  when  he  had  learned  to  write 
was  made  an  under-sheriff.  He  removed  to  North  Carolina  in  1762, 
and  having  devoted  several  years  to  the  study  of  the  law,  during 
which  time  he  frequently  read  ten  hours  a  day  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  And  so  remarkable  was  his  success  at  the  bar,  and  so  wonder- 
ful was  his  legal  information,  that  in  1769  he  was  appointed  associ- 
ate judge  of  the  superior  court. 

In  1770  the  populace,  which  had  been  aroused  by  the  unjust  system 
of  taxation,  broke  into  the  court  room  where  Judge  Henderson  was 
presiding  and  compelled  him  to  leave  the  bench.  He  was  again 
elected  to  the  bench  but  refused  to  serve,  and  a  few  years  later  he, 
as  the  president  of  the  Transylvania  Land  company,  negotiated  with 
the  Cherokee  Indians  for  all  that  territory  lying  between  the  Cumber- 
land mountains  and  the  Cumberland  river  and  the  Kentucky'  river, 
and  situated  south  of  the  Ohio,  which  was  transferred  to  the  company, 
by  which  Henderson  and  his  associates  became  the  proprietors  of  a 
tract  of  land  larger  than  the  present  state  of  Kentucky.  The 
country  was  named  Transylvania.  Mr.  Henderson  was  speaker  of 
the  first  legislature,  and  among  its  members  were  Daniel  Boone, 
Richard  Calloway,  Thomas  Slaughter,  John  Floyd  and  James  Harrod. 
This  purchase  was  shortly  afterward  annulled  by  the  state  of  Virginia 
as  an  infringement  of  its  chartered  rights,  but  to  compensate  the  fami- 
lies, the  state  granted  them  a  tract  of  land  twelve  miles  square  on  the 
Ohio,  below  the  mouth  of  Greene  river.  A  few  years  later  Mr. 
Henderson  removed  to  Tennessee,  where  he  practiced  law  success- 
fully for  several  years,  but  returned  to  North  Carolina  in  1780,  where 
he  settled  on  his  large  plantation  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  died 
January  30,  1785. 

HON.  ALFRED  MOORE  WADDELL, 

of  Wilmington,  was  born  in  Hillsboro,  Orange  county,  N.  C,  Septem- 
ber 16,  1834.  After  receiving  a  rudimentary  education,  he  was  pre- 
pared for  college  by  William  Bingham,  Sr.,  whose  school  was  then 
located  at  Hillsboro,  and  at  the  Caldwell  institute,  from  which,  in  1850, 
he  entered  Chapel  Hill,  and  was  graduated  in  1853.  Having  chosen 
the  profession  of  the  law,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  his  twenty- 
first  year,  soon  after  which  he  removed  to  Wilmington,  and  entered 
into  practice.  In  July,  i860,  he  purchased  the  ]]'ii)nino-ton  Herald,  the 
leading  whig  paper  of  the  Cape  Fear  section,  which  he  edited  until 
sometime  in  1S61.  He  was  opposed  to  secession,  believing  that  the 
south  could  secure  the  rights  for  which  she  was  contending  b}'  remain- 
ing in  the  Union,  and  he  fought  the  secession  movement  with  all  his 
ability.  But  when  North  Carolina  decided  to  secede  with  her  sister 
states,  like  a  loyal  son,  he  cast  aside  his  own  opinions,  joined  his  for- 
tunes with   his  native  state,  and,  in   1861,  entered  the  Confederate 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  QQ 

army.  For  awhile  he  was  adjutant,  afterward  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Third  cavalry,  Forty-first  North  Carolina  regiment.  He  served 
until  1S64  with  that  command,  when  his  health  failing  him,  he  was 
compelled  to  resign.  When  the  war  closed  he  returned  to  Wilming- 
ton, and  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father,  Hon.  Hugh  Wad- 
dell,  in  the  practice  of  law.  This  firm  soon  secured  a  large  and 
lucrative  business. 

The  year  1S70  was  a  memorable  one  in  North  Carolina's  history. 
The  republicans  had  complete  control  of  the  state,  and  were  deter- 
mined to  remain  in  power  at  all  hazards.  Kirk  and  his  hirelings 
were  overrunning  a  large  part  of  the  state,  the  civil  law  was  "  ex- 
hausted," and  drumhead  courts-martial  were  in  vogue.  The  outlook 
at  this  time  was  indeed  gloom5^  congressional  elections  were  ap- 
proaching, and  the  nominee  of  the  democratic  conventions  in  the 
Third  district  had  refused  to  encounter  what  was  supposed  to  be  sure 
defeat.  The  executive  committee  was  at  its  wits'  ends;  as  onl}'  seven- 
teen days  would  elapse  before  election,  and  Oliver  H.  Dockery,  the 
sitting  member,  was  the  republican  candidate,  and  had  been  for  sev- 
eral daj-s  busily  at  work  in  canvassing  his  district.  At  an  opportune 
moment  the  committee  looked  to  Col.  Waddell,  urging  him  to  accept 
the  nomination  and  fight  the  forlorn  hope.  Obeying  this  call  of  dut}' 
and  seeing  the  dire  extremities  of  his  party,  he  accepted  the  nomina- 
tion, and  at  once  went  forth  to  meet  his  political  opponent,  Dockery, 
who  was  a  persuasive  man  on  the  stump,  not  only  so,  but  he  was  per- 
sonally^ popular  in  the  district,  and  backed  bj-  his  father's  prestige, 
who  had  long  held  large  power  in  that  part  of  North  Carolina.  Their 
coming  together  in  debate  was  eagerly  looked  forward  to,  by  some 
with  apprehension,  for  Col.  Waddell  was  wholly',  or  almost  without  ex- 
perience as  a  stump  speaker,  while  Docker}'  was  a  giant  in  debate 
and  a  shrewd  politician.  But  with  all  his  ability,  Dockery  was  over- 
whelmed and  vanquished  at  the  beginning,  and  as  meeting  succeeded 
meeting,  it  became  clearly  evident  that  Waddell  was  more  than  a 
match  for  his  opponent,  for  he  proved  himself  ready  and  fearless  in 
debate  with  fertile  resources.  This  proved  to  be  the  beginning  of 
the  end,  for  Col.  Waddell  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  the  dis- 
trict which  Dockery  had  carried  by  2,000  majority,  was  redeemed. 
He  took  his  seat  in  1S71,  which  he  retained   until  1879,  continuously. 

Colonel  Waddell's  maiden  speech  in  the  house  was  made  in  April, 
1S72,  on  the  condition  of  the  south.  He  was  at  that  time  one  of  the 
five  democrats  composing  the  minority  of  the  special  committee  of 
thirteen  designated  as  the  "  Ku  Klux  committee."  The  house  re- 
ceived this  speech  with  attention,  for  it  was  a  manly  and  eloquent  de- 
fense of  his  people  from  the  slanders  venomously  poured  upon  them. 
He  was  placed  early  one  the  postoffice  committee,  and  in  1S77  he  was 
made  its  chairman,  and  occupied  this  position  through  the  balance  of 
his  service  in  coxigress.  In  January,  1876,  he  delivered  a  speech 
which  attracted  much  attention.  Northern  and  southern  papers 
united  in  words  of  praise  of  this  speech.  In  1S7S  he  was  re-nomi- 
nated, but  was  not  re-elected.     Many  things  compassed  his  defeat, 


lOO  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

namely,  it  was  an  off-year  in  politics,  and  the  democrats  over-estimated 
their  strength.  In  addition  Wadd^ll  had  a  severe  attack  of  sickness 
and  was  unable  to  prosecute  a  personal  canvass  until  late  in  the  cam- 
paign. In  ]S8o  Col.  VVaddell  was  a  candidate  at  large  to  the  national 
democratic  convention  which  convened  in  Cincinnati  and  nominated 
Hancock.  After  the  convention  Waddell  canvassed  for  the  ticket  in 
New  England,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  In  1SS2  he  went  to 
Charlotte  and  took  editorial  charge  of  the  Charlotte  Joitriial,  after- 
ward the  Jouynal-Obsei'vcr.  Upon  sundering  his  connection  with  this 
paper  he  went  to  Wilmington  and  resumed  his  law  practice,  in  which 
he  is  still  engaged.  Col.  Waddell  is  a  vigorous  thinker,  a  fine  belles- 
letters  scholar,  a  pulished  writer  and  eloquent  speaker.  He  is  also  a 
brilliant  conversationalist.  At  the  re-union  of  the  army  of  northern 
Virginia,  in  Richmond,  he  delivered  the  annual  address,  which  was 
highly  praised.     All  in  all  he  is  a  most  genial  and  gifted  gentleman. 

EDWARD  S.  LATIMER, 

of  Wilmington,  can  be  said  to  be  a  self-made  man.  He  started  in 
life  with  little  money  and  few  friends,  but  endowed  with  that  faculty 
of  indomitable  will  and  energy  which  conquers  all  things.  He  was 
born  in  W^ilmington,  September  21,  1837.  His  parents  were  natives 
of  Connecticut,  and  when  our  subject  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  re- 
moved with  him  to  Wilmington.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  time,  and  while  yet  in  his  youth  he  entered  a  dry  goods 
store  where  he  learned  the  business,  and  later  on  in  life  embarked  in 
the  same  business  for  himself.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he 
entered  the  Confederate  service  as  a  member  of  a  company  of  home 
guards.  He  was  all  through  the  four  years  of  that  great  struggle  and 
took  part  in  many  important  and  disastrous  engagements.  After 
the  war  he  engaged  in  no  business  for  several  years,  but  about  1878 
he  entered  Columbia  law  school  and  graduated  in  due  time  with  high 
honor  from  that  institution.  In  1S81  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
ex-Lieut-Gov.  Steadman,  for  the  practice  of  the  law  and  in  18S5,  he 
was  made  president  of  the  W.  D.  «&  C.  railway,  v/hich  important  and 
lucrative  office  he  now  holds. 

WILLIAM  B.  MEARES. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  the  8th  of  December,  1787; 
at  Spring  Garden,  county  of  New  Hanover,  and  state  of  North  Caro- 
lina. He  was  educated  at  Bingham's  school  and  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  He  read  law  in  the  office  of  that  eminent  statesman 
and  jurist,  the  Hon.  William  Gaston,  who  never  ceased  through  long 
years  of  close  friendship  and  observation,  only  ending  with  his  death, 
to  entertain  and  frequently  express  the  highest  opinion  of  the  moral 
and  intellectual  endowments  of  his  former  pupil.  Indeed,  on  one  oc- 
casion when  Mr.  Meares  had  been  defeated  by  one  vote  for  the 
position  of  United  States  senator,  he    publicly  declared  that  he  was 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  lOI 

the  fittest  man  then  living  in  the  state  to  represent  her  in  that  dis- 
tinguished body.  Mr.  Meares  possessed  to  an  eminent  degree  the 
moral,  mental  and  physical  qualifications  which  constitute  a  leader 
among  men.  He  was  gifted  to  an  extraordinary  degree  with  moral 
courage,  frankness  and  honesty  of  purpose,  was  bold  in  the  expres- 
sion of  his  opinions,  and  looked  with  contempt  upon  those  seekers  of 
public  honors  who  were  mere  followers  in  the  wake  of  public  opinion. 
His  intellectual  characteristics  were  chiefly  those  of  great  logical 
power;  quickness  of  preception  and  a  wonderful  power  of  concentra- 
tion. He  was  thus  enabled  to  acquire  the  immense  amount  of  gen- 
eral knowledge  which  he  possessed  in  a  remarkably  short  space  of 
time,  and  being  a  self-reliant  and  independent  thinker,  when  he  had 
arrived  at  a  conclusion  he  adhered  to  it  with  the  greatest  tenacity-. 
His  phj-sical  vigor  and  energy,  like  his  mental,  was  most  extraordin- 
ary. In  person  he  was  very  handsome,  and  was  possessed  of  elegant 
manners  and  such  was  his  conversational  powers  that  his  companion- 
ship was  greatly  sought  after  by  his  acquaintances.  He  became 
prominent  in  early  life  and  soon  became  a  leading  and  successful 
practitioner  of  the  laws  in  his  section  of  the  state.  His  first  entrance 
into  public  life  was  as  a  representative  in  the  legislature  for  the  town 
of  Wilmington,  in  the  year  iSiS.  He  afterward  represented  the 
county  of  New  Hanover  as  senator,  in  the  legislatures  of  1828-30-32. 
He  was  also  a  leading  and  influential  member  of  the  convention 
which  was  called  in  the  year  1835  for  the  purpose  of  amending  the 
constitution,  and  w-hich  has  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the  ablest 
body  of  men  ever  assembled  together  in  the  history  of  the  state. 
This  was  his  last  appearance  in  a  legislative  body.  His  reputation 
as  a  great  legislative  debater  and  political  leader  had  become  co-ex- 
tensive with  the  state,  and  he  withdrew  from  the  political  arena  and 
also  from  the  further  practice  of  the  legal  profession.  The  latter 
part  of  his  life  was  devoted  to  rice  planting,  and  the  other  branches 
of  agriculture.  In  this  vocation  he  evinced  great  energ}'  and  judg- 
ment. He  adopted  the  improved  and  scientific  methods  of  farming, 
and  his  efforts  were  crowned  with  great  success.  He  was  a  man  em- 
phatically of  progressive  ideas,  and  throughout  his  career  he  was  an 
ardent  advocate  and  supporter  of  the  state  university  as  well  as  of  an 
efficient  system  of  public  schools  throughout  the  state.  His  opinion 
was  that  the  inheritance  of  a  fortune  would  blight  and  ruin  the  pros- 
pects of  almost  all  young  men,  and  that  a  boy  should  be  properly 
reared  and  given  a  liberal  education  and  then  be  thrown  on  his  own 
resources.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  life  leaving  nine  children,  eight 
of  whom  were  sons,  and  of  so  much  more  importance  in  his  judgment 
w'ere  the  advantages  ofthe"  higher  "  education  over  the  mere  posses- 
sion of  money,  that  he  provided  in  his  "  will "  that  his  estate  should 
be  held  together  until  his  youngest  became  of  age,  and  he  en- 
joined upon  his  "  executors  "  to  expend  the  last  dollar  of  his  estate,  if 
it  should  be  necessary',  in  order  to  give  to  each  of  his  sons  a  collegi- 
ate education.  He  was  tan  earnest  and  zealous  advocate  of  the  con- 
struction of  railroads  and  other  works  of  internal  improvement,  and 


I02  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

it  was  truly  said  of  him  at  his  death  that  he  had  lived  more  than  fifty 
years  in  advance  of  his  people. 

These  were  the  characteristics  which  adorned  the  man  and  which 
were  accorded  to  him  with  marked  unanimity  by  the  distinguished 
men  and  intelligent  portion  of  society  of  his  day  and  generation.  It 
was  perfectly  natural  that  with  such  mental  and  physical  endowments 
he  should  have  wielded  a  powerful  personal  influence  and  that,  at 
the  same  time  his  progressive  views  should  have  called  forth  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  narrow-minded  anti-progressive  portion  of  the  public.  It 
was  not  his  fortune  to  have  received  the  highest  honors  either  of  his 
profession  or  in  the  political  arena,  but  in  this  country  the  distribution 
of  public  honors  does  not  ordinarily  depend  upon  the  merits  of  the 
recipient,  but  is  most  apt'  to  be  the  result  of  mere  chance  or  the 
combination  of  fortuitous  circumstances.  Unlike  most  of  our  ciis- 
tinguished  men,  he  was  pre-eminently  practical  and  useful,  and  when 
he  died  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  in  the  political,  professional,  social 
and  business  circles  of  the  Cape  Fear  section  of  the  state.  He  died  at 
the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty-three  years  and  eleven  months. 

JOSEPH  A.  HILL. 

This  eminent  son  of  North  Carolina  was  born  at  Hilton,  the 
former  residence  of  Cornelius  Harnett,  about  a  mile  north  of  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  in  the  year  1800.  He  was  the  son  of  Hon.  William 
Hill,  member  of  congress  from  1799  to  1S03,  and  grandson  of  John 
Ashe,  of  Revolutionarj'  memory.  He  was  named  after  his  first 
cousin,  Joseph  Alston,  subsequently  governor  of  South  Carolina  and 
the  husband  of  Theodosia,  daughter  of  x^aron  Burr.  He  was  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  college  and  trained  for  the  law  at  the  celebrated  Litch- 
field law  school.  He  represented  the  town  of  Wilmington  in  the 
legislatures  of  1826,  1827  and  1830,  and  the  county  of  New  Hanover 
in  1823  and  1824.  He  had  no  pretentions  to  beauty  but  his  face  was 
lit  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  eye  and  the  fascination  of  his  smile,  his 
gesticulation  was  graceful  and  his  voice  full,  rich  and  flexible.  He 
'had  no  rival  of  his  years  as  a  debater  and  orator,  and  no  superior  of 
any  age  in  North  Carolina.  The  late  distinguished  Judge  Gaston,  of 
the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  pronounced  him  the  most 
brilliant  man  of  his  age  he  had  ever  met  and  Gaston  was  certainly  a 
competent  judge.  His  talents  were  versatile  and  he  could,  as  oc- 
casion demanded,  convince,  convulse  with  laughter  or  move  to  tears. 
His  style  was  chaste,  not  disdaining  ornament  but  using  it  simply  by 
way  of  illustration,  and  yet  his  oratory  was  often  fervid.  His  speeches 
on  Fisher's  resolution,  on  the  bank  bill,  on  the  tariff  or  nullification, 
sustain  what  is  claimed  for  him.  His  letters  to  the  late  Gavin  Hogg, 
a  distinguished  citizen  of  Raleigh,  long  since  deceased,  have  been 
pronounced  by  competent  authority  the  finest  efforts  of  controversial 
writing  yet  produced  in  North  Carolina. 

In  the  internal  improvement  conventioup  at  Raleigh,  in  1833,  Mr. 
Hill  met  in  debate  the  ablest  men  in  the  state.     The  journals  show 


NORTH  CAKOIINA.  IO3 

that  he  triumphed  in  carn'intjf  all  the  resolutiDns  he  submitted,  and 
tradition  reports  that  sp  splendid  was  his  exhibition  of  ability  that  his 
claim  to  leadership  was  generally,  if  not  universally,  conceded.  With 
a  genius  equal  to  the  highest  occasion  and  loftiest  efforts,  his  amia- 
bility and  bonhomie  disarmed  the  envy  his  brilliancy  excited.  Un- 
selfish and  unassuming  he  alone  was  unconscious  of  the  superiority 
universally  conceded  him.  In  social  life  without  pretense,  distin- 
guished for  his  playful  humor,  his  satire  which  left  no  sting  in  the 
wound,  his  fund  of  anecdote,  his  joyous  vivacity  and  his  delightful 
abandon,  he  was  the  center  of  attraction  always.  Without  pharisee- 
ism,  gay  and  debonair  his  society  was  sought  by  a  people  distin- 
guished for  politeness  and  hospitality  and  somewhat  given  to 
conviviality.  Because  a  social  pet  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  he 
gave  entirely  to  society  what  nature  designated  for  nobler  uses.  He 
did  not  neglect  the  duties  of  his  profession,  which  involved  labor  and 
study,  but  was  so  close  an  observer  and  diligent  a  student  in  his 
private  hours  that  his  advice  was  asked  by  the  old  and  grave,  who 
valued  his  wisdom  and  learning  as  much  as  the  more  volatile  pleasan- 
try and  fun.  He  came  to  the  bar  with  a  mind  probably  better  dis- 
ciplined than  that  of  any  other  man  who  had  preceded  him  in  North 
Carolina.  Thus  prepared,  thus  skilled  in  dialectics,  and  with  a 
genius  of  the  highest  order,  it  is  no  wonder,  though  he  died  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-tive  years,  that  he  left  behind  him  a  fame  co-ex- 
tensive with  the  state.  His  friends  believe  that  he  was  equal  to  any 
effort,  and  regret  that  he  did  not  live  long  enough  to  display  his  pow- 
ers upon  a  stage  worthy  of  his  extraordinary  strength.  He  died 
without  issue  in  the  summer  of  1S35,  and  his  ashes  repose  in  the  family 
burying  ground  at  Hilton  where  he  was  born,  around  which  place  a 
historic  interest  attaches  as  having  been  in  Revolutionary  times  the 
home  of  Cornelius  Harnett,  the  representative  man  in  those  days  of 
the  Cape  Fear  section. 

HON.    GEORGE    DAVIS. 

This  distinguished  gentleman,  one  of  the  first  of  North  Caro-  - 
linians  in  character  and  talents,  is  the  third  son  of  the  late  Thomas  F. 
Davis,  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Wilmington,  and  the 
head  of  a  family  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the  Cape  Fear  section 
for  intelligence  and  virtue.  The  subject  of  this  notice  is  a  native  of 
Wilmington,  and  was  born  in  that  city  in  the  year  1S20.  His  early 
education  was  obtained  in  the  best  schools  then  existing  in  the  state, 
and  he  was  so  apt  to  learn  and  so  well  prepared  that  he  entered  the 
university  of  the  state  the  youngest  among  all  of  the  students,  and 
graduated. with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class.  Adopting  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law,  he  soon  became  a  prominent  lead(;r  at  the  bar,  and 
acquired  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  which  has  suffered  no  diminu- 
tion during  a  long  and  varied  career,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  in- 
creased with  advancing  years.  He  early  embarked  upon  the  stormy 
sea  of  politics,  and  was  a  Teader  of  the  old  whig  party.     His  speeches 


J04  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

on  the  hustings  during  the  campaigns  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and 
the  many  addresses  made  before  crowded  assembhes  were  marked 
by  great  intellectual  vigor,  and  were  so  beautified  and  adorned  by  the 
graces  of  oratory,  that  they  never  failed  to  convince  and  to  delight. 
Though  in  a  helpless  minority  politically,  he  could  always  be  found  in 
the  front  of  the  fight,  inspiring  his  followers  with  enthusiasm  by  his 
impassioned  eloquence,  his  powerful  invective  and  his  wonderful  fer- 
tility of  resource,  and  commanding  the  respect  and  extorting  the  ad- 
miration even  of  his  opponents  by  his  chivalric  bearing,  his  generous 
courtesy,  and  his  high  toned  sense  of  honor.  He  was  always  more  than 
equal  to  every  demand  upon  his  powers,  and  soon  established  a  reputa- 
tion as  an  orator  and  jurist  co-extensive  with  the  state;  and  so,  when 
troublous  times  approached,  and  men's  hearts  were  failing  them  from 
fear,  they  instinctively  turned  to  him  with  the  most  abounding  faith 
in  his  integrity,  his  patriotism,  and  his  ability  to  guide  and  direct  them 
in  the  right  way. 

And  thus  it  happened  in  1861,  without  action  on  his  part  and 
even  without  his  knowledge,  that  such  a  thing  was  contemplated,  Mr. 
Davis  was  appointed  by  the  state  of  North  Carolina  one  of  its  com- 
missioners to  the  peace  congress  which  met  that  year  in  Washington 
city.  He  attended  its  sessions  and  labored  earnestly  with  others  to 
effect  a  settlement  of  the  difficulties  which  convulsed  the  country,  but 
his  efforts  were  vain,  fanaticism  rode  rarupant  over  truth  and  justice, 
and  reason  seemed  dethroned  in  the  minds  of  the  northern  majorit}-, 
the  congress  accomplished  nothing.  Upon  his  return  home  from 
Washington  an  immense  meeting  of  citizens  was  held,  before  whom 
he  appeared  to  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship,  and  did  so  in  a 
speech  so  clear  in  its  statements,  so  convincing  in  argument,  and  so 
pathetically  eloquent,  that  the  vast  assemblage,  in  which  were  many 
who  had  clung  to  the  hope  of  a  peaceful  solution  of  all  difficulties  and 
were  opposed  to  any  hasty  movement  on  the  part  of  the  south,  gave 
utterance,  as  with  one  voice,  "well  done  thou  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant." Again,  in  1862,  he  was  elected  to  the  high  position  of  a  sen- 
ator in  the  congress  of  the  Confederate  states  by  the  legislature  of 
'  North  Carolina,  and  this,  like  his  first  appointment,  came  to  him  un- 
solicited and  unexpectedly.  He  served  out  the  term  to  which  he  had 
been  elected  with  distinguished  ability,  and  at  its  termination  the  legis- 
lature, again  without  his  knowledge,  unanimously  presented  his  name 
to  President  Davis  for  a  position  in  his  cabinet,  who  tendered  him 
the  attorney-generalship,  which  he  accepted  and  held  until  the  col- 
lapse of  the  Confederacy. 

At  the  termination  of  hostilities  Mr.  Davis  returned  to  his  home 
in  Wilmington,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  applying 
himself  closely  to  it,  and  abstaining,  as  far  as  he  was  permitted  to  do 
so  by  the  public,  from  active  participation  in  politics.  In  1877  Gov. 
Vance  voluntarily  tendered  him  the  position  of  chief-justice  of  the 
supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  made  vacant  by  tltfe  death  of  that 
able  jurist,  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  which  he  declined  as  he  has  other 
positions  of  honor  and  trust  offered  him  time  and  again,  and  there 


XORTII  CAROLINA.  IO5 

has  never  been  a  time  since  the  war  that  he  could  not  have  gone  to 
congress  from  the  Wihnington  district  if  he  would  have  accepted  the 
nomination.  His  is  the  only  case  the  writer  can  recall  in  which  so 
man}'  honorable  positions  have  sought  the  man  and  not  man  the  po- 
sition, and  it  is  the  best  illustration  of  his  character  that  can  be  given. 
He  would  not  turn  upon  his  heel  for  any  office  that  required  personal 
solicitation,  and  would  shrink,  with  disgust  from  the  manner  in -which 
preferment  is  now  sought  and  obtained,  for  he  was  born  at  a  tinie 
and  raised  among  men  who  had  noPlearned  the  art  of  rising  to  dis- 
tinction by  pandering  to  the  base  passions  of  the  multitude  or  prac- 
tising the  wiles  of  the  demagogue.  No  man  in  North  Carolina 
stands  higher  than  h",  for  he  is  known  of  all  men  to  be  able,  pure 
and  incorruptible,  whose  aspirations  are  all  of  the  highest,  who 
is  an  accomplished  orator,  a  profound  jurist,  and  a  noble  speci- 
men of  that  highest  type  of  true  manhood,  a  Christian  gentleman. 
Mr.  Davis,  though  now  advanced  in  years,  is  still  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  but  confines  himself  principally  to  of- 
fice duties,  and  seldom  appears  at  the  bar  except  in  important 
cases.  His  powers  have  suffered  no  dimunition  from  age,  and 
he  is  facile  princcps  at  the  bar,  and  like  Saul  among  his  brethren, 
towers  above  all  competitors.  He  has  been  twice  married  and  is 
again  a  widower,  but  with  children  and  grandchildren  around  him  to 
brighten  his  home  and  administer  to  his  comfort. 

JUDGE  OLIVER  P.  MEARES, 

judge  of  the  crimin:il  circuit  of  New  Hanover  and  Mecklenburg 
counties,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Wilmington,  on  February  24,  1S28. 
He  is  the  son  of  William  B.  Mearcs,  notice  of  whom  will  appear  in 
this  work.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Bingham  school  and 
Caldwell  institute,  and  completed  his  education  at  the  ITniversity  of 
North  Carolina,  graduating  in  1S48.  He  then  commenced  the  study 
of  law  under  Judge  Battle,  of  the  university  law  school,  and  remained 
with  him  about  one  year.  In  1S50  he  was  licensed  to  practice,  and 
from  that  time  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  followed  his  pro- 
fession in  his  native  city.  He  was  an  old  line  whig,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  the  campaign  of  1S52,  as  a  political  sjjeaker,  and  in 
1856  was  an  electoral  candidate  on  the  I^'illmore  ticket,  and  was  an 
active  and  distinguished  speaker  in  the  campaign  of  1860.  After  the 
election  of  Lincoln  he  became  a  secessionist,  and  in  April,  1 861,  he 
entered  the  military  service,  as  captain  of  a  company  which  was  or- 
ganized in  Wilmington,  and  afterward  Ix-camc  part  of  the  lughteenth 
North  Carolina  regiment,  in  which  regiment  he  rose  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  served  until  the  re-organization  of  the  same, 
at  the  e.xpiration  of  one  year.  In  January,  1867,  he  was  elected  by 
the  legislature  to  the  office  of  judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  New 
Hanover  county,  which  position  he  held  until  the  adoption  of  the  new 
constitution,  in  July,  1868.  He  again  entered  the  practice  of  the  law, 
and  also  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaigns  of  1868,  1870,  1872  and 


I06  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

1876,  as  a  democratic  speaker  and  leader.  In  1S77  he  was  re-elected 
to  the  bench  by  the  legislature,  and  served  eight  years.  In  1S85  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  criminal  circuit,  of  New  Hanover  and  Meck- 
lenburg counties,  and  is  serving  as  such  at  the  present  time.  In  1S51 
Judge  Meares  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Eliza,  the  daughter  of  Dr. 
Thomas  H.  Wright,  of  this  city,  and  the  granddaughter  of  Judge 
Wright,  who  was  a  native  of  Wilmington.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  with  several  children,  who  have  all  reached  maturity.  Judge 
Meares  has  devoted  his  life  to  his  profession,  and  is  an  able,  fearless 
judge  and  a  terror  to  evil  doers.  He  is  one  of  the  most  candid  of 
men,  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  force  of  character,  who  will  do 
what  he  believes  to  be  right,  even  should  the  heavens  fall. 

WILLIAM  GASTON 

was  of  distinguished  Huguenot  descent.  He  was  born  in  Newbern, 
September  19,  177S.  He  was  the  son  of  Alexander  Gaston,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  physicians  of  the  state,  who  was  murdered  by  the 
tories  in  the  presence  of  his  family.  The  tragic  death  of  his  father 
left  its  terrible  imprint  on  the  mind  of  the  son,  in  the  way  of  an  in- 
effaceable melancholy  which  age  and  vicissitude  could  not  quite  shake 
off.  He  commenced  his  education  at  Georgetown  (D.  C.)  college, 
and  graduated  from  Princeton  with  distinguished  honors.  He  stud- 
ied law  at  Newbern,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  a  few 
years  later  attained  great  distinction  in  his  profession.  In  1779  he 
was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  Craven  county,  in  1S08  to  the 
house  of  delegates,  over  which  body  he  was  chosen  to  preside.  He 
was  a  member  of  congress  from  1813  to  1815,  and  his  speech  in  that 
body  in  opposition  to  the  loan  bill  which  proposed  to  place  $25,000,000 
at  the  disposal  of  the  executive  for  the  conquest  of  Canada  during 
the  war  with  Great  Britain,  was  a  master-piece  of  eloquence  and  was 
widely  read  and  greatly  admired.  He  was  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  from  1834  till  his  death,  and  some  of  the  best  statutes  of  the 
state  are  the  result  of  his  judicial  genius.  In  1835  he  was  a  member 
of  the  state  constitutional  convention,  and  suggested  and  elaborated 
nearly  all  the  reforms  in  the  new  constitution.  He  was  offered,  but 
declined,  the  United  States  senatorship  in  1840.  He  died  in  Raleigh, 
January  23,  1S44.    . 

JOHN  LOUIS  TAYLOR. 

This  eminent  jurist  was  born  in  London,  Eng.,  in  I\Iarch,  1769. 
His  father  having  died  at  an  early  age,  young  Taylor  was  brought  to 
this  country  by  his  brother,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  He  was  for 
two  years  at  William  and  Mary  college,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years  removed  to  North  Carolina,  where  he  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  at  Fayetteville,  which  latter  place  he  represented 
in  the  legislature  in  1792-4.  He  removed  to  Newbern  in  1796,  and  in 
1798  he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  superior  court.     In   1808  he  was 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  lO/ 

chosen  by  his  colleagues  as  president  of  the  supreme  court,  which,  at 
that  time,  consisted  of  periodica!  conventions  of  the  judges  of  the 
superior  courts  at  Raleigh.  When  a  new  and  separate  tribunal  was 
instituted  as  a  court  of  last  resort,  in  iSiS,  he  was  appointed  chief- 
justice,  which  he  held  until  his  death.  In  1817  he  accomplished  the 
colossal  task  of  rev^ising  the  statutory  laws  of  the  state.  The  work 
was  completed  and  published  in  1821,  and  a  continuation  appeared 
by  the  same  author  in  1825.  Such  a  feat  as  this  for  a  man  already 
Avell  along  in  the  journey  of  life,  encumbered  with  the  cares  of  high 
judicial  olifice,  bespeaks  a  wonderful  power  of  mental  and  physical 
energy.  Among  his  other  published  works,  which  stand  high  in  the 
common  law  to  this  day,  may  be  mentioned:  "Cases  in  Law  and 
Equity  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,"  "The  North  Carolina  Law 
Repository,"  two  volumes,  "Charge  to  the  Grand  Jury  at  Edgecombe, 
Exhibiting  the  Criminal  Law,"  and  a  work  on  "  Executors  and  Ad- 
ministrators." 

COL.  E.  C.  YELLOWLEY. 

Soon  after  the  termination  of  the  Revolutionary  war  between  the 
American  colonies  and  the  mother  country  Capt.  Edward  Yellowley 
emigrated  from  England,  and  coming  to  America,  settled  at  Will- 
iamston  in  Martin  county,  N.  C.  He  raised  a  large  family,  and 
among  his  children  was  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Edward  Clements 
Yellowley,  who  was  born  on  the  22d  day  of  October,  1S21.  He  re- 
ceived a  good  preparatory  education  under  Mr.  J.  ]\L  Lovejoy,  who 
was  well  known  for  many  years  as  one  of  the  best  educators  in  the. 
South,  and  entering  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 
took  the  regular  course,  graduating  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  in  the 
class  of  1844.  He  chose  the  law  as  his  profession  and,  having  ob- 
tained his  license  to  practice,  settled  at  Greenville  in  Pitt  county. 
Here  a  good  practice  speedily  rewarded  his  efforts  and  he  was  forg- 
ing well  ahead  in  his  profession  when  in  1847,  he  became  involved  in 
a  personal  difficulty  with  Mr.  H.  F.  Harris,  who  was  then  represent- 
ing Pitt  county  in  the  legislature  of  the  state.  The  difficulty  like  so 
many  in  which  public  men  of  this  country  have  been  engaged  in  the 
days  when  the  Code  was  considered  the  proper  resort  for  gentlemen 
to  settle  their  affairs  of  honor,  grew  out  of  political  differences  and 
w^  of  such  a  character  that  Mr.  Harris  saw  proper  to  demand  satis- 
faction by  sending  a  challenge  to  fight  a  duel.  Though  averse  to 
duelling,  the  challenge,  which  was  borne  by  Mr.  Harris'  friend,  Henry 
Dimock,  Esq.,  was  promptly  accepted  by  Mr.  Yellowley  and  the  pre- 
liminary arrangements  made  for  him  by  his  friend,  Mr.  F.  B.  Satter- 
thwaite.  Friends  exerted  themselves  to  settle  the  difficulty  amicably 
and  prevent  the  meeting,  but  their  efforts  were  of  no  avail.  The 
tlucl  was  delayed  for  a  time  Ijy  the  interference  of  the  authorities,  the 
principals  being  arrested  just  as  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  meeting 
first  agreed  upon  which  was  in  Northampton  county,  N.  C.  A  few 
days  afterward  the  principals  with  their  friends  went  to  Norfolk,  Ya., 


108  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Mr.  Yellowley  and  his  friends  stopping  at  Reeling's  Hotel,  Mr.  Har- 
ris and  his  friends  at  Walter's  Hotel.  There  the  final  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  duel,  which  took  place  in  the'  state  of  \"irginia,  at 
the  half-way  house  between  Portsmouth,  V'a.,  and  Elizabeth  City, 
N.  C,  in  the  Dismal  swamp  canal  on  Friday  the  ist  day  of  October, 
1847,  between  the  hours  of  five  and  six  o'clock  A.  M.  Dr.  W.  J.  Blow 
appeared  on  the  held  as  the  second  of  Mr.  Yellowley,  and  M.  B. 
Smith,  Esq.,  as  the  second  of  Mr.  Harris.  Pistols  were  the  weapons 
used.  At  the  first  fire  Mr.  Yellowley  discharged  his  weapon  in  the 
air  and  was  shot  through  the  hat  by  his  opponent;  seeing  that  noth- 
ing would  satisfy  Mr.  Harris  but  his  blood,  at  the  second  fire  he  took 
deliberate  aim  and  shot  his  enemy  through  the  heart,  killing  him 
instantly.  In  this  affair  so  trying  to  a  young  man  just  beginning  his 
public  career,  Mr.  Yellowley  behaved  with  the  utmost  coolness,  and 
e.Khibited  that  calm,  unflinching  courage  which  characterized  his 
course  through  life.  Kind,  charitable  and  generous,  with  a  heart  as 
gentle  as  a  woman's,  ready  at  any  time  to  help  a  friend  or  forgive 
an  enemy,  high  bred  and  chivalrous,  a  gentleman  in  the  true  accepta- 
tion of  the  term  there  was  no  such  thing  as  fear  in  his  make  up,  and, 
although  in  this  lamentable  affair  he  only  defended  his  life,  he  re- 
gretted the  difficulty  and  its  melancholy  termination  all  his  days.  So 
profound  was  his  regret  he  never  alluded  to  the  matter  at  any  time. 
During  a  residence  in  his  family  of  eighteen  years  the  writer  of  this 
—  his  nephew  —  mentioned  the  subject  to  him  but  once  and  then  was 
bidden  never  to  refer  to  it  again. 

In  the  year  1850  or  thereabouts,  Mr.  Yellowlej' was  elected  clerk  of 
the  superior  court  and  afterward  solicitor  for  the  county  court;  in 
both  capacities  he  served  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  his 
constituents.  In  politics  he  was  an  old  line  whig,  and  as  such,  voted 
in  i860,  for  Bell  and  Everett,  for  the  Union  and  the  enforcement  of 
the  laws.  Although  in  feeling  and  sentiment  opposed  to  the  seces- 
sion of  the  southern  states  from  the  Union,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
been  elected,  the  efforts  made  looking  to  pacification  and  peace  had 
proven  fruitless,  and  the  southern  leaders  could  obtain  no  guarantees 
for  the  protection  of  their  rights  and  the  preservation  of  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  states,  he  became  an  advocate  of  secession  and  urged 
the  people  in  the  spring  of  1 861,  to  vote  in  favor  of  the  proposition  to 
hold  a  convention.  Immediatel}'  after  the  secession  of  the  state  he 
raised  a  military  company  by  his  own  exertions,  offered  his  servrces 
to  the  governor,  received  his  commission  as  captain  and  was  assigned 
to  the  Eighth  regiment,  which  rendezvoused  atWarrenton,  with  H.M. 
Shaw  as  colonel  commanding.  He  remained  in  active  service  through- 
out the  war.  In  1862  he  became  major  of  the  Eighth  regiment,  and 
was  afterward  appointed  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Sixty-eighth  regi- 
ment, of  which  he  was  in  immediate  command  until  the  end  of  the 
war,  the  colonel,  William  j.  Hinton,  being  captured  by  the  enemy 
and  never  having  been  exchanged.  He  fought  in  many  battles  and 
took  part  in  the  last  engagement  of  the  war,  at  Bentonsville,  between 
Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston  and  Gen.  Sherman. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1  OQ 

In  186.3,  3t  the  urgent  solicitation  of  his  friends  Mr.  Vellowley 
consented  to  become  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  Confederate  con- 
gress against  the  Hon.  R.  R.  Bridgers.  Being  in  active  service  he 
was  unable  to  make  a  canvass  of  the  district;  notwithstanding  this 
however,  he  received  a  considerable  majority  of  the  votes,  but  owing 
to  some  alleged  informalit}-  Mr.  Bridgers  received  the  certificate  of 
election.  At  the  end  of  the  war  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1866  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  general  assembly  of  North 
Carolina  from  Pitt.  This  was  the  first  legislature  which  assembled 
after  the  termination  of  the  war  and  it  was  burdened  with  grave  re- 
sponsibilities and  confronted  by  serious  ditticulties.  In  the  delibera- 
tions of  that  body  he  was  a  conspicuous  figure,  maintaining  by  his 
course  the  calm,  conservative  sentiment  characteristic  of  the  old 
whigs.  Under  the  circumstances  prevailing  at  that  trying  time,  he 
did  not  think  a  reckless,  defiant  course  was  advisable,  but  considered 
it  best  to  accept  in  good  faith  the  facts  of  the  situation  then  existing 
and  adjust  the  troubles  besetting  the  south  on  the  lines  fixed  by  the 
result  of  the  war.  Conservative  in  his  opinions  and  in  common  with 
a  large  element  of  the  people  regretting  that  the  whig  party  no 
longer  existed,  he  became  an  ardent  and  zealous  supporter  of  the 
democratic  party,  and  took  an  active  part  in  shaping  the  events  which 
led  to  the  final  discomfiture  and  rout  of  the  carpet-bag  and  negro 
regime.  As  a  lawyer  he  had  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  and  ac- 
cumulated a  handsome  fortune.  The  contemporary  of  E.  J.  Warren, 
Henry  Gilliam,  F.  B.  .Satterthwaite  and  Uavid  M.  Carter,  he  was 
prominent  among  the  distinguished  men  who  maintained  the  pres- 
tige and  added  lustre  and  distinction  to  the  bar  of  eastern  Carolina. 
In  1S85,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three,  he  died  suddenly  at  Asheville. 
North  Carolina,  where  he  had  gone  to  recuperate  his  health. 

THOMAS  JORDAN  JARVIS 

was  born  in  Currituck  county,  on  the  i8th  of  January,  1S36.  His 
father,  Rev.  B.  H.  jarvis,  was  a  native  of  the  same  county,  a  minister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  who  devoted  his  life  to  zealous 
work  in  his  honored  calling  and  was  a  successful  and  able  preacher 
of  the  Word.  His  mother  was  Elizabeth  Daly,  of  Camden  county, 
N.  C.  His  father's  circumstances  being  very  poor,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  did  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  early  education,  but  being 
determined  to  improve  himself,  he  set  to  work,  and  with  the  aid  of 
friends,  entered  Randolph-Macon  college,  January,  1855,  and  with 
money  earned  by  teaching  at  intervals,  and  assistance  furnished  by 
Mr.  John  .Sanderson,  he  fmally  completed  his  course  there,  graduating 
in  i860.  The  indomitable  will  displayed  by  him  in  pursuing  his  pur- 
pose to  obtain  an  education  well  illustrates  the  stamina  of  the  man, 
and  the  self-denial  he  practiced  in  accomplishing  success  so  early  in 
life  exemi)lifies  the  strong  qualities  that  have  distinguished  him 
throughout  his  career.  On  graduating,  he  began  to  teach  a  school 
in  Pasquotank  county,  where  he  was  engaged  until  June,  1861,  when 


no  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

he  entered  the  Confederate  army.  He  enlisted  first  in  the  Seven- 
teenth North  Carolina  regiment,  and  afterward  in  the  Eighth  North 
Carolina  troops,  where  as  captain  of  a  company,  he  displayed  a 
heroism,  fortitude  and  endurance  not  surpassed  by  any  of  his  com- 
rades in  arms.  He  was  an  excellent  soldier,  cool,  resolute,  and  un- 
flinching in  the  presence  of  danger.  Passing  through  many  perils 
and  exposed  to  many  trying  vicissitudes  he  escaped  unharmed  until 
on  the  14th  of  May,  1864,  at  Drury's  Bluff,  he  received  a  wound  that 
disabled  him,  and  since  then  his  right  arm  has  hung  useless  at  his 
side. 

When  the  war  was  over,  and  the  future  was  still  involved  in  doubt 
and  obscurity,  Mr.  Jarvis  courageously  applied  himself  to  business, 
and  opened  a  small  store  in  Tyrrell  county,  at  the  same  time  study- 
ing law.  In  the  fall  of  that  year,  a  state  convention  was  called,  and 
his  friends  in  Currituck  county  brought  him  forward  as  a  candidate 
for  election  to  that  body.  He  was  elected  and  then  began  a  public 
career  alike  honorable  to  himself  and  useful  to  the  people  of  his  na- 
tive state.  The  following  year  he  obtained  his  license  to  practice 
law  and  entered  with  zeal  upon  that  as  his  business  in  life,  but  his  in- 
telligent appreciation  of  the  importance  of  the  grave  questions  then 
challenging  public  attention  led  him  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  politi- 
cal movements. 

In  1S6S  he  was  elected  as  a  democrat  to  the  legislature  from  Tyr- 
rel  count}',  and  in  the  fall  made  an  extensive  canvass  as  district 
elector  on  the  Seymour  and  Blair  ticket.  When  the  legislature  met 
in  November,  he  allied  himself  with  John  W.  Graham,  Plato  Dur- 
ham, James  L.  Robinson  and  the  few  other  democrats  of  that  body 
in  strenuous  opposition  to  the  measures  of  the  republican  majority. 
They  were  but  a  handful,  but  most  gallantly  did  they  throw  them- 
selves into  the  breach.  They  stood  steadfast,  immovable  in  their  de- 
votion to  the  interests  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  state  soon  became 
filled  with  the  fame  of  these  young  men,  who,  having  served  with 
honor  on  the  field  of  battle,  now  by  their  wisdom  and  prudence  and 
stern  integrity,  won  for  themselves  leadership  in  public  affairs.  Their 
triumph  in  establishing  the  Bragg-Phillips  investigating  committee, 
and  in  repealing  the  special  tax  laws  was  complete  and  the  people 
loved  to  do  them  honor.  To  their  action  was  largely  due  those 
events  which  culminated  in  the  defeat  of  the  republicans  in  1870,  the 
impeachment  of  Gov.  Holden,  and  the  pacification  of  the  state  at 
that  early  date  and  the  subsequent  era  of  quiet,  harmony  and  pros- 
perity. When  the  new  assembly  met  Capt.  Jarvis  was  tendered  the 
speaker's  chair,  and  from  being  one  of  a  half-a-dozen  in  the  minority, 
he  became  the  chief  director  of  state  legislation.  The  democrat-con- 
servative party  was  then  in  a  form  itive  condition  and  Speaker  Jarvis 
exercised  great  influence  in  welding  the  fragments  of  the  old  parties 
into  a  solid  organization  In  1872,  he  moved  to  the  county  of  Pitt, 
and  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Col.  David  M.  Carter,  one  of  the 
strongest  intellects  of  the  state,  and  that  fall  canvassed  the  state  as 
an  elector  on  the  Greeley  ticket.     He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  1  I 

constitutional  convention  of  1875,  and  to  his  address  and  prudence 
was  chiefly  due  the  power  of  the  democrats  to  control  that  bod}- 
which  was  evenly-  divided  between  the  parties.  The  next  year  he 
was  nominated  by  the  state  convention  for  the  oflice  of  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  made  an  exhaustive  canvass  of  the  state,  and  upon 
Gov.  X'ance's  election  to  the  L'nited  States  senate,  in  February,  1879, 
he  succeeded  to  the  executive  chair,  to  which  position  he  was  re- 
elected for  a  full  term  in  1880. 

During  the  six  years  in  which  Mr.  Jarviswas  governor,  he  im- 
pressed himself  more  thoroughly  on  the  activities  of  the  people  than 
any  other  governor  of  the  state.  He  was  wise  and  prudent  in  council, 
and  bold  and  progressive  in  action.  He  deemed  it  a  function  of  the 
executive  office  to  give  direction  to  public  measures,  and  he  met  the 
responsibilities  of  his  position  with  zeal  and  patriotism.  He  shrunk 
from  the  discharge  of  no  duty;  and  regarding  that  the  governor  was 
in  some  measure  the  head  of  the  political  party  that  had  elected  him, 
he  largely  participated  in  every  campaign,  giving  a  detailed  account 
of  his  stewardship,  and  challenging  the  most  thorough  scrutiny  into 
every  act  of  his  administration,  whose  cleanness  and  integrity  com- 
mended itself  to  public  confidence.  He  knew  no  favorite  section,  but 
sought  to  promote  the  welfare  of  every  portion  of  the  state.  While 
warmly  advocating  the  new  system  of  county  government  for  the 
east,  housed  every  means  to  advance  the  construction  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  railroad,  and  eventually,  when  it  became  necessary 
to  do  so,  he  convened  the  legislature  in  special  session  and  disposed 
of  that  road  in  order  that  it  might  be  speedily  finished.  Under  his 
wise  administration  the  industries  of  the  state  greatly  advanced,  and 
party  bitterness  rapidly  disappeared.  Indeed  it  may  be  asserted  that 
no  state  can  boast  a  more  splendid  administration  than  that  of  Gov. 
Jarvis,  one  during  which,  considering  the  impoverished  condition  of 
the  people,  more  has  been  done  for  the  advancement  of  education, 
for  the  promotion  of  beneficent  public  purposes,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  industrial  progress  and  prosperity. 

On  the  retirement  of  Gov.  Jarvis  from  the  executive  office,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Cleveland  United  States  minister  to  Brazil, 
which  post  he  resigned  soon  after  the  election  of  President  Harrison. 
Abroad  he  deported  himself  as  a  worthy  representative  of  his  country, 
and  he  maintained  a  high  position  at  the  court  to  which  he  was  ac- 
credited. .Since  his  returned  he  has  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law 
at  Greenville,  N.  C,  and  still  enjoys  the  confidence  and  warm  regard 
of  the  people  of  his  native  state.  Gov.  jarvis  has  ever  been  an  in- 
dustrious and  laborious  worker.  He  has  a  mind  capable  of  compre- 
hending the  details  of  the  most  intricate  sul)ject,  and  he  fully  mast- 
ers whatever  engages  his  attention.  As  a  speaker  he  is  clear,  bold, 
comprehensive;  forcible  in  the  use  of  language,  and  convincing  in 
argument.  He  has,  we  believe,  spoken  in  every  county  in  the  state, 
and  as  a  popular  orator  he  is  unsurpassed  among  our  public  men. 
Gov.  Jarvis,  in  1874,  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Woodson,  the  accom- 
plished daughter  of  John  Woodson,  of  \'irginia,  who   is  greatly  ad- 


112  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

mired  and  esteemed  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  throughout  North 
Carolina.  He  has  not  allowed  public  matters  to  overshadow  concerns 
of  higher  import,  and  he  is  an  humble,  active  and  consistent  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south. 

ALLISON  C.  ZOLLICOFFER 

was  born  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  April  24,  1S54.  He  received  a 
thorough  preliminary  schooling  and  then  entered  Wake  Forest  col- 
lege, remaining  until  1878.  At  this  time  he  commenced  his  legal 
studies  with  W.  H.  Day,  of  Weldon,  N.  C,  and  one  year  subsequent 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  then  formed  a  copartnership  with  his 
former  preceptor,  Mr.  Day,  and  they  continued  together  until  Jan- 
uary, 1891.  In  January,  1882,  Mr.  Zollicoffer  removed  to  Henderson, 
and  looked  after  the  interests  of  the  business  there,  while  Mr.  Day 
remained  at  Weldon.  In  1884  Mr.  Zollicoffer  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Tempie  B.  Perry,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  S.  Perr}',  of  Franklin 
county,  N.  C,  and  to  them  have  been  born  four  children,  two  of 
whom  are  living,  named  Augustus  A.  and  Jeremiah  P.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  these  children  was  J.  B.  Zollicoffer.  He  was  a  native 
of  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  where  he  was  born  in  i8iy.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  horticulturist,  and  held  an  honorable  position  in  the  com- 
munity. He  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Hawkins,  daughter  of  Ambrose 
Hawkins,  who  bore  him  eight  children,  four  of  whom  survive,  viz.: 
Dr.  A.  R.  Zollicoffer,  of  Weldon,  N.  C;  Dr.  D.  B.  Zollicoffer.  of 
Gareysburg,  N.  C;  A.  C.  Zollicoffer,  of  Henderson,  N.  C,  and  M.  E. 
Zollicoffer,  of  Portsmouth,  Va.  The  father  died  in  1885,  and  the 
mother  in  1876.  J.  B.  Zollicoffer  was  the  son  of  J.  H.  Zollicoffer,  who 
was  also  a  native  of  Halifax  county.  He  was  a  farmer  during  the 
whole  of  his  active  career,  and  a  man  of  influence  and  ability.  His 
demise  occurred  in  1824.  Allison  C.  Zollicoffer,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  has  won  distinction  and  honor  at  the  bar.  He  is  a  lawj^er  of 
no  mean  ability,  and  stands  in  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession  in  the 
state. 

ANDREW  J.  HARRIS, 

one  of  the  ablest  among  the  younger  members  of  the  \'ance  county 
bar,  was  born  about  four  miles  southeast  of  Oxford,  in  Granville 
county,  N.  C,  October  28,  1861.  He  was  given  ample  opportunity 
for  obtaining  a  thorough  preliminary  schooling,  and  in  fS84  was 
graduated  from  the  university  of  North  Carolina,  with  the  degree  of 
Ph.  D.  He  began  his  legal  studies  with  Messrs.  Dick  «&  Dillon, 
prominent  attorneys  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  in  October,  1885,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  At  this  time  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Hen- 
derson and  opened  a  law  office,  where  he  has  since  practiced.  Mr. 
Harris  was  married  November  7,  1888,  to  Miss  Lee  Mitchell,  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  Hon.  W.  L.  Mitchell,  of  Granville  county,  N.  C.  One 
daughter,  Anne,  is  the  issue  of  this  marriage.     Mr.  Harris  is  the  son 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  II3 

of  Benjamin  F.  Harris,  who  was  born  in  Granville  county,  N.  C, 
in  1S12.  He  was  an  extensive  agriculturist  and  carried  on  several 
stores  and  mills  in  connection  with  his  farming  interests.  He  was 
married  in  1S50,  to  Miss  Anne  E.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Rogers,  of 
Warren  count}',  X.  C,  and  five  children  blessed  their  union,  four  of 
whom  survive  the  parents,  viz.:  George  B.,  Samuel  R.,  Fletcher  R. 
and  Andrew  J.  Harris.  Benjamin  F.  Harris  died  in  1S75.  He  was 
the  son  of  George  W.  Harris,  who  was  a  Virginian,  having  been  born 
in  the  last  century.  He  came  to  North  Carolina  with  his  parents  in 
early  boyhood.  They  settled  in  Granville  county,  where  the  son  sub- 
sequently became  a  leading  farmer  and   mill  owner. 

BEVERLY  CAMERON  COBB, 

a  prominent  attorney  of  Lincolnton,  X.  C.,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Jos- 
eph C.  and  Margaret  E.  Cobb.     He  was  born  in  Lincolnton,  August  17, 
1S4S.     He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  county  until  his  sixteenth 
year,  when  he  entered  the  high  school  at  Mebanesville,  where  he  re- 
mained during  1S65  and  1866.     In  iS6q  he  entered  the  law  school  of 
Judge  Pearson,  at  Richmond  Hill,  N.  C,  and  was  admitted  to  practice 
in    June,  1S70.     He   entered    into    partnership,    in    1871,   with   Judge 
Schenck,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Dallas,  N.  C. 
This  firm  continued  until  1S74,  when  Judge  Schenck  was  called  to  the 
bench,  and   Mr.  Cobb  succeeded  him  in  the  entire  business  of  the 
firm,  and  removed  to  Lincolnton,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  en- 
gaged  in   successful  practice.     He   is  a  staunch   democrat,  and   has 
been  an  active  politician  ever  since  he  came  to  the  years  of  manhood. 
In  1876  he  was  elected  by  his  party  to  represent  Lincoln  county  in 
the  state  legislature.     He  was  re-elected  in  1878,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  active  and  efficient  members  of  the  house;  he  had  several  of 
the  most  important  chairmanships  in  the  gift  of  the  presiding  officer, 
and  did  e.xcellent  work  in  the  committees.     At  the  Chicago  national 
convention  in   1884,  which  nominated  Grover  Cleveland,  he  was  a 
delegate  from  his  congressional  district.     Mr.  Cobb  has  served  one 
term  as  mayor  of  Lincolnton.     He  is  a  member  of  the   Masonic  fra- 
ternity.    In  his  religious  views  Mr.  Cobb  is  identified  with  the   Epis- 
copal church,  having  been  a  vestryman  in  that  church  for  the  past 
ten  years.     In  January,  1880,  Mr.  Cobb  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Jane,  daughter  of   Hon.  V.  A.  McBee,  of  Lincolnton,  but  his 
married  life  was  of  brief  duration,  Mrs.  Cobb's  untimely  death  oc- 
curring in   New  York  city,  in  1881.     Mr.  Cobb  has  an  e.xtensive  prac- 
tice from  which    he   derives  an  ample  income,  and    he  enjoys   the 
respect  of   his  professional   brethren   as  well  as  of   the   community 
where  he  is  so  widely  and  favorably  known. 

HON.  CHARLES  M.  COOKE. 

Of  the   many  honorctl   names  of  North   Carolina,  none  deserves 
more  than  the  Hon.  Charles  M.  Cooke.     Born  in  Franklin  county,  on 
B— 8 


114  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  loth  of  March,  1S44,  and,  since  reaching  manhood,  he  has  been 
actively  and  prominentlj^  identified  with  the  best  movements  of  his 
native  state.  Having  received  an  excellent  preliminary  schooling  at 
the  Louisburg  academy,  the  ardent  student  was  pursuing  the  sopho- 
more studies  at  Wake -Forest  college  when  his  people  called  upon 
him  to  take  up  arms  in  defense  of  his  native  state.  In  the  winter  of 
1861  he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Fifty-fifth  North  Carolina  regiment, 
as  a  private,  was  soon  made  lieutenant  of  Company  I,  and  the  captain 
of  the  company  being  captured  at  Gettysburg,  he  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  company,  and  "discharged  the  duties  of  that  rank  faith- 
fully and  well  until  June,  1S64,  when  he  was  assigned  to  duty  as  adju- 
tant of  the  regiment,  and  he  held  that  rank  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
having  participated  in  the  following  battles:  Little  Washington,  N.  C, 
second  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Bristol  Sta- 
tion, Hanover  C.  H.,  Davis's  Farm,  \'a.,  and  all  the  engagements 
around  Petersburg.  He  was  grievously  woundeci  at  Petersburg,  March 
31,  1865,  and  was  confined  in  a  Richmond  hospital  at  the  time  of  the 
evacuation  of  that  city.  He  was  paroled  by  the  Federal  government 
after  Lee's  surrender,  and  immediately  returned  to  Franklin  county, 
to  his  father's  farm.  He  resumed  his  studies  of  the  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  county  courts  in  January,  1867,  and  in  the 
superior  and  supreme  courts  in  January,  1868.  In  1874  he  was  elected 
to  the  state  senate,  and  served  one  term.  In  1877  he  was  appointed 
solicitor  of  the  Si.xth  judicial  district,  known  as  the  Raleigh  district, 
by  Gov.  Z.  B.  Vance,  and  he  held  that  office  until  1878,  when  he  de- 
clined further  service.  In  187S  Mr.  Cooke  was  sent  to  the  house  of 
representatives,  and  held  the  chairmanship  of  the  judiciary  commit- 
tee. Two  years  later  he  was  re-elected  a  member  of  that  body,  and 
was  chosen  speaker  of  the  house.  Gov.  Jarvis  appointed  him  in 
March,  1879,  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  internal  improvements,  and 
he  filled  that  office  till  August,  1 880,  when  he  resigned  upon  his  re-elec- 
tion to  the  general  assembly.  Four  years  subsequent  Gov.  Scales 
appointed  him  a  director  of  the  state  prison,  and  four  years  later  Mr. 
Cooke  resigned  the  honor  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  house  of 
representatives.  Having  been  elected  to  that  position,  he  declined 
to  be  a  candidate  for  the  speakership,  and  was  appointed  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  internal  improvements,  and  also  of  the  house 
branch  of  the  committee  on  railroad  commission.  In  1872  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  democratic  national  convention.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  has  been  the  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Wake- 
Forest  college,  and  he  is  also  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina. 

In  February,  1S68,  Mr.  Cooke,  was  so  fortunate  as  to  form  a  mar- 
riage alliance  with  Miss  Bettie  Person,  daughter  of  Weldon  E.  Person, 
of  Salabusha  county.  Miss.,  and  to  them  nine  children,  seven  of  whom 
survive,  have  been  born,  viz.:  Percy,  Charles  M.,  Jr.,  Francis  N., 
Frederick  K.,  Wilbur  C,  Edwin  W.  and  Lizzie  K.  Cooke.  Mr.-  Cooke 
is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  Masons,  having  held  the  chair  of 
W.  M.  of  Clinton  lodge.  No.  124.     He  is   active  and  consistent  in 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  115 

church  work,  having  for  many  years  been  a  communicant  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Baptist  denomination.  Capt.  Jones  Cooke,  father  of  Hon. 
C.  M.  Cooke,  was  born  in  h-rankHn  county,  N.  C,  in  17S6.  He  held 
many  important  pubUc  positions  and  was  a  man  of  much  prominence 
and  influence.  For  several  years  chairman  of  the  county  court  and 
charter  sessions,  he  served  as  a  loyal  and  efficient  captain  in  the  patri- 
otic army  during  the  war  of  1S12.  He  was  thrice  married,  his  last 
marriage  being  to  Miss  lane  A.  Kingsbury,  daughter  of  Darius  Kings- 
bury, of  Litchfield,  Conn.  She  was  the  granddaughter  of  Esther 
Mather,  who  was  of  the  Cotton  Mather  family.  Their  marriage  was 
solemnized  in  August,  1S41,  and  resulted  in  the  birth  of  five  children, 
named:  Josephine,  Charles  M.,  Belle,  Dr.  \V.  J.  (deceased  in  1888); 
and  Eudora  F.,  wife  of  James  X.  Tisdale,  of  Selma,  N.  C.  The  father 
of  these  children  died  in  1872,  and  the  mother  in  1880.  Capt.  Jones 
Cooke  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Cooke,  a  X'irginian,  having  been  born 
in  Gloucester,  in  1700.  He  died  in  1801,  aged  one  hundred  and  one 
years.  In  his  early  manhood  he  removed  to  Franklin  county,  N.  C. 
By  his  second  wife.  Belle  Congers,  he  had  several  children.  Six  of 
her  brothers  were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  all  having  served 
with  valor. 

THOMAS  BRAGG, 

a  distinguished  North  Carolinian,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  N.  C, 
November  9,  1810.  He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  Bragg, 
and  brother  of  the  celebrated  Gen.  Braxton  Bragg.  He  had  an  aca- 
demic education,  first  attending  the  academy  at  Warrenton  under  the 
instruction  of  George  W.,  afterward  Bishop  Freeman,  then  at  the 
military  academy  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  under  the  tutorship  of  Capt. 
Alden  Partridge,  a  noted  instructor  of  the  sciences,  especially  of  the 
military.  I  lere  young  Bragg  sjjent  about  three  years.  He  studied  law 
under  John  Hall,  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  opened  a  law  office  at  Jackson, 
N.  C,  and  there  carried  on  a  most  successful  practice.  In  1842  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  and  in  that 
body  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee,  the  real 
post  of  honor  in  the  house.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  and  most  in- 
fluential members.  In  politics  he  was  a  democrat  and  was  nominated 
by  that  party  and  elected  governor  of  the  state  in  1854;  he  was  re- 
elected in  1856  over  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  the  state,  Hon. 
John  A.  Gilmer.  He  was  chosen  a  United  States  senator  in  1858,  for 
the  regular  term  of  six  years,  but  on  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  in 
1 86 1,  resigned  with  other  senators  of  the  southern  states.  When  the 
Confederate  government  removed  from  Montgomery  to  Richmond, 
in  1862,  the  attorney-generalship  of  the  Confederate  states  was  ten- 
dered to  Gov.  Bragg  by  President  Davis,  and  was  accepted.  He 
discharged  the  cluties  of  this  responsible  position  with  distinguished 
ability  until  186;,.  He  then  returned  to  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
During  the  troublous  times  which  succeeded  the  Civil  war,  Gov.  Bragg 


Il6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

was  among  the  foremost  statesmen  of  North  CaroHna  to  engage  in 
the  work  of- reducing  the  conflicting  elements  to  unison  and  bringing 
order  out  of  confusion. 

In  1871  Gov.  Bragg  and  several  other  distinguished  North  Car- 
olinians addressed  a  letter  to  Judge  Bond,  of  the  United  States 
district  court,  in  relation  to  the  prosecution  of  the  secret  organization 
known  as  the  Ku  Ivlux.  The  letter  was  in  the  nature  of  a  peti- 
tion, asking  Judge  Bond  to  continue  the  trial  of  the  persons  charged 
as  belonging  to  this  secret  organization  to  the  next  term  of  the 
court,  declaring  that  such  continuance  "  would  enable  us  to  enlist 
all  law-loving  citizens  of  the  state  to  make  an  energetic  and  ef- 
fectual effort  for  the  restoration  of  good  order."  The  letter  con- 
cluded: "  In  presenting  these  considerations  to  your  honor,  we 
declare  that  it  is  our  duty  and  purpose  to  exert  all  the  influence 
we  possess,  and  all  the  means  in  our  powej  to  absolutely  suppress 
the  organization,  and  to  secure  a  lasting  and  permanent  peace  to 
the  state.  The  laws  of  the  country  must  and  shall  be  vindicated. 
We  are  satisfied  and  give  the  assurance  that  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  will  unite  in  averting  and  forever  obliterating  an  evil 
which  can  bring  nothing  but  calamit}'  to  the  state.  In  the  name 
of  a  just  and  honorable  people,  and  by  all  the  considerations  which 
appeal  to  good  men,  we  solemnly  protest  that  these  violations  of 
law  and  public  justice  must  and  shall  cease. " 

This  very  reasonable  and  patriotic  appeal  received  a  prompt  reply 
from  Judge  Bond,  in  which  he  declared  his  inability  to  comply  there- 
with. The  subsequent  proceedings  against  the  organization  are  a 
matter  of  public  and  voluminous  record.  Mr.  Bragg  took  an  active 
and  conspicuous  part  in  the  impeachment  trial  of  Gov.  W.W.  Holden 
before  the  state  senate,  "  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors."  This 
trial  resulted  in  an  order  that  Gov.  Holden  "  be  removed  from  the 
office  of  governor,  and  disqualified  to  hold  any  office  of  trust,  honor 
or  profit  under  the  state  of  North  Carolina."  Governors  W.  A. 
Graham  and  Thomas  Bragg,  and  Judge  A.  S.  Merrimon  were  selected 
by  the  managers  as  counsel  for  the  prosecution  of  the  impeachment, 
and  an  abler  or  more  learned  counsel  could  not  have  been  found  in 
the  state.  But  the  labor  and  anxiety  of  this  trial  proved  too  much 
for  Gov.  Bragg's  constitution,  and  he  retired  from  it  with  health  per- 
manently impaired  and  with  physical  powers  completely  exhausted, 
yet  in  the  full  and  vigorous  possession  of  his  intellectual  powers.  He 
died  January  21,  1S72,  at  Raleigh,  attended  by  the  ministrations  of  a 
devoted  and  deeply  afflicted  family,  and  mourned  b}-  a  whole  com- 
munity of  sympathizing  neighbors  and  friends. 

THEODORE-  F.  KLUTTZ, 

a  citizen  of  Salisbury,  N.  C,  a  son  of  Caleb  Kluttz,  was  born  in  the 
city  of  his  present  residence,  October  4,  1848.  The  father  was  of 
German  lineage,  and  was  for  many  years  sheriff  of  Rowan  county. 
He  married  Elizabeth   Moose,  who  was  of  Swiss  descent.     The  sub- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  17 

ject  of  this  sketch  was  left  by  his  parents  with  only  moderate  means 
of  support  and  even  this  narrow  estate  was  swept  away  by  the 
ravages  of  the  Civil  war,  and  at  an  early  stage  in  his  life  he  was 
obliged  to  provide  for  himself;  but  his  native  energy  and  self-reliance 
stood  him  in  good  stead  of  a  patrimony.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
became  a  clerk  in  the  drug  establishment  of  Henderson  &  Enniss,  in 
Salisbury.  Here  he  spent  several  years  and  when  he  arrived  at  his 
majority  he  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Enniss  in  the  concern  and 
the  tirm  became  Theodore  E.  Kluttz  &  Co.,  under  which  name  it 
still  exists.  After  having  accumulated  a  comfortable  fortune,  Mr. 
Kluttz,  in  iSSo,  resolved  to  indulge  in  his  life-long  desire  to  enter  the 
legal  profession  and  began  study  *imder  Hon.  James  M.  McCorkle, 
one  of  the  foremost  members  of  the  Salisbury  bar,  with  whom  after 
he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  he  formed  a  law  partnership.  On 
the  death  of  his  partner,  Mr.  Kluttz  began  practice  by  himself,  and 
by  his  indomitable  energy  and  studious  habits  has  drawn  around  him 
a  large  clientage  and  fairlj?  earned  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his 
professional  brethren  and  of  the  courts  in  which  he  and  they  practice. 
In  the  argument  of  cases  at  the  bar,  Mr.  Kluttz  is  a  very  effective 
advocate,  and  never  fails  to  give  satisfaction  to  his  numerous  clients 
who  repose  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  his  legal  skill  and  judg- 
ment. Though  he  is  almost  exclusively  confined  to  his  law  practice, 
he  yet  retains  a  large  interest  in  his  drug  establishment  which  he  en- 
trusts mostly  to  the  care  and  direction  of  his  excellent  junior  partner, 
Mr.  C.  R.  Barker. 

In  the  midst  of  his  business  engagements  Mr.  Kluttz  does  not 
neglect  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  material  development  of  the 
city  and  county  in  which  he  resides.  He  holds  the  office  of  vice- 
president  of  the  Yadkin  railroad  company;  president  of  the  Salis- 
bury chamber  of  commerce;  of  the  Rowan  Knitting  company;  the 
Chestnut  Hill  cemetery  association,  and  the  Salisbury  Building  & 
Loan  association.  He  is  a  director  in  the  North  Carolina  railroad 
company,  the  Salisbury  cotton  mills,  the  Connelly  Springs  company, 
the  Salisbury  water  works  company,  the  North  Carolina  Steel  tv  Iron 
company,  and  other  industrial  companies  in  all  of  which  he  commands 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  his  various  business  associates.  His 
fine  judgment  and  correct  habits  make  him  an  efficient  helper  in  any 
business  enterprise,  and  no  citizen  of  Salisbury  has  done  more  to  pro- 
mote its  progress  and  prosperity  than  he.  In  1873  Mr.  Kluttz  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sallie  Caldwell,  whose  farnily  name 
stands  pre-eminent  in  tiie  historic  annals  of  North  Carolina.  '1  his 
happy  union  has  been  blessed  liy  the  advent  of  six  bright  children  to 
cheer  and  gladden  their  handsome  residence,  where  good  will  and 
hospitality  reign  supreme.  Mr.  Kluttz  has  taken  little  part  in  poli- 
tics, but  in  1880  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  for  the  state  on 
the-  Hancock  ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Salisbury,  and  is  one  of  the  deacons  of  that  church.  He  is  yet  in  the 
prime  of  his  useful  life  and  can  reasonably  look  forward  to  still 
greater  and  more  satisfactory  accomplishments. 


Il8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


HON.  DAVID  FRANKLIN   CALDWELL, 

one  of  the  best  known  and  most  distinguished  citizens  of  Rowan 
county,  and  one  of  the  ablest  judges  of  the  superior  court  of  North 
Carolina,  was  born  in  Iredell  county,  then  a  part  of  Rowan  county, 
in  March,  1791.  He  died  at  Salisbury,  April  4,  1867.  More  than  a 
century  ago,  there  resided  in  Rowan  county,  a  substantial  citizen,  of 
Scotch-Irish  stock,  so  many  of  whom  peopled  that  part  of  North  Car- 
olina, named  Andrew  Caldwell.  In  his  young  manhood  he  wedded 
Ruth,  the  second  daughter  of  Hon.  William  Sharpe.  Andrew  Cald- 
well was  a  leading  man  of  his  time,  and  he  was  called  to  represent 
his  fellow  citizens  in  the  state  legislature.  He  was  the  father  of  a 
number  of  children,  among  whom  there  were  three  sons  who  became 
widel}'  known.  They  were,  Hon.  D.  F.  Caldwell,  Hon.  Joseph  P. 
Caldwell,  of  Iredell,  and  Dr.  Elane  Caldwell,  of  Lincolnton.  Hon. 
David  F.  Caldwell,  was  educated  at  the  university  at  Chapel  Hill, 
and  though  completing  a  thorough  literary  course  in  that  institution, 
he  never  graduated,  because  of  financial  inability.  He  studied  law 
with  the  Hon.  Archibald  Henderson,  of  Salisbury,  and  early  set  out 
in  public  life,  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons,  from  Iredell 
county.  The  date  of  his  first  election  was  1816,  and  he  served  there- 
after for  several  years  with  distinguished  ability.  The  first  two  years 
of  his  practice  in  the  legal  profession  were  spent  in  .Statesville,  and 
then  he  located  in  Salisbury,  where  he  ever  after  continued  to  reside. 
In  the  years  1829-30-31,  he  represented  Rowan  county  in  the  state 
senate,  and  was  president  of  that  body  in  1829.  After  his  legislative 
career  was  ended,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  for 
several  years  thereafter,  pursued  it  with  great  success.  In  the  year 
1844,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  North  Carolina, 
which  position  he  ably  filled  for  about  fourteen  years.  He  presided 
on  the  bench  with  rare  dignity,  grace,  discrimination  and  impartiality. 
When  he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years,  he  felt  it  his  duty 
to  resign,  being  unwilling  to  remain  upon  the  judicial  bench,  when 
there  could  be  the  slightest  suspicion  that  his  mental  powers  could  be 
impaired  in  the  smallest  degree  by  his  advanced  age.  In  1859  he  be- 
came president  of  the  Branch  bank  of  North  Carolina,  at  Salisbur3^ 
remaining  as  such,  until  the  collapse  of  the  bank,  consequent  upon 
the  Civil  war,  and  after  which  he  retired  from  the  incumbency  of  any 
public  calling.  Aside  from  the  rare  excellencies,  which  characterized 
Judge  Caldwell,  while  presiding  upon  the  bench,  he  was  very  popular 
as  a  private  citizen.  He  was  kind,  gentle,  polite,  and  was  beloved 
and  honored  by  all  who  were  privileged  to  be  associated  with  him. 
His  cultured  intellect  and  refined  manners  were  a  passport  for  him 
in  the  best  society.  Judge  Caldwell  was  twice  married.  In  1819,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Fannie  M.  Alexander,  by  whom  he  had  four 
sons  and  two  daughters.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Rebecca  M. 
Troy,  nee  Nesbit,  by  whom  he  had  no  children. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  IQ 


HON.    CHARLES    PRICE, 


of  Salisbury,  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  known  politicians  of  North 
Carolina,  is  a  native  of  Warren  county,  and  was  born  July  26,  1S46. 
He  is  the  son  of  John  M.  and  Martha  (Reynolds)  Price,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  Wake  county,  X.  C.  His  ancestors  were  of 
English  origin,  and  settled  at  an  earh'  day  in  Raleigh,  but  subse- 
quently removed  to  Missouri.  Mr.  Price's  mother  was  born  and  reared 
in  Warren  county,  and  was  of  Scotch  extraction.  She  was  the  mother 
of  eight  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  father  was  by  occupation  a 
merchant  and  manufacturer,  and  for  3ears  conducted  an  e.xtensive 
business  in  the  manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  carriages  at  Warrenton. 
He  was  a  whig  in  politics  and  naturally  opposed  to  the  secession 
movement,  but  when  the  war  came  he  promptly  volunteered  in  the 
Confederate  service,  but  the  infirmities  of  old  age  soon  interposed  to 
reliev-e  him  from  this  service.  His  death  followed  close  upon  the  end 
of  the  war.  Mr.  Price's  mother  survived  his  father  man}^  years, 
reaching  the  ripe  old  age  of  seventy-four,  universally  respected  and 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  She  and  her  husband  were  lifelong 
members  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Hon.  Charles  Price  was  brought 
up  in  the  town  of  Warrento'n  until  reaching  the  age  of  seventeen.  He 
attended  school  there  until  April,  1S64,  when  he  entered  the  Confed- 
erate army,  serving  one  year  as  captain  of  the  First  regiment  of 
junior  reserves.  He  surrendered  with  Gen.  Johnston's  army  at 
Greensboro,  and  returning  to  the  parental  home,  again  set  out  in  his 
educational  course.  For  about  a  year  he  was  under  the  instruction 
of  Mr.  W.  H.Thompson,  from  whom  he  received  thorough  training 
in  the  elementary  branches.  He  then  began  the  study  of  law  at  Rich- 
mond Hill,  under  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  continuing  for  about  a  year. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1868,  being  the  last  candidate 
examined  under  the  provision  of  the  old  constitutional  law  of  the 
state.  In  1870  Mr.  Price  located  in  Davie  county  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  He  very  soon  drew  around  him  a  circle  of 
friends  who  were  ready  to  promote  his  advancement  both  profession- 
ally and  politically,  and  in  1872  he  was  nominated  for  the  state  senate 
from  Uavie  and  Rowan  counties.  He  was  elected  and  served  in  1872 
and  1873-4.  In  1875  he  was  chosen  a  member  from  Davie  county  to 
the  constitutional  convention,  in  which  he  took  an  active  part.  In 
1876  he  was  nominated  by  the  democratic  party  for  the  lower  house 
of  the  legislature,  and  was  elected  without  opposition.  He  was  elected 
speaker  of  that  body  for  the  session  of  1S76-7,  being  at  that  time  the 
youngest  member  who  had  ever  been  honored  with  that  distinction. 
At  the  close  of  the  session  during  which  he  had  presided  over  the 
house  in  1877.  Mr.  Price  retired  from  legislative  life,  and  located  in 
Salisbury  in  the  active  practice  of  the  law.  He  has  risen  to  the  fore- 
most rank  of  his  profession,  and  has  probably  the  largest  practice  of 
any  lawyer  in  the  state.  He  has  been  an  attorney  for  the  Richmond 
&  Danville   R.  R.  Co.  since  1883,  being  assistant  counsel  with  Hon. 


I20  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

David  Schenck,  of  Greensboro,  who  acts  as  the  railroad  attorney  for 
the  state.  His  work  as  counsel  has  mainly  consisted  in  the  trial  of 
cases  for  damages  for  injuries  to  person  and  property,  and  in  this 
direction  he  has  made  a  most  admirable  record.  He  is  also  counsel 
for  the  Charleston,  Cincinnati  &  Chicago  R.  R.  Co.  In  June,  1889, 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Harrison  to  the  office  of  United  States 
district  attorney,  for  the  western  district  of  North  Carolina,  a  position 
which  he  still  holds.  In  his  young  days,  Mr.  Price  imbibed  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Jeffersonian  democracy,  and  holding  a  sincere  belief  in 
those  principles  up  to  the  year  1882,  he  was  identified  with  the  demo- 
cratic party.  Having  been  convinced  of  the  hurtful  tendencies  of 
those  principles  when  carried  to  their  ultimate  extent,  and  believing 
that  the  principles  of  the  republican  party  were  safer  and  more  con- 
servative of  the  integrity  of  our  government,  he  abandoned  the  dem- 
ocratic party  and  has  since  joined  his  political  fortunes  with  the  re- 
publican party.  In  that  year  he  made  a  canvass  in  the  interest  of  the 
republican  party,  and  in  18S4,  being  acquainted  with  Hon.  James  G. 
Blaine  and  regarding  him  as  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  of  the  age, 
supported  him  for  president,  canvassing  portions  of  the  state  in  be- 
half of  the  republican  ticket.  He  also  supported  Mr.  Harrison  for 
president  in  1888.  During  his  legislative  career,  Mr.  Price  took  an 
active  part  for  the  furtherance  of  internal  improvements,  in  the  in- 
terests of  which  he  has  taken  an  advanced  position  in  contrast  with 
some  of  the  public  men  and  leaders  in  his  section.  He  is  of  the  pro- 
gressive type,  his  fine  classical  and  legal  education  bringing  him  to 
take  broader  views  in  a  material  as  well  as  a  social  sense.  Mr.  Price 
has  been  twice  married.  In  1871  he  was  wedded  to  Miss  Annie  Hob- 
son,  a  niece  of  Gov.  John  M.  Morehead.  She  died  in  1876,  leaving 
him  a  son,  Augustus  Hobson  Price.  In  1878  he  married  for  his  second 
wife,  Miss  Mary  Roberts,  of  Mobile,  Ala.  Mrs.  Price  is  gifted  with 
a  rare  intellect.and  fine  executive  ability  and  has  been  selected  as  one 
of  the  two  lady  managers  of  the  World's  Fair  from  North  Carolina, 
at  the  Columbian  exposition  to  be  held  in  Chicago,  in  1893.  She  is 
also  vice-president  of  the  ladies'  board  of  managers  from  the  six 
states  of  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  Maryland,  Delaware,  North  and 
South  Carolina. 

HON.  BURTON  CRAIGE. 

Among  the  distinguished  men  whose  names  have  given  lustre  to 
the  pages  of  biographical  history,  none  deserves  a  more  prominent 
place  that  Hon.  Burton  Craige,  an  eminent  and  widely  known  states- 
man of  North  Carolina.  He  was  born  in  Rowan  county,  March  13, 
181 1,  at  the  family  residence  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Yadkin,  a  few 
miles  above  the  point  of  junction  of  the  two  rivers.  He  was  the 
youngest  son  of  David  Craige,  Jr.,  and  Mary  Foster,  his  three  elder 
brothers  being  named  respectively  Robert  Newton,  Samuel  and  John 
Craige.  The  ancestors  of  the  Craige  family  in  North  Carolina  came 
directly  from  Scotland  without  sojourning  for  a  time,  as  many  did,  in 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  121 

the  northern  states.  They  were  adherents  of  Prince  Charles  in  his 
efforts  to  regain  the  throne  of  his  father,  and  after  the  fatal  battle  of 
Culloden,  April  i6,  1746,  they  deemed  it  expedient  to  seek  safety  in 
America.  The  name  of  Craige  in  the  Scottish  dialect  signifies  a 
sharp,  high  rock,  and  was  probably  given  to  the  family  or  was  as- 
sumed by  them  because  their  hall  or  castle  was  situated  upon  some 
high  rock,  thus  securing  safety  to  life  and  propert)-  in  the  days  of  vio- 
lence and  lawlessness.  The  earl}'  days  of  Burton  Craige  were  spent 
upon  the  farm,  and  his  primary  education  was  received  in  the  schools 
in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home.  After  attending  a  classical  school 
in  Salisbury  under  the  preceptorship  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Otis  Freeman, 
he  entered  the  L  nivcrsitj-  of  North  Carolina  where  he  was  graduated 
in  1S29.  Returning  to  his  native  count}'  for  about  three  years  he 
edited  the  IVcsfcni  Carolinian,  and  studied  law  with  David  F.  Cald- 
well as  his  preceptor.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1832,  and  in  the 
same  year  was  elected  to  the  legislature  from  what  was  known  as  the 
Salisbury  borough.  His  public  career  from  this  took  its  rise.  After 
the  borough  system  was  abolished,  in  1S34,  Mr.  Craige  was  elected  to 
the  assembly  from  the  county  of  Rowan. 

In  1836,  Mr.  Craige  was  united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  P., 
a  daughter  of  Col.  James  Erwin,  of  Burke  county,  and  a  great- 
granddaughter  of  Gen.  Mathew  Locke,  of  Rowan.  In  the  same 
year,  being  in  feeble  health,  Mr.  Craige  visited  Europe.  Regain- 
ing his  health  he  returned  home  and  resumed  an  active  practice 
of  his  chosen  profession.  He  rose  rapidly  in  his  practice  and  for 
many  years  maintained  an  extensive  law  business.  He  was  en- 
dowed with  a  taste  for  legal  studies  and  never  ceased  to  be  a 
student.  Possessed  of  the  qualities  of  clearness,  accuracy  and  rare 
powers  of  analysis,  his  expressed  opinions  were  to  be  regarded  as 
authority  on  legal  points.  As  a  public  speaker  he  was  Instructive, 
entertaining  and  eloquent.  His  stj'le  was  clear,  forcible,  logical 
and  gracefully  ornamented  with  the  brightest  rhetorical  flowers. 
In  his  manners  he  was  simple,  familiar  and  engaging.  He  pos- 
sessed a  remarkable  memorj'  both  of  names  and  faces,  and  never 
failed  to  recognize  an  acquaintance  however  humble  in  circumstances 
or  personality.  These  were  characteristics  and  qualities  which  well 
fitted  him  for  a  politician.  He  had  become  widely  known  and  was 
surrounded  by  hosts  of  friends  and  admirers,  and  in  1853  was  elected 
to  congress  from  the  Mecklenburg  district,  and  from  thence  he  served 
in  four  successive  sessions  of  that  body,  his  last  term  finding  him  in 
congress  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  In  this  struggle  he 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  south,  and  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
national  house  of  representatives  and  cast  his  lot  with  those  people 
who  had  delighted  to  honor  him  with  their  suffrages.  When  the  con- 
vention of  .Xorth  Carolina  was  called  in  i86i,to  determine  what 
course  the  state  should  pursue,  Mr.  Craige  was  sent  to  voice  the  sen- 
timents of  Rowan  county,  and  on  the  20th  day  of  May  he  offered  the 
ordinance  of  secession,  which  was  adopted  and  placed  North  Caro- 
lina along  with  other  states  of  the  south  which  had  resolved  to  with 


122  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

draw  from  their  allegiance  to  the  Federal  government.  This  con- 
vention also  chose  as  representatives  in  the  Confederate  congress 
from  North  Carolina,  Burton  Craige,  W.  N.  H.  Smith,  Thomas 
Ruffin,  T.  D.  McDowell,  A.  W.  Venable,  J.  M.  Morehead,  R.  C.  Pur- 
year  and  A.  T.  Davidson,  a  cluster  of  distinguished  men.  His  serv- 
ices in  the  Confederate  congress  put  a  period  to  the  official  career  of 
Mr.  Craige,  and  he  retired  to  private  life.  When  the  flag  upon  which 
were  emblazoned  the  "stars  and  bars"  was  furled  he  felt  that  his 
political  life  was  closed,  and  he  declined  to  take  any  further  part  in 
national  affairs,  and  he  refused  to  apply  for  the  removal  of  his  polit- 
ical disabilities.  He  now  began  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession  which  he  continued  until  his  death.  In  the 
study  of  history  and  in  recounting  the  deeds  of  former  days,  he 
sought  repose  in  the  bosom  of  his  family'  from  the  turmoil  and  strife 
of  public  affairs.  On  the  30th  of  December.  1S75,  while  attending 
the  Carbarrus  court,  he  died  at  the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  A.  B. 
Young.  Thus  left  its  earthly  tenement,  a  noble  spirit,  the  spirit  of  a 
true  patriot,  a  distinguished  lawyer,  an  eminent  statesman  and  a  be- 
loved and  honored  citizen. 

JOSEPH  CARTER  ABBOTT, 

journalist  and  senator,  was  born  in  Concord,  X.  H.,  July  15,  1825. 
His  education  was  acquired  under  private  instruction,  preceded  by  a 
course  at  Phillips  Andover  academy.  He  studied  law  in  his  native 
town,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1852.  He  was  for  five  years 
editor  of  the  Manchester  Daily  American,  and  afterward  of  the  Boston 
Atlas  and  Bcc.  During  this  time,  from  1S55  to  1861,  he  held  the 
commission  of  adjutant-general  of  New  Hampshire,  and  thoroughly 
re-organized  the  state  militia.  He  was  a  frequent  contributor  of 
magazine  literature,  particularly  upon  historical  topics.  In  the  settle- 
ment of  the  boundary  question  between  New  Hampshire  and  Canada 
he  acted  as  one  of  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  his  native  state. 
He  rendered  effective  service  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war,  in 
raising  and  organizing  Union  troops,  and  was  finally  chosen  lieuten- 
ant-colonel of  the  Seventh  regiment  of  New  Hampshire  volunteer 
infantry.  He  was  a  gallant  officer,  and  distinguished  himself  for  his 
bravery,  especially  at  the  storming  of  Fort  Fisher,  in  North  Carolina, 
July  23,  1863.  He  was  promoted  to  the  colonelcy  by  his  regiment, 
and  held  the  command  of  that  regiment  till  the  summer  of  1864,  when 
he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  brevet-brigadier-general,  and  was  put  in 
command  of  a  brigade.  After  the  war  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Wilmington,  N.  C,  and,  in  1S67,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state 
constitutional  convention.  The  following  year  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  and  by  that  body  was  chosen  a  United 
States  senator  for  a  partial  term,  ending  in  1S71.  He  was  extensively 
engaged  in  agriculture  as  well  as  manufactures,  carrying  on  a  pros- 
perous and  profitable  business.  He  was  appointed  collector  of  the 
port  at  Wilmington,  under  President  U.  S.  Grant,  and  afterward  in- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1  23 

spector  of  ports,  by  President  R.  B.  Hayes.     He  died  at  his  home  in 
Wihiiington,  October  S,  iSSj. 

WALTER  H.  NEAL. 

One  of  Richmond  county's  most  eminent  young  lawyers  is  Wal- 
ter H.  Neal,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  February  ig, 
1859.  He  received  his  education  under  the  tutelage  of  his  father. 
For  two  years  he  was  engaged  as  a  book-keeper  for  Mr.  W.  S.  Clark, 
in  Tarboro,  and  during  that  time  spent  his  nights  in  reading  law. 
In  iS;8  he  became  connected  with  the  Rockingham  public  high  school 
as  a  teacher,  and  after  hlling  that  position  satisfactorily  for  one  year 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  J.  T.  LeGrand,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  the  June  term  of  1880.  Taking  up  his  residence  at  Laurenburg, 
he  has  since  continued  to  practice  there  with  success.  December  18, 
1884,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Gill,  daughter  of  W.  A.  and 
L.  M.  Gill,  of  Laurenburg,  and  their  home  has  been  blessed  by  the 
birth  of  two  children,  named  Walter  H.  and  Fanny  Louise.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Xeal  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south, 
and  he  is  a  trustee  of  the  church  at  Laurenburg,  and  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  K.  of  P.,  being  past  grand  chancellor  of  the  lodge.  The 
parents  of  Mr.  Neal  are  Prof.  George  W.  and  Fanny  P.  (Hart)  Neal, 
natives  of  North  Carolina.  Prof.  Neal  is  professor  of  Greek  in  the 
Newbern  high  school,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  edu- 
cators of  the  state.  Both  himself  and  wife  are  earnest  communi- 
cants of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south.  Their  six  children 
are  Fanny  N.,  wife  of  John  H.  Bell,  who  is  a  clerk  in  the  pension  de- 
partment at  Washington,  D.  C.  (and  their  five  children  are:  David, 
Neal,  Lissette,  Laura  and  Imogen) ;  Walter  H.,  Thomas,  deceased,  Liz- 
zie, Benjamin,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  L.  H.  Cutler  &  Co.,  of  New 
bern,  and  John. 

HON.  THOMAS  C.  GUTHRIE. 

The  present  encumbent  of  the  office  of  mayor  of  Rockingam,  Rich- 
mond county,  N.  C,  is  the  Hon.  Thomas  C.Guthrie,  who  was  born  in 
Franklin  county,  N.  C,  February  g,  1865.  He  is  the  son  of  the  Rev. 
T.  W.  Guthrie,  one  of  the  leading  clergymen  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  south.  Mr.  Guthrie,  senior,  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  native  town,  and  when  but  eight  years  of  age 
united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  1851  he  joined  the 
North  Carolina  conference,  and  has  filled  various  appointments,  hav- 
ing been  stationed  at  Wilmington,  Salisbury,  Faj'etteville,  Rocking- 
ham, and  other  places  in  the  state.  In  1SS3  he  was  made  i:)residing 
elder  of  the  Charlotte  district,  and  in  1887  was  appointed  presiding 
elder  of  the  Wilmington  district,  and  at  present  holds  the  same  office 
in  the  Shelby  district.  His  ministerial  labors  extend  over  a  period 
of  forty  years,  during  which  time  he  has  accomplished  much  for  good, 
and  has  won  for  himself  a  widespread  reputation  as  an  orator.     In 


124  NORTH    CAROLINA 

early  manhood  Miss  Emily  P.  Robbins  became  his  wife,  and  has 
borne  him  four  children,  viz.:  Mattie  B.,wifeof  E.  J.Gibsen;  Henry, 
Hattie  and  Thomas  C.  The  latter  was  educated  in  private  schools 
at  Rockingham,  and  was  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the 
X'anderbilt  university  in  1887,  with  the  degree  of  B.  L.  His  office 
experience  was  obtained  with  the  Hon.  Franklin  McNeill.  Mr. 
Guthrie  was  granted  a  license  for  the  practice  of  law  at  the  Septem- 
ber term  of  the  supreme  court  in  1887,  and  began  the  active  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Rockingham.  In  February,  18S8,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Messrs.  Burwell  and  Walker,  and  this  firm  still  ex- 
ists. In  May,  i8Sg,  Mr.  Guthrie  was  elected  mayor  of  Rockingham, 
and  was  re-elected  to  that  office  in  the  following  May.  In  iSgo  he 
purchased  the  printing  office  of  the  Rocket,  and  assumed  the  editorial 
charge  of  that  journal,  which  he  continued  until  his  rapidly  increasing 
practice  compelled  him  to  dispose  of  it  some  time  subsequent.  De- 
cember 18,  1890,  Mr.  Guthrie  was  very  happily  married  to  Miss  Rusie 
Wilson,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  N.  H.  D.  Wilson,  an  eminent  clerg}'- 
man  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south.  This  gentleman 
excels  as  a  lawyer,  and  is  rapidly  rising  to  the  front  ranks  of  his 
profession  in  the  state,  and  no  further  evidence  of  his  popularity  in 
the  community  is  needed  than  his  continued  election  to  the  office  of 
mayor  of  the  city. 

HON.   FRANKLIN    McNEILL. 

One  of  Richmond  county's  most  prominent  citizens  is  the  Hon. 
Franklin  McNeill,  solicitor  of  the  Seventh  judicial  district,  and  a 
leading  attorney.  He  was  born  in  Richmond  county,  N.  C,  Janu- 
ary 4,  1850,  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Buchanan)  McNeill, both 
parents  being  natives  of  North  Carolina.  John  McNeill  was  a 
planter,  and  a  man  of  prominence  in  the  community.  For  several 
years  he  had  charge  of  the  county  schools,  and  before  the  late  war 
was  a  major  of  militia.  Himself  and  wife  were  active  and  devout  com- 
municants of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  was  an  elder.  His 
demise  occurred  in  August.  1S79,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years; 
his  wife  surviving  him  until  April,  1885,  when  she  too  went  to  rest> 
aged  seventy-four;  By  a  former  marriage  Mr.  McNeill  had  three 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living.  The  mother  of  these  children  was 
Catherine  (McCoy)  McNeill.  She  died  in  1835.  The  Hon.  Franklin 
McNeill  was  the  youngest  of  four  children  born  to  the  second  union. 
His  preliminary  schooling  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  the  county 
in  which  he  was  born,  and  later  he  attended  the  Davidson  college, 
where  he  remained  two  years,  after  which  he  was  a  student  in  the 
law  department  of  the  University  of  Virginia  one  year.  His  law 
course  was  completed  in  the  excellent  law  school  of  Chief-Justice 
Pearson,  at  Richmond  Hill.  His  admission  to  the  bar  in  January, 
1873,  was  immediately  followed  by  his  removal  to  Maxton,  Robeson 
county,  N.  C,  where  he  remained  in  practice  alone  until  January-, 
1877,  when   ?\Ir.  Thomas  McNeill,  a  cousin,  became  his  law   partner 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  125 

the  firm  existing  until  18S2,  in  wiiich  year  Mr.  Franklin  McNeill  took 
up  his  residence  at  Rockingham.  In  1886  he  began  a  four  years' 
term  as  state  solicitor,  and  in  1S90  was  re-elected  to  that  ottice.  Mr. 
McNeill  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie  E.  Elliot,  daughter  of  Col. 
Alexander  Elliot,  of  Cumberland  county,  N.  C,  in  August,  1882. 
Both  himself  and  wife  are  consistent  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  in  which  he  is  an  elder,  and  he  is  also  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Knights  of  I'ythias.  His  career  has  been  marked  by  much 
ability,  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  principles  of  right  and  justice. 
None  has  a  fairer  reputation  as  a  man  of  integrity  than  he,  and  his 
continued  retention  of  the  prominent  office  he  now  holds  is  ample 
proof  of  his  popularity  with  the  people. 


HON.  JAMES  T.  LeGRAND, 

of  Richmond  county,  N.  C,  is  descended  on  both  the  paternal  and 
maternal  sides  from  old  and  influential  southern  families.  He  is  a 
native  of  Richmond  county,  having  first  seen  the  light  there  April  4, 
1S4Q.     In  1870  he  was  graduated  from  Trinity  college,  as  valedictorian 

■  of  his  class.     He  began  the  study  of  law  under  the   tutelage  of  the 
late  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  at  Richmond  Hill,  N.C.,and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1877.     Immediately  thereafter  he  began  the  practice  of 
his  chosen  profession  at  Rockingham.     A  staunch  democrat,  he  was 
elected,  the  first  of  his  party  since  the  war  from  his  district,  and  served 
in  the  state  senate  in   1S74-5,  and  again  in    1888-89.     He  has  been  a 
memberof  every  state  democratic  convention  since  1870,  and  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  democratic  national  convention  at  Chicago  which  nomin- 
ated Grover  Cleveland  for  the  presidency,  and  his  support  was  given 
that  candidate.     Mr.  LeGrand  is  a  prominent  Knight  of  Honor,  hav- 
ing been  grand  dictator  for  the  state  of  North  Carolina,  and  for  the 
past  two  years  a  delegate  to   the  supreme  lodge  of  the  order.     The 
happiest  event  of  his  life  was  his  marriage  to  Miss  Rebecca  Wilson, 
daughter  of  the  late  Dr.   N.  H.  D.  Wilson,  a  leading  clergyman  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  in  October,  1877.     Five  chil- 
dren have   blessed   this   marriage,  named:     Pattie,   Mary,    Rebecca, 
James  T.,  Jr.,  and  Nathan  Wilson  LeGrand.     Mr.  LeGrand  has  won 
a  reputation  as  a  lawyer  in  his  state  that  is  not  excelled  by  any.     He 
is  also  largely  interested   in  agriculture,  and    is  the  second  largest 
planter  in  the  county.     James  and  Martha  (Leak)  LeGrand  were  his 
parents,  and   both   were   natives  of  North   Carolina.     James  was  an 
extensive  planter  and  a  leading  merchant.     For  several  years   he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  being  an  old  line  whig 
in  politics.     His  death  occurred  in  1853.  when  he  was  in  his  fifty-third 
year,  and  the  mother  survived  until    1883,  when  she  too  went  to  rest, 
having  reached   the   advanced    age    of    seventy-nine   years.      There 
were  six  children  born  to  this  union,  James  T.  being  the  youngest. 
Both  parents  were  active  and  devout  members  of   the   Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 


126  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


HON.  WILLIAM  E.  CLARKE, 


attorney-at-law  and  postmaster  of  Newbern,  was  born  in  Raleigh, 
N.  C,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1850,  the  son  of  William  J.  and  Mary 
Byard  (Devereaux)  Clarke.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Raleigh, 
and  was  graduated  from  Chapel  Hill  university  with  high  honors. 
He  studied  for  the  law,  and  rose  to  eminence  in  the  profession.  He 
served  as  auditor  of  his  native  state;  was  a  captain  in  the  Twelfth 
regiment,  United  States  army,  Company  K,  during  the  Mexican  war, 
and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major  by  brevet,  for  his  bravery  and 
for  saving  the  artillery  at  the  national  bridge.  During  the  Civil  war 
he  was  colonel  of  the  Twenty-fourth  North  Carolina  regiment  during 
the  entire  war,  acting  as  brigadier  general  at  the  last.  He  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  at  Drury's  Bluff,  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war,  received  a  painful  wound  in  the  left  shoulder.  In 
1855  Col.  Clarke  went  to  Texas,  where  he  practiced  his  profession. 
He  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  San  Antonio  &  Mexican  Gulf 
railroad,  being  the  first  to  hold  that  ofiice,  and  negotiated  for  the 
purchase  of  the  first  iron  for  that  road.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  war  he  returned  home,  and  entered  the  Confederate  service,  as 
above  mentioned.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  he  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Raleigh,  and  remained  there  until  his  removal  to  Newbern. 
some  two  or  three  years  later.  He  was  principal  of  the  Newbern 
academy  for  some  time,  and  later  was  appointed  judge  of  the  crimi- 
nal court,  by  Gov.  Holden,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  C.  R.  Thomas, 
who  had  been  e;ected  to  congress.  Col.  Clarke  held  the  judgeship 
for  three  years.  He  was  a  staunch  republican,  and  a  devout  com- 
municant of  the  Episcopal  church.  Mary  Devereaux  Clarke  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Theodore  P.  Devereaux,  of  Halifax  county, 
N.  C.  He  was  the  author  of  "  Devereaux's  Reports  of  North  Caro- 
lin.:-.,"  and  a  lawyer  of  much  ability  and  prominence,  as  well  as  being 
a  large  and  wealthy  planter. 

The  maternal  grandfather  was  Thomas  Pollock,  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Newbern.  Mrs.  Clarke  was  a  woman  of  great 
literary  ability  and  attainments.  Under  the  nom  dc  plume  of  "  Ten- 
ella  "  she  contributed  to  many  of  the  leading  papers  and  periodicals 
of  the  da}'.  Her  first  production  was  "  Wood  Notes."  During  the 
late  war  she  wrote  "  Mosses  from  a  Rolling  Stone,"  and  subsequently 
"Clytie  and  Zenobia,  or  the  Lily  and  the  Palm."  These  widel}' 
known  works  were  published  by  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.,  of  New  York. 
She  also  wrote  sketches  of  celebrated  men  in  North  Carolina. 
She  was  an  earnest  Christian  woman,  and  a  loyal  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  Her  death  was  mourned  wherever  her  name  was 
known.  Of  the  four  children  born  to  these  parents,  all  are  living, 
their  names  being:  Francis,  president  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  asylum 
at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  and  for  many  years  in  the  New  York  city  deaf 
and  dumb  asylum;  William  E.;  Mary  Devereaux  Clarke,  wife  of 
George  Moulton,  of  Newbern,  and  Thomas  Pollock  Clarke,  a  prom- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  27 

inent  banker  of  Little  Rock,  Ark.  William  E.  Clarke  was  reared  in 
Raleigh,  and  after  sufhcient  preliminary  preparation  entered  David- 
son college,  but  was  prevented  from  graduating  by  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  entered  the  quartermaster's  de- 
partment at  Raleigh,  and  gave  his  services  to  the  cause  he  loved  un- 
til the  end.  After  peace  was  declared  Mr.  Clarke  taught  in  the 
Newbern  academy  for  two  years,  after  which  he  went  to  New  York 
city,  and  was  there  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  deaf  and  dumb  asy- 
lum, remaining  there  for  three  years.  He  was  graduated  from  Col- 
umbia college's  law  department  in  1S73,  ^^^^  immediately  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law  at  Newbern.  As  a  politician  he  is  a  leader  in 
the  republican  party,  having  been  a  member  of  the  legislature  for 
two  terms,  and  of  the  state  senate  four  years.  In  1889  President 
Harrison  appointed  him  postmaster  of  Newbern.  He  is  a  member 
of  St.  John's  lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  IM.,  and  the  Newbern  B.  &  L.  associ- 
ation, and  of  the  Interstate  B.  &  L.  association,  of  Wilmington, 
in  which  he  is  a  local  director.  F"ebruary  23,  1886,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Howerton,  daughter  of  Dr.  William  H.  Howerton,  ex-secretary  of 
state,  and  for  many  3'ears  proprietor  of  the  Warm  Springs  hotel,  be- 
came his  wife,  and  they  have  three  children,  viz.:  Elizabeth,  ^Mary 
Byard  and  William  Edwards.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke  are  com- 
municants of  the  Episcopal  church. 

FREDERICK  C.  ROBERTS, 

secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Atlantic  tl^  North  Carolina  railroad 
company,  is  a  native  of  Newbern,  having  first  seen  the  light  there  on 
the  15th  of  January,  1S36.  He  is  the  son  of  John  M.,  and  Mary  E., 
(Jones)  Roberts;  the  mother  a  native  of  Craven  county,  antl  the 
father  of  Edenton,  Chowan  county,  N.  C.  The  latter  removed  to 
Norfolk,  and  in  1816  came  to  Newbern.  He  earlj'  became  identified 
with  the  old  State  bank,  of  which  he  was  cashier  for  many  years; 
subsequently  becoming  the  cashier  of  the  bank  of  North  Carolina. 
He  was  a  prominent  whig  and  a  devout  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  being  for  many  years  a  vestryman.  His  demise  occurred  in 
1862,  his  wife  surviving  him  until  1874.  Their  children  are:  Rev. 
John  J.  Roberts,  of  New  York  city;  Rev.  Stephen  C.  Roberts,  of 
Chestertown,  Md.;  Mrs.  L.  L.  Chester,  of  Englcwood,  N.  J.;  P'rede- 
rick  C;  George  H.,  cashier  of  the  National  bank  of  Newbern,  and 
Edward  B.,  agent  for  the  Old  Dominion  steamship  company.  Mr. 
Frederick  Roberts  was  educated  in  the  Newbern  schools  and  later  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  In  1855  he  was  given 
a  dii)!oma  at  Princeton  college,  and  then  became  a  student  in  Judge 
Pearson's  law  school  in  Yadkin  county,  N.  C.  In  1857  he  completed 
his  legal  studies  and  was  duly  licensed  to  practice  in  the  county 
courts,  and  in  1858  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  superior  courts  of 
the  state.  He  was  actively  and  successfull)'  engaged  in  his  profession 
at  Newbern  until  1879.  In  1861  he  joined  the  Confederate  army  as  a 
member  of  Company  A,  Fifth  North  Carolina  cavalry,  enlisting  as  a 


128  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

lieutenant.  He  was  subsequently  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  his 
conipany  and  participated  in  the  battles  around  Newbern,  Goldsboro, 
and  in  various  skirmishes  in  North  Carolina  and  along  the  Virginia 
line.  Receiving  his  honorable  discharge  from  the  service  in  1S63,  on 
account  of  physical  disability,  he  returned  to  his  home.  In  1879, 
Mr.  Roberts  was  elected  to  the  position  he  now  holds,  and  has  since 
been  identified  with  the  Atlantic  &  North  Carolina  railroad  com- 
pany. After  the  war  being  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Newbern 
Bank  of  Commerce  he  was  made  a  director  in  that  institution,  and 
also  attorney  for  the  same.  A  prominent  democrat,  he  was  clerk  and 
master  in  equity  of  the  Craven  courts  from  1858  to  1S6S;  has  served 
as  town  commissioner  for  several  years,  and  at  present  is  a  trustee  of 
the  Newbern  academy,  having  held  that  office  for  twenty-five  years. 
Mr.  Roberts  is  a  member  of  St.  John's  lodge.  No.  13,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
and  also  of  the  Eureka  chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons.  Asa  lawyer 
he  excelled,  and  as  a  business  man  he  is  prudent,  keen,  and  of  un- 
doubted integrity  and  ability. 

HON.  AUGUSTUS  S.  SEYMOUR, 

judge  of  the  United  States  district  court  for  the  eastern  district  of 
North  Carolina,  is  a  native  of  New  York  state,  having  been  born  in 
the  city  of  Ithaca,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1836,  son  of  Hezekiah  C. 
Seymour,  state  engineer  of  New  York  in  1850,  and  a  prominent 
contractor  and  builder  of  many  railroads,  also  chief  engineer  of  the 
N.  Y.,  L.  E.  &  W.  railroad.  His  mother  was  Mary  (Sherrill)  Sey- 
mour. Judge  Seymour  was  graduated  from  Hamilton  college  in  1857, 
and  one  year  later  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  began  the  practice 
of  his  chosen  profession  in  New  York  city,  but  in  1864  removed  to 
North  Carolina  and  located  at  New  Berne,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  North  Carolina  in  1866,  at  the  first  term  of  the  superior  court 
after  the  war.  In  May,  1868,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  Newbern.  This  office  he  resigned, 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  legislature  in  the  fall  of  186S.  In  1870  he 
was  elected  to  the  constitutional  convention,  and  two  years  later, 
served  as  state  senator,  and  in  1874  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior 
court.  His  appointment  to  the  office  of  judge  of  the  district  court  of 
the  United  States,  by  President  Arthur,  in  1881,  met  with  universal 
favor.  Previous  to  this,  however,  Judge  Seymour  had  served  as 
chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee,  in  1867,  and  in  the  same  year 
was  elected  attorney  of  the  cit}?  of  Newbern.  He  has  ever  been  a 
staunch  republican,  and  has  rendered  his  party  efficient  service.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masons  and  several  college  societies.  In  1863  he 
married  Miss  Nancy  O.  Barton,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Barton, 
a  prominent  Presbyterian  clergyman,  of  New  York.  They  have  two 
children  living,  viz.:  Mrs.  Cornelia  Welsh,  of  Manchester,  Eng., 
and  John  Barton  Seymour.  Judge  Seymour  is  the  author  of  "Sey- 
mour's Sixth  and  Seventh  Digests  of  North  Carolina  Reports." 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  29 


HON.  GEORGE  GREEN 

was  born  in  Craven  county,  N.  C,  July  17,  1823.  His  parents  were 
John  and  Charlotte  (Harrison)  Green,  the  former  being  a  native  of 
this  state,  and  the  latter  of  England.  The  father  was  an  extensive 
planter  and  owned  many  slaves.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
whig  party.  Our  subject  was  reared  on  the  homestead  farm  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  later  in  the 
excellent  private  school  taught  by  Robert  G.  Moore.  In  1846  he  was 
licensed  to  practice  law,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  active  prac- 
tice. He  is  the  oldest  living  member  of  the  Nevvbern  bar  and  holds 
a  very  high  position  among  the  attorneys  of  the  county.  Soon  after 
his  admission  to  the  bar  he  was  elected  attorney  for  Jones  county,  and 
later  held  the  same  office  in  Craven  county.  In  1854  he  was  sent  to 
the  state  legislature,  being  a  member  of  the  secession  committee  of 
that  session,  and  in  1861,  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  declaration  of 
secession.  In  1867  he  was  appointed  by  the  state  legislature,  criminal 
judge  of  Craven  county,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  that  office  for 
two  years,  until  the  reconstruction  act.  He  was  then  elected  to  the 
state  senate,  and  was  subsequent!}'  elected  attorney  for  Craven  county. 
In  1889  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  United  .States  district  court  for 
the  eastern  district  of  North  Carolina.  For  ten  years  he  was  attorney 
for  the  Atlantic  &  North  Carolina  railroad  company,  of  which  he  was 
a  director  and  organizer.  He  was  a  director  and  attorney  of  the  state 
bank  of  Newbern  for  some  time,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  having  taken  the  thirty-second  degree.  In  1855  he 
married  Miss  Lizzie  Watkins,  daughter  of  Beckton  VVatkins,  of 
Craven  county,  and  two  children  have  been  born  to  them:  George, 
ex-state  senator  and  member  of  the  legislature;  and  Mary,  wife  of 
Hamilton  C.  Chambers.  Judge  Green  and  his  wife  are  communicants 
of  the  Episcopal  church.  James  Green,  his  great-uncle,  was  secretary 
of  the  first  convention  for  forming  the  constitution  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

POU  &  POU. 

The  prominent  law  firm  of  Pou  &  Pou,  of  Johnson  county,  N.  C, 
is  composed  of  men  who  are  leaders  in  their  profession  and  influential 
and  active  in  political  affairs.  It  is  composed  of  J.  H.  Pou  and  lid- 
ward  W.  Pou,  Jr.  The  Hon.  Edward  W.  Pou  was  born  in  Orange- 
burg, S.  C,  October  26,  1830,  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Eliza  M. 
(Felder)  Pou,  both  natives  of  Orangeburg.  Joseph  Pou  was  an 
able  and  eminent  attorney.  He  removed  to  Tali)otton,  Ga.,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  there  in  1888,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  ninety  years.  Mr.  Edward  W.  Pou  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Georgia,  in  1851,  and  began  the  practice  of 
law  at  Talbotton,  where  he  continued  for  seven  years,  after  which 
he  retired  and  turned   his  attention  to  agriculture.     In    1874  he   re- 

13—9 


130  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

sumed  his  profession,  having  removed  to  Smithfield,  N.  C,  in  1867. 
In  1S6S  he  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives,  and  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  privilege  and  election.  During  the 
Civil  war  he  served  in  the  Confederate  army  tlxree  months,  being 
compelled  to  resign  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  on  account  of 
ill-health.  He  held  the  commission  of  first  lieutenant  in  Cable's 
Georgia  legion.  Mr.  Pou  has  been  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Lucy 
Carter,  of  Talbottcn,  Ga.,  in  1853,  She  died  in  185S,  leaving  one 
child,  Arthur  Pou,  a  civil  engineer  of  Talbotton.  In  1859,  Mr.  Pou 
was  again  married.  Miss  Annie  Maria  Smith,  of  Alabama,  becoming 
his  wife.  Their  three  children  are:  James  H.,  Edward  W.,  Jr.,  and 
Martha  T.  Pou.  The  eldest  son,  James  H.,  was  born  in  Alabama, 
July  21,  1861.  His  scholastic  training  was  obtained  at  Smithfield, 
N.  C.  Having  read  law  under  the  direction  of  his  father,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1885.  In  18S4  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  state,  and  in  1886-8  was  elected  to  the  state  senate, 
being  the  youngest  member  of  the  senate  by  several  years.  In  iSgo 
Mr.  Pou  declined  further  nomination  to  the  senate.  For  the  past 
twelve  years  he  has  been  extensively  interested  in  agriculture,  which 
he  has  carried  on  in  addition  to  his  large  law  practice.  In  i8Sg  his  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Annie  Walker,  daughter  of  Samuel  Walker,  of  Ran- 
dolph county,  N.  C,  was  happily  solemnized,  and  one  child,  Edith 
Walker,  has  been  born  to  their  union.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pou  are 
active  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  he  is  also  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  P.,  and  like  his  father,  is  a  staunch 
democrat. 

Edward  W.  Pou,  Jr.,  first  saw  the  light  in  Macon  county,  Ala., 
where  he  was  born  September  9,  1863.  He  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  remained  in  that  institution  through  his  junior 
year.  For  the  succeeding  eight  months  Mr.  Pou  was  engaged  in 
teaching  school  in  Johnston  county,  and  then  began  the  study  of  the 
law  under  the  direction  of  his  father,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
October,  1885.  Since  his  admission  to  the  bar  Mr.  Pou  has  been  as- 
sociated with  his  brother  in  the  practice  of  the  law  under  the  firm 
name  of  Pou  &  Pou.  His  political  career  is  peculiar  on  account  of 
his  youth  at  the  time  of  his  first  election  to  office.  In  1886  he  was 
chairman  of  the  democratic  executive  committee  of  Johnston  county, 
an  office  he  held  for  two  terms.  He  was  a  presidential  elector  in 
1888,  and  in  1890  he  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  Fourth  district,  and 
he  is  the  incumbent  of  that  position  at  the  present  time.  Mr.  Pou  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  also  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
the  Alpha  Tau  Omega  college  society.  Miss  Carrie  Horton  Ihrie, 
daughter  of  Col.  R.  R.  Ihrie,  of  Pittsborough,  N.  C,  became  his  wife 
in  1887,  and  Edward  Felder  Pou  is  their  offspring.  Mrs.  Pou  is  a 
granddaughter  of  the  Hon.  John  H.  Hughton,  who  for  several  terms 
was  a  member  of  congress  from  Newbern  district.  Mr.  Edward 
W.  Pou,  Jr..  ranks  among  the  best  lawjers  of  the  state,  and  is  es- 
teemed as  a  man  of  intelligence  and  prominence,  and  of  the  strictest 
integrity. 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


HON.    HARRY    W.    STUBBS, 


one  of  North  Carolina's  leading  lawj'ers,  was  born  in  Williamston, 
N.  C,  Februarj'  i6,  iS6o.  He  is  a  son  of  Jesse  R.  and  Mary  Ella 
(Williams)  Stubbs.  the  former  a  native  of  Beaufort  county,  X.  C, 
and  the  mother  of  Martin  count}',  X.  C.  Jesse  R.  Stubbs  gained  a 
thorough  scholastic  training  by  his  own  efforts  at  the  Washington 
academ}'  and  prepared  for  the  practice  of  law.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  house  of  commons  of  the  state  from  Beaufort  count}^  and  later 
represented  Martin  and  Washington  counties  in  the  state  senate. 
Immediately  after  the  war  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  con- 
gress from  the  First  Xorth  Carolina  district,  but  was  not  seated.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  a  brilliant  orator.  He  first  affili- 
ated with  the  whig  party,  but  later  became  a  staunch  democrat.  His 
death  occurred  in  September,  1870.  Mr.  Stubbs  was  one  of  the  orig- 
inal stockholders  in  the  Williamston  &  Tarboro  railroad  company, 
and  was  the  first  president  of  the  company.  His  wife  died  in  1864. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Harrj-  Williams,  Esq.,  one  of  the  earliest  cit- 
izens of  Williamston.  Two  children  were  born  to  Jesse  and  Mary 
Stubbs,  Harr}'  W.  and  Jessie,  wife  of  D.  D.  Simmons,  of  Williamston. 
The  subject  of  this  biographical  mention  was  given  exceptional  edu- 
cational advantages,  having  been  a  student  of  the  Hornor  school  at 
0.\ford,  and  later  spending  three  years  in  the  Hillboro  academj',  he 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina,  and  took  up 
the  study  of  law  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  James  E.  Moore,  and 
completed  his  course  with  Dick  &  Dillard  of  Greensboro,  X.  C.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1881,  and  began  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Williamston,  in  October,  1S85,  at  that  time 
having  become  associated  with  Mr.  James  E.  Moore.  In  1889 he  was 
elected  to  the  state  senate  from  the  Second  senatorial  district  on  the 
democratic  ticket,  and  for  two  years  he  held  the  office  of  solicitor  of 
the  inferior  court  of  Martin  county,  and  at  one  time  was  mayor  of 
Williamston.  His  first  marriage  was  in  1S82,  when  Miss  Delia  B. 
Lanier  became  his  wife.  One  year  later  her  death  occurred.  In  188S 
he  married  Miss  Carrie  L.  Siterson,  and  one  child,  Jesse  R.,  has  been 
born  to  them.  Mr.  Stubbs  is  a  prominent  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and 
also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  As  a  lawyer  he  excels,  being  keen 
and  well  read. 

HON.  JAMES  E.  MOORE. 

The  bar  of  eastern  Xorth  Carolina  has  no  more  able  member  than 
Hon.  James  E.  Moore.  Mr.  Moore  is  a  native  of  Martin  county,  and 
first  saw  the  light  there  Januarj'  30,  1841.  He  was  one  of  five  chil- 
dren born  to  Clayton  and  Elizabeth  S.  (Smithwick)  Moore,  both  na- 
tives of  Martin  county,  N.  C.  The  father  obtained  an  academic 
education  and  was  then  ordained  a  minister  in  the  Primitive  Baptist 
church.     During  the  war  he  served  in  the   Confederate  army  as  a 


132  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

member  of  the  home  guards.  His  life  was  spent  in  his  honored  call- 
ing and  in  agriculture,  his  demise  occurring  in  iSSi.and  that  of  his 
wife  three  years  later.  The  son,  James  E.,  was  prepared  for  college 
in  the  Williamston  academy,  and  in  1862  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  at  the  same  time  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  put  aside  all  other  interests  and  offered  his  services  to 
the  cause  of  the  south,  as  a  member  of  Company  K,  Third  North 
Carolina  cavalry.  Enlisting  as  a  private  he  was  subsequently  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  of  his  company  for  honorable  con- 
duct, and  at  the  close  of  the  war  held  the  commission  of  provost- 
marshal  of  the  brigade.  Mr.  Moore  was  taken  prisoner  while  on 
picket  duty  and  confined  in  a  Federal  prison  for  ten  daj's  at  Ply- 
mouth. In  May,  1S64,  his  regiment  was  attached  to  the  army  of 
northern  Virginia,  and  he  participateci  with  his  command  in  all  the 
important  engagements  in  which  that  army  fought.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Williamston,  and 
in  1865  and  1866  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons  of  North 
Carolina  from  Martin  county.  He  was  the  representative  of  Martin 
and  Beaufort  counties  in  the  state  senate  in  1S66-7,  and  served  on 
the  judiciarj?  committee  in  each  branch  of  the  legislature.  After 
leaving  the  senate  Mr.  Moore  formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  Biggs 
of  Tarboro,  and  continued  with  him  for  one  year,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  Williamston,  and  has  since  resided  and  practiced  in  that 
city.  Mr.  Harr^'  Stubbs  became  associated  with  him  in  18S5,  and  this 
connection  has  since  existed.  Mr.  Moore  is  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent leaders  of  the  democratic  party  in  eastern  North  Carolina,  and 
is  recognized  throughout  the  state  as  one  of  its  ablest  lawyers.  He 
has  served  as  mayor  of  Williamston,  and  was  a  director  in  the  Will- 
iamston &  Tarboro  railroad  company,  and  his  firm  is  now  attorney 
for  the  Atlantic  Coast  line.  As  an  agriculturist  Mr.  Moore  has  also 
made  a  success,  and  now  operates  an  extensive  plantation.  One  of 
the  happiest  events  of  his  life  was  his  marriage,  in  1870,  to  Miss 
Jane  S.  Sykes,  of  Martin  county,  N.  C.  This  cultured  home  has  been 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  six  children,  their  names  being,  Bettie,  Jen- 
nie, Mattie,  James  E.,  Jr.,  Clayton  and  Maurice  Sheppard.  Mr. 
Moore  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Primitive  Baptist 
church,  and  also  of  the  Williamston  academj'. 

HON.  HARRY  SKINNER. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  and  political  leaders  of  the 
state  of  North  Carolina  is  the  Hon.  Harry  Skinner,  the  descendant 
of  a  family  noted  for  its  many  able  men,  many  of  whom  have  held 
high  positions  in  government.  Mr.  Skinner  is  a  native  of  Perquimans 
county,  N.  C,  where  he  was  born  on  the  25th  of  May,  1855,  the  son 
of  James  C.  and  Elmira  (Ward)  Skinner,  both  North  Carolinians  by 
birth.  The  Hon.  James  C.  Skinner  was  the  direct  descendant  of  an 
old  Welsh  family,  three  of  its  members  having  settled  in  Perquimans 
county,  N.  C,  early  in  the  history  of  that  section  of  the  country. 


Cl^pn^-iy    cyV*^*^*- 


-c-^-»-j 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1 33 

James  C.  Skinner  was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character  and  of  bril- 
liant mind.  He  was  at  one  time  a  large  slaveholder  and  land  owner, 
and  was  prominent  in  public  affairs,  having  held  the  office  of  clerk  of 
the  county  court  from  1850  until  1868.  In  1S70-2  he  represented  the 
first  senatorial  district  in  the  state  senate,  and  was  a  member  of  that 
bod}-  during  the  impeachment  trial  of  Gov.  W.  W.  Holden.  His 
father  was  the  Hon.  Harrj- Skinner,  a  native  of  Chowan  county,  N.C. 
While  a  resident  of  that  county  he  represented  it  in  the  state  legisla- 
ture, and  after  his  removal  to  Perquimans  county  was  a  member  of 
the  state  senate  from  the  first  senatorial  district  for  many  years.  He 
was  a  son  of  the  Hon.  John  .Skinner,  who  also  served  as  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  state  legislature,  his  terms  as  representative  and  sen- 
ator e.xtending  over  a  long  period.  Harry  Skinner,  the  grandfather 
of  our  subject,  was  very  active  in  church  work,  and  built  and  pre- 
sented a  church  to  the  society,  which  is  now  known  as  the  Skinner 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  Chowan  county,  he  having  been  the 
founder  of  the  same. 

From  this  very  brief  mention  of  his  immediate  antecedents  it  will 
be  seen  that  Col.  Skinner  comes  of  a  line  well  calculated  to  produce 
eminent  men,  men  of  brains  and  affairs.  Mr.  Skinner's  boyhood  was 
spent  in  his  native  county,  and  his  scholastic  training  was  obtained  at 
the  Hertford  academy,  where  he  remained  until  1874.  In  the  latter 
year  he  entered  the  University  of  Kentucky,  at  Lexington,  and  was 
graduated  from  the  excellent  law  department  of  that  noted  institu- 
tion in  June,  1875,  with  the  degree  of  B.  L.  In  August  of  the  same 
year  he  removed  to  Greenville,  and  there  continued  his  law  studies 
under  the  tutelage  of  Maj.  L.  C.  Latham.  At  the  January  term  of 
the  supreme  court,  in  1876,  Mr.  Skinner  was  licensed  to  practice,  and 
immediately  thereafter  formed  a  partnership  for  the  practice  of  his 
profession  with  his  former  preceptor,  Maj.  Latham,  and  this  firm  has 
since  continued,  being  recognized  at  the  present  time  as  one  of  the 
distinguished  connections  in  the  state.  Mr.  Skinner's  rise  to  the 
front  ranks  of  the  bar  was  rapid,  and  in  some  respects  phenomenal. 
At  the  start  he  exhibited  superior  abilities  as  a  political  leader,  and 
soon  found  his  place  in  the  democratic  party,  in  which  he  is  now  con- 
sidered one  of  the  leaders  of  eastern  North  Carolina.  He  has 
served  as  chairman  of  the  county  democratic  executive  committee 
for  four  years,  has  been  a  member  of  the  state  executive  committee 
of  that  organization  for  the  past  eight  years,  and  a  member  of  the 
democratic  congressional  committee  since  1880,  having  been  chair- 
man for  two  ye^rs.  In  1881  he  was  elected  town  commissioner  of 
Greenville  by  an  unanimous  vote,  and  in  the  preceding  year  was  ap- 
pointed aide-de-camp  to  Gov.  Jarvis,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and 
held  that  position  during  the  remainder  of  the  administration.  His 
name  was  very  prominently  mentioned  to  represent  the  First  con- 
gressional district  in  the  United  States  congress  in  1890,  but  was  not 
brought  before  the  convention.  But  in  the  same  year  he  was  nom- 
inated by  the  county  committc^e  of  Pitt  county  for  a  seat  in  the  house 
of  representatives  of  the  state,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  1,076 


134  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

votes,  he  having  made  his  canvass  upon  the  sub-treasury  plan,  and 
the  reasonable  demands  of  the  farmers'  alliance. 

As  a  political  writer,  Mr.  Skinner  has  gained  more  than  a  local 
reputation,  his  productions  having  been  published  in  some  of  the 
leading  papers  of  the  nation.  In  1886  he  wrote  an  article,  entitled, 
"A  Landed  Basis  for  our  National  Bank  Issue,"  embodying  the  same 
ideas  as  are  now  embraced  in  the  "'Stamford"  bill.  In  January,  1887, 
Mr.  Skinner  represented  Pitt  county  in  the  first  farmers'  convention 
held  in  the  state,  and  there  introduced  a  resolution,  having  for  its 
purpose  the  awakening  of  the  interest  of  the  assembly  in  a  plan  for 
financial  relief,  and  advocating  that  farming  in  North  Carolina  could 
not  be  made  successful  under  the  present  ruinous  credit  system,  nor 
profitable  after  paying  the  present  rate  of  interest  on  money  hired  to 
cultivate  crops.  This  able  effort  was  followed  by  an  article  which 
was  first  published  in  the  Progressive  Farmer,  taking  the  ground  that 
with  the  same  assistance  the  government  gives  to  the  manufacturing 
interests  of  the  country,  if  extended  with  the  same  ratio  to  the  cot- 
ton planter,  they  could  dictate  and  command  the  price  of  cotton. 
Placing  the  protection  given  the  manufacturer  at  forty-three  per 
cent.,  the  same  protection  would  give  to  the  planter  at  least  14  cents 
per  pound  for  his  cotton,  without  injustice  to  anyone.  In  other 
words,  the  article  demanded  that  the  protection  be  not  for  a  class, 
but  be  extended  to  the  producer  as  well  as  the  manufacturer.  The 
planter's  protection  was  to  be  gained  by  a  warehouse  system,  and  it 
said  that  the  present  sub-treasury  bill  had  its  origin  in  this  suggestion. 
The  article  attracted  widespread  interest,  and  was  reproduced  in  full 
as  the  leading  editorial  in  Frank  Leslie  s  Ilhistratcd  A^ciospaper  for 
November  30,  1889,  under  the  heading  of  "The  Hope  of  the  South." 
Subsequently  it  was  read  on  the  floor  of  the  St.  Louis  convention  at 
the  time  the  sub-treasury  idea  was  first  formulated  b}'  the  alliance. 
Since  then  Mr.  Skinner  has  advocated  the  latter  measure,  and  has 
taken  a  very  active  and  prominent  part  in  securing  the  proper  legis- 
lation. 

While  a  member  of  the  legislature  Mr.  Skinner  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  internal  improvements;  was  a  member  of 
the  judiciary,  educational  and  insane  asylum  committees,  and  was 
chairman  of  the  house  branch  of  the  committee  on  redistricting  the 
state.  He  advocated  the  reduction  of  legal  interest  to  a  six  per  cent, 
rate;  and  introduced  a  bill  to  prevent  the  sale  of  land  under  mortgage 
or  other  execution,  that  did  not  bring  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  ta.x  value; 
and  also  supported  the  bill  providing  for  an  industrial  training  school 
for  girls.  He  voted  for  tffe  appropriation  to  the  southern  soldiers' 
home,  and  also  for  the  appropriation  for  completing  the  gubernato- 
rial mansion  for  the  Columbian  exposition.  His  vote  and  influence 
were  cast  for  the  extension  of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  R.  R.,  and  for  the  rail- 
road commission  bill;  but  he  voted  against  the  acceptance  of  the 
proposition  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  railroad.  He  was  the 
father  of  the  bill  establishing  an  orphan's  court,  and  also  of  a  bill  to 
prescribe  other  duties  for  the  [railroad  commissioners,  and  presented 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1 35 

a  bill  providing  for  the  appointing  of  a  committee  to  codify  the 
laws  upon  corporations,  and  to  make  suggestions  to  the  following 
legislature,  whereby  they  might  be  relieved  from  the  great  bulk  of 
private  legislation.  One  of  his  most  popular  acts  as  a  legislator  was 
his  introduction  of  a  bill  prohibiting  the  dredging  for  oysters  in  east- 
ern North  Carolina;  but  he  did  not  favor  the  "Mann"  bill.  The 
firm  of  Skinner  &  Latham  is  largely  interested  in  real  estate  in  Green- 
ville, and  has  done  much  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  town.  In 
addition  to  his  extensive  law  practice,  Mr.  Skinner  also  gives  much 
attention  to  agriculture,  and  has  made  a  marked  success  in  that  work. 
As  a  staunch  friend  to  public  education,  he  has  proven  himself  a 
man  of  broad  and  liberal  mind,  and  his  name  will  be  perpetuated 
in  the  Greenville  female  institute,  as  a  man  of  charitable  and  progres- 
sive nature,  he  having  furnished  one  third  of  the  funds  necessary  for 
the  erection  of  the  building.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity. Royal  Arch  Chapter,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  the  Legion  of  Honor.  In  187S  he  was  so 
fortunate  as  to  form  a  marriage  alliance  with  Miss  Lottie  Monteiro, 
daughter  of  Mr.  A.  A.  and  P.  C.  Monteiro,  of  Richmond,  Va.  April 
12,  1888,  Mrs.  Skinner  died,  leaving  four  children,  viz.:  Lovinia,  Ella 
Monteiro,  Lottie  and  Harry,  Jr.  She  was  a  lad}'  of  rare  refinement 
and  of  beautiful  Christian  character,  and  her  death  was  a  sad  blow, 
not  only  to  the  husband  and  children,  but  to  the  community  at  large. 

DAVID  S.  REID. 

David  Settle  Reid,  governor,  was  born  in  Rockingham  county, 
N.  C,  April  19,  1813.  He  had  only  an  academic  education,  but 
studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  in  1S34.  He  soon  took  up  politics,  and  was  elected  in 
1835,  to  the  state  senate  to  represent  his  native  county.  He  proved 
to  be  a  most  sagacious  and  useful  legislator,  was  elected  senator  for 
four  successive  terms.  He  was  then,  in  1843,  elected  a  member  of 
congress,  and  was  re-elected  in  1S45.  In  1848,  he  was  put  in  nomina- 
tion for  governor,  by  the  democratic  state  convention,  but  was  de- 
feated by  Charles  Manly,  who  made  a  strong  canvass,  and  was  elected 
by  a  large  majority.  Mr.  Reid  had  also  made  a  lively  canvass  and 
his  political  friends  had  great  confidence  in  his  success,  but  1848  was 
not  a  democratic  year.  At  the  next  convention,  Mr.  Reid  was  nom- 
inated, but  against  his  written  protest,  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  he  take  another  nomination.  This  time,  however,  he  was 
elected.  He  was  then  elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  to  suc- 
ceed Hon.  Willie  P.  Mangum,  holding  the  office  from  December  4, 
1S54,  to  March  3,  185Q.  In  the  senate  he  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  patents,  on  the  patent-office  and  on  commerce.  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  peace  congress  at  Washington,  in  February,  1861,  as 
a  conservative  democrat.  After  the  secession  of  the  state,  he  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Confederate  congress,  in  which  he  served 
with  signal  ability.     When  the  war  was  over  he  retired  to  his  farm  in 


136  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Rockingham  county,  devoting  liimself  to  his  agricultural  interests, 
and  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  For  unaffected  simplicity  of 
character,  for  personal  integrity,  and  purity  of  life,  for  consistency  in 
his  public  acts,  Gov.  Reid  stands,  pre-eminent  in  the  estimation  of  his 
fellow  citizcms.  He  married  Henrietta,  daughter  of  Judge  Thomas 
Settle,  Sr. 

JUDGE  THOMAS  B.  WOMACK 

was  born  in  Chatham  county,  February  12,  1855.  His  parents  are 
John  A.  and  Rebecca  (Brown)  Womack,  both  natives  of  North  Carolina. 
The  father  still  lives,  an  honored  resident  of  Chatham.  He  is  widely 
known  and  as  widely  respected.  Though  taking  but  little  interest  in 
politics,  he  was,  in  1872,  a  candidate  for  secretary  of  state  on  the  Mer- 
rimon  ticket,  but  was  defeated  by  less  than  1.5CO  majority.  He  has 
been  chairman  of  the  board  of  justices  of  his  county  since  its  organi- 
zation in  1876.  He  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives  in 
1870,  that  body  being  the  first  democratic  house  elected  after  the 
war.  He  served  his  constituents  with  signal  ability  and  faithfulness. 
Mr.  Womack  is  especially  prominent  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  hav- 
ing been  a  ruling  elder  for  more  than  forty  years.  Several  times  he 
has  been  chosen  a  commissioner  to  the  general  assembly.  His  wife 
is  a  devoted  member  of  the  same  church.  Her  father  was  John 
Bright  Brown,  a  son  of  Gen.  Thomas  Brown,  of  Revolutionary  re- 
nown. Judge  Womack,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  eldest  of  a 
family  of  three  surviving  children.  He  received  an  academic  educa- 
tion and  read  law  under  the  tutelage  of  Hon.  John  Manning,  LL.  D., 
at  present  professor  of  law  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  June  term  of  the  supreme  court  in 
1876,  and  at  once  began  the  practice  at  Pittsboro.  The  first  office  to 
which  he  was  elected  was  that  of  solicitor  of  the  inferior  court  of 
Chatham  county,  in  1878.  He  was  twice  re-elected,  resigning  his  po- 
sition during  his  third  term  to  serve  as  state  senator,  to  which  he  was 
elected  in  1S82.  In  1885  he  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives, and  served  his  constituents  in  an  able  and  satisfactory  man- 
ner. During  the  administration  of  Gov.  Scales,  he  was  appointed  as 
proxy  for  the  state  to  represent  its  stock  in  the  Atlantic  &  North 
Carolina  railroad. 

Judge  Womack  was  chief  clerk  of  the  house  of  representatives 
for  the  session  of  i88g,  which  position  he  resigned  to  become  a  direc- 
tor of  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum.  This  latter  office  he  resigned 
January  20,  i8c;o,  having  been  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  court 
by  Gov.  Fowle,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Judge  Gilmer,  resigned. 
Upon  the  expiration  of  that  term  Judge  Womack  located  at  Pitts- 
boro, and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law  and 
in  the  preparation  of  a  complete  civil  digest  of  the  decisions  of  the 
supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  a  work  for  which  he  is  admirably 
qualified,  and  upon  which  he  has  been  engaged  for  several  years. 
He  is  in  the  foremost  rank  of  the  legal  profession  of  the  state,  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  37 

takes  an  active  part  in  every  enterprise  which  looks  to  the  develop- 
ment and  prosperity  of  the  community  at  large.  He  was  married, 
November  30,  18S1,  to  Miss  Susie,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  W.  and 
Sarah  A.  Taylor,  of  Chatham  county.  Judge  Womack  is  a  member 
of  and  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  member  of  the 
board  of  regents  of  the  South  Atlantic  university. 

HON.  JOHN  M.  MORING, 

a  prominent  citizen  and  attorney  of  Chatham  county,  was  born 
March  11,  1841,  in  the  county  where  he  now  resides.  His  parents 
were  Alfred  and  Eliz.ibeth  M.  Moring,  7icc  O'Kelly,  and  both  parents 
were  natives  of  Chatham  county.  The  father  is  still  living  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  seventy-eight  years,  and  though  retired  from  active 
life,  he  is  not  forgotten  by  his  fellow  citizens,  but  retains  an  honored 
place  in  their  respect  and  esteem.  When  in  business  he  was  both  a 
merchant  and  a  farmer.  He  resides  at  Raleigh  and  is  an  active  mem- 
ber and  a  deacon  of  the  Christian  church,  to  the  work  of  which  he 
has  given  over  fifty  years  of  his  life.  His  wife  was  also  a  very  devout 
member  of  the  same  church,  and  her  death  occurred  in  1S73,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-one  years.  These  parents  had  a  famil}'  of  nine  children, 
five  of  whom  are  still  living,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  eldest 
of  the  survivors.  Mr.  Moring  was  educated  at  Grosham  college  and 
at  the  North  Carolina  university.  He  was  matriculated  at  the  former 
institution  in  1S60,  and  in  i86r,  enlisted  in  Company  G, Seventh  North 
Carolina  infantry.  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Hanover  C.  H.,  and 
was  present  in  all  the  engagements  of  the  army  of  northern  Virginia, 
under  Lee,  until  the  battles  around  Petersburg,  in  the  spring  of  1865. 
In  the  summer  of  1862,  he  was  detailed  to  serve  on  the  signal  corps 
attached  to  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill's  light  division,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
until  November,  1864,  when  he  rejoined  his  regiment  and  surrendered 
with  Gen.  Johnston's  army  at  Greensboro,  the  regiment  having  been 
detailed  from  Gen.  Lee's  army  in  March,  1865.  He  was  one  of  the 
fortunate  few  who  was  never  wounded,  nor  taken  prisoner,  nor  con- 
fined in  the  hospital  by  sickness,  being  blessed  with  good  health 
throughout  the  entire  war. 

When  peace  came,  Mr.  Moring  returned  to  his  farm  for  a  jear  or 
two,  and  in  1867  read  law.  In  1S68  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in  all 
the  courts  in  the  state.  He  opened  a  law  office  in  Pittsboro  at  once, 
and  has  been  in  the  practice  since  with  good  success.  In  1872,  Mr. 
Moring  was  elected  to  the  general  assembly  as  a  member  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  and  served  in  that  body  four  consecutive  terms. 
At  each  successive  election  his  majority  was  increased,  and  at  his 
last  term,  in  187Q,  he  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  house,  holding  that 
position  two  years.  September  15,  186S,  Mr.  Moring  was  married  to 
Miss  Kmma,  daughter  of  Chesley  F.  Fawcetts,  of  Alamance  county. 
They  have  had  a  family  of  five  children:  .Xlberta,  teacher  of  art  in 
Elon  college,  and  giving  a  high  degree  of  satisfaction;  Lelia,  of  the 
home  circle;  Bessie,  teacher  of  stenography  and  type-writing  in  l^lun 


I3S  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

college,  in  which  she  performs  good  service;  John  T.,  deceased  at  the 
age  of  one  year;  Augustus  I\I.,  a  bright  boy  of  twelve  summers.  Both 
parents  and  their  three  daughters  are  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  ]Mr.  Moring  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  also  of  the 
Royal  Arch  chapter.  He  has  been  W.  M.  of  the  lodge  for  several 
years,  and  his  standing  both  among  his  fraternal  associates  and 
among  the  citizens  at  large  is  in  the  front  rank. 

hon:  henry  a.  bond 

is  the  oldest  living  merchant  in  Edenton  and  one  of  its  most  honored 
citizens.  He  was  born  in  that  town  on  the  17th  of  August,  iSii.  He 
was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  place,  and  early  entered  mer- 
cantile life  there.  In  1835  he  and  his  brother,  Samuel,  engaged  in 
business  together  on  a  borrowed  capital  of  $4,000,  but  two  years  later 
the  firm  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Henry  Bond  continuing  alone.  Although 
severe  reverses  have  come,  the  name  of  Henry  Bond  has  never  been 
in  a  court  of  bankruptcy.  During  the  late  war  over  $50,000  were  lost 
by  him,  but  he  kept  on  undaunted  and  succeeded.  He  has  been 
quite  an  extensive  vessel  owner,  and  is  now  largely  interested  in  real 
estate.  Formerly  a  whig,  but  now  a  staunch  democrat,  Mr.  Bond 
has  been  active  in  politics,  and  has  held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the 
peace  of  the  county,  mayor  of  Edenton,  and  since  the  war  has  been  a 
United  States  commissioner.  For  many  years  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  council,  and  for  the  past  ten  years  has  been  treasurer 
of  Edenton.  In  early  days  he  was  captain  of  the  volunteer  fire  de- 
partment, and  in  all  these  various  capacities  has  shown  himself  to  be 
a  man  of  unusual  ability  and  of  the  strictest  integrit}'.  Mr.  Bond 
was  married  in  1S36  to  Miss  Mary  Manning,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Sarah  iManning,  of  Chowan  county.  She  died  in  1S40,  and  some  time 
later  he  was  again  married,  Miss  Margaret  G.  Manning,  a  sister  of 
his  first  wife,  becoming  his  wife.  Their  five  children  are:  Henry  A. 
Bond,  of  Edenton,  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  in  1S87-88  and 
1889-90;  John  C.  Bond,  member  of  the  firm  of  Bond  &  Jones,  of  Eden- 
ton, formerly  he  was  clerk  of  the  superior  court;  Millard  F.  Bond,  South- 
ern Express  and  Western  Union  telegraph  agent  at  Edenton;  Mary, 
wife  of  F.  F.  White,  of  Edenton,  and  Lela,  wife  of  John  M.  Jones,  of 
the  same  place.  Mrs.  Bond  died  in  1862,  and  in  November,  1863  Mr. 
Bond  espoused  as  his  third  wife  Ann  Eliza  McDowell.  Mr.  Bond 
has  been  a  devout  member  of  the  Baptist  church  for  many  years,  and 
has  been  treasurer  of  the  Edenton  church  for  more  than  twenty 
years.     He  died  June  17,  1891. 

HON.    THOMAS    H.    BATTLE. 

_  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  families  of  North  Car- 
olina is  the  Battle  connection.  The  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Battle,  one  of 
the  leading  lawyers  and  financiers  of  the  state,  was  born  at  Raleigh, 
N.  C,  August  2,  1S60.     He  was  educated  in  Raleigh  under  the  direc- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  39 

tion  of  J.  N.  Lovejoy  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Atkinson,  and  in  1880  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  For  one  year  after 
leaving  college  he  taught  as  a  private  tutor,  and  then  spent  six  months 
in  Europe.  Returning  home  Nir.  Battle  entered  the  law  department 
of  the  university  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  in  October,  18S2,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  In  the  following  December  he  went  to  Tarboro.and  soon 
after  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  inferior  court  of  Edgecombe  county, 
retaining  that  offtce  for  three  years.  His  removal  to  Rocky  Mount 
took  place  in  March,  1884.  and  since  that  time  Mr.  Battle  has  become 
very  intimately  connected  with  some  of  the  leading  industries  of  that 
thriving  city.  He  organized  the  bank  of  Rocky  Mount  in  January, 
iS8q,  the  greater  portion  of  the  stock  being  held  by  himself  and  one 
other  gentleman,  and  has  since  had  the  management  of  that  bank  as 
vice-president.  F"or  several  years  he  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  the  Rocky  Mount  Yarn  mills  as  a  director,  and  for  the  past  three 
years  has  served  as  president  of  the  same,  the  concern  having  pros- 
pered greatly  under  his  able  management.  In  addition  to  these  ex- 
tensive interests,  Mr.  Battle  also  operates  a  very  large  plantation  in 
Edgecombe  county,  where  he  raises  cotton  largely,  and  also  conducts 
an  extensive  dairy.  In  December,  1886,  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Rocky  Mount,  an  office  he  has  since  held  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
the  i^eople.  As  a  democrat  he  is  earnest  and  active,  and  holds  a  high 
place  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  In  November,  1887,  Mr.  Battle 
was  so  fortunate  as  to  forma  marriage  alliance  with  Miss  Betty  Davis, 
of  Wilson,  N.  C,  and  one  child,  Kemp  Davis,  was  born  to  the  union. 
This  most  estimable  lady  was  called  to  her  eternal  rest  in  April,  1890. 
She  was  a  woman  of  rare  culture  and  refinement,  and  lived  a  life 
beautiful  for  its  Christian  simplicity  and  charity.  Mr.  Battle  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  Episcopal  church,  as  was  his  wife,  and  was  formerlj' 
vestryman  and  treasurer  of  the  church  at  Rocky  Mount. 

The  Hon.  Kemp  Battle,  father  of  the  above,  was  born  in  Frank- 
lin county,  N.  C,  and  received  his  educational  training  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill.  In  1S50  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was  president  of  the  Chatham 
railroad,  and  was  state  treasurer  under  Gov.  Worth's  administration. 
In  1876  he  was  elected  president  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  only  recently  resigned  to  accept  the  chair  of  history  in  that 
institution.  Mr.  Battle  is  very  prominent  in  public  alfairs  as  a  demo- 
crat, and  is  one  of  the  ablest,  and  most  infiuential  men  in  the  state. 
By  his  marriage  to  Patty  Battle  these  children  have  been  born,  their 
names  l^eing:  Nellie,  who  married  Dr.  Lewis,  of  Raleigh,  and  is  now 
dead;  Hon.  Thomas  H.,  Kemp,  jr.,  M.  D.,  of  Raleigh,  of  the  United 
States  marine  hospital  service;  H.  B.  Battle,  Ph.  D.,  director  of  the 
agricultural  experiment  station  and  state  chemist;  graduated  from 
University  of  North  Carolina  with  degree  of  Ph.  D.,  and  W.  J. 
Battle,  A.  B.,  Ph.  D..  now  at  Harvard  college,  where  he  holds  a  fel- 
lowship. The  first  of  this  family  to  settle  in  Rocky  Mount  was  Elisha 
Battle,  a  native  of  Virginia,  whence  he  came  in  1742.  He  was  born 
of  English  parentage,  the   family  seat  being  in  Yorkshire,  England. 


I40  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Elisha  Battle  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  was  a  member  of  the  commission  appointed  to  adopt  the 
constitution.  He  was  a  Primitive  Baptist,  and  the  first  moderator  of 
the  Kehukee  association.  The  extensive  acreage  which  he  purchased 
from  Lord  Granville  on  the  Tar  river,  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the 
family. 

JONATHAN  WORTH 

was  a  native  of  Guilford  county,  N.  C.,  born  November  i8,  1802. 
He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  David  Worth.  He  was  educated  in  the  English 
branches  at  the  "old  field  schools,"  and  afterward  attended  the 
Greensboro  academy  where  he  remained  for  over  two  years,  and 
made  extraordinary  proficiency  in  his  studies.  The  means  of  his 
father  being  limited,  he  was  unable  to  enter  the  higher  institutions  of 
learning,  but  engaged  in  teaching  in  a  neighboring  county.  In  con- 
nection with  this  occupation  he  studied  law  under  the  instruction  of 
Hon.  A.  D.  Murphey,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  erudite  law- 
yers in  the  state.  In  January,  1825,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
soon  thereafter  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Asheboro, 
Randolph  county.  Notwithstanding  his  fine  academic  training  and 
and  his  extensive  law  reading  he  was  of  a  reserved,  diffident,  and  retir- 
ing nature,  and  his  contemporaries  in  the  profession  with  less  of  legal 
learning  but  more  boldness  and  push,  outstripped  him  in  amount  of 
business.  He  was  able  in  counsel,  but  shrank  from  arguing  his  cases 
at  the  bar,  and  consequently  lost  many  a  profitable  client.  Failing, 
as  many  of  his  profession  do,  for  the  want  of  self-assertion  and  as- 
surance, he  determined  to  turn  his  attention  to  politics,  and  sought 
a  nomination  to  the  state  legislature;  he  was  successful  both  before 
the  nominating  convention  and  at  the  polls.  He  was  re-nominated 
and  again  made  a  successful  canvass. 

At  his  second  term  Mr.  Worth  distinguished  himself  as  the  author 
of  a  set  of  resolutions  strongly  denunciatory  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  nullifi- 
cation doctrines.  The  introduction  of  these  resolutions  was  the  sig- 
nal for  an  earnest,  long-continued  and  bitter  debate  in  which  Mr. 
Worth  took  a  prominent  part.  The  debate  ended  in  the  adoption  of 
the  resolutions  by  a  large  majority.  His  success  in  this  contest  gave 
him  prestige  in  his  profession.  He  retired  from  official  life  and  de- 
voted himself  to  his  law  practice,  with  results  quite  the  opposite  of 
his  first  experience.  His  clientage  at  once  became  large  and  remun- 
erative. But  he  had  not  quite  lost  his  penchant  for  politics,  and  in 
the  great  political  revolution  of  1840,  he  united  his  fortimes  with  the 
winning  party  and  rode  in  upon  the  popular  wave.  He  was  elected 
to  the  senate  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Here  he  was  appointed 
chairman  of  the  joint  committee  on  education,  and  formulated  a  bill 
for  the  establishment  and  support  of  public  schools,  which  at  that  time 
won  him  great  popularity.  In  1841  he  made  an  unsuccessful  canvass  for 
representative  in  congress  in  opposition  to  Hon.  Abram  Rencher,  who 
though  a  whig,  was  accused  by  Mr.  Worth  of  defection   in   his  fealty 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I4I 

to  Henry  Clay.  .Mr.  Worth  again  returned  to  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  continued  until  1S58,  when  he  was  again  elected 
to  the  state  senate  and  was  re-elected  in  i860.  At  the  latter  session 
he  was  a  strong  opponent  of  the  secession  movement,  voting  against 
the  bill  to  submit  the  question  of  calling  a  convention  to  a  popular 
vote;  he  did  not  cease  his  opposition  when  the  bill  was  passed,  but 
made  a  strenuous  effort  to  defeat  the  measure  before  the  people. 
When  the  convention  was  called  he  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for 
delegate.  After  the  ordinance  of  secession  was  adopted,  like  other 
Union  men  in  the  south,  he  gave  in  his  adhesion  to  the  Confederate 
government  and  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legisla- 
ture, which  position  he  held  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

Under  the  provisional  state  government  he  was  appointed  treas- 
urer, but  soon  resigned  to  make  the  canvass  for  governor  of  the  state. 
He  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  re-elected  by  an  increased 
majority,  continuing  as  the  chief  magistrate  until  July,  186S.  At  that 
date  the  reconstruction  act  which  legislated  Gov.  Worth  out  of  office, 
took  effect,  but  he  did  not  yield  his  position  without  entering  a 
strong  protest  in  which  he  denied  the  constitutionality  of  the  act 
and  the  power  of  congress  to  remove  a  state  executive.  He  returned 
to  private  citizenship  once  more,  and,  on  the  5th  of  September, 
1S69,  at  Raleigh,  his  eventful  life  came  to  a  close.  Gov.  Worth  was 
one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  state;  he  was  an  excellent  financier, 
a  legislator  of  rare  resources  and  excellent  judgment,  and  as  chief 
executive  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  ever  called  to  that  posi- 
tion in  North  Carolina.  In  his  private  relations  the  same  high  prin- 
ciples governed  him  which  characterized  his  public  career.  1  lis  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Martila  Daniel,  whom  he  married  in  1S24, 
and  one  son  and  five  daughters,  survived  him  at  his  death. 

HON.  CYRUS  WILEY  GRANDY, 

one  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  of  Pasquotank  county,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  Cameron  county,  N.  C.,  on  the  2Qth  of  June,  1831.  He  was 
educated  in  the  county  schools,  at  the  high  school  of  Oxford,  N.  C, 
and  was  graduated  from  William  and  Mary  college  in  X'irginia,  July  4, 
1855.  Three  years  later  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Elizabeth  City,  where  he  had  taken  up  his  residence  in  1851.  In 
1865-67  he  served  as  register  of  deeds  of  the  count}'.  In  1861  he  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  Seventeenth  North  Carolina  regiment,  C.  S.  A., 
as  a  private,  but  in  1862  raised  a  company  which  was  attached  to  the 
Si.xty-eighth  North  Carolina  regiment,  and  during  the  rest  of  the  war 
Mr.  Grandy  served  as  captain  of  that  company.  For  many  years  he 
served  as  chairman  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners  of  Pasquo- 
tank county,  and  in  1872  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  serving  for 
two  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee  in  the 
senate,  and  rendered  distinguished  aid  to  that  committee.  Mr. 
Grandy  was  elected  attorney  for  the  First  judicial  district  of  North 
Carolina,   in   1S78,  and   retained   that  office   until   1SS2.     Before   the 


142  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

organization  of  the  republican  party  he  was  a  whig,  and  then  affiliated 
himself  with  the  republican  party,  which  he  left  in  iSSo,  and  has  since 
been  an  independent.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Florence  L.  Glover, 
daughter  of  William  Glover  of  this  county,  was  solemnized  Janu- 
ary II,  1859,  and  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  seven  children,  their 
names  being:  Lessells,  who  is  in  the  pension  department  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.;  Cecelia,  wife  of  J.  J.  Baxter,  of  Memphis,  Tenn.;.  S.  M. 
Grandy,  of  Denver,  Col.  —  the  latter  gentleman  has  visited  every 
country  on  the  globe;  Charles  R.,  a  member  of  the  government  geo- 
logical survey,  now  stationed  in  Florida;  Susan,  Kate  and  Harry, 
who  reside  at  home.  Mr.  Grandy  is  associated  in  the  practice  of  the 
law  with  Mr.  E.  F.  Aydlett,  and  this  is  the  leading  law  firm  of  the 
city,  both  being  eminent  jurists.  Mr.  Grandy  is  largely  interested  in 
agriculture,  and  is  a  progressive  and  influential  citizen.  He  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  a  prominent  Mason. 


HON.  J.  W.  ALBERTSON. 

Among  the  many  distinguished  gentlemen  who  have  won  prom- 
inence at  the  bar  of  Pasquotank  county,  N.  C,  we  find  the  name  of 
Hon.  Johnathan  W.  Albertson.  Mr.  Albertson  is  a  native  of  Per- 
quimans county,  N.  C,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  on  the  Qth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1S26,  the  son  of  Anthony  B.and  Rebecca  (White)  Albertson, 
who  were  both  born  in  that  county.  Elias  T.  Albertson,  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  was  of  Dutch  parentage,  his  family  having 
emigrated  from  Amsterdam  to  America,  in  1669,  and  settled  in  Long 
Island.  Later  they  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  but  finally  settled  in 
the  south.  They  were  prominent  and  enterprising  men  of  the  Quaker 
faith.  Elias  Albertson  was  a  merchant,  and  came  to  Perquimans 
county  after  his  marriage.  Gen.  Washington  appointed  him  collector 
of  the  port  of  Newbegun,  in  Pasquotank  county.  Anthony  B.  Albert- 
son,  his  son,  was  a  planter,  and  lived  and  died  in  Perquimans  county. 
He  was  a  Quaker.  The  maternal  ancestors  of  our  subject  on  the  pa- 
ternal side  were  of  Irish  nationality,  and  were  driven  from  their 
native  land  by  the  persecutions  of  the  Quakers.  Settling  in  Virginia, 
they  were  finally  forced  to  seek  a  home  elsewhere  on  account  of  the 
continued  persecution  of  the  Quakers,  and  settled  in  Perquimans 
county,  N.  C.  The  Hon.  J.  W.  Albertson,  of  whom  we  will  now  write, 
was  reared  in  Perquimans  county,  and  remained  there  until  1S79.  His 
education  was  obtained  in  Belvedere  academy,  and  completed  in 
Guilford  college.  Having  taken  up  the  study  of  the  law,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1849,  and  began  active  practice  in  Perquimans 
county,  N.  C,  in  the  First  judicial  district.  For  many  years  he 
was  solicitor  of  Perquimans  county,  and  of  the  First  judicial  district 
and  before  the  war  represented  that  county  in  the  legislature  of  the 
state.  In  1872  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  court  for  the 
First  district,  and  in  1875,  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention.    Three  years  later  he  was  appointed  United  States  district 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  143 

attorney  for  the  eastern  district  of  North  CaroHna,  and  was  also  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  committee  from  North  Carolina  to  the  cen- 
tennial of  1S76,  at  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Albertson  removed  to  Elizabeth  City  in  1882,  and  has  since 
conducted  an  extensive  practice  there.  He  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason 
and  also  a  Knight  Templar.  In  1855  ^liss  Catharine  F.  B.  Pescud  — 
daughter  of  Edward  Pescud,  editor  of  the  Old  Dotninion,  at  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  who  served  as  a  colonel  in  the  war  of  1S12  —  became  his 
wife.  Mrs.  Albertson  is  also  a  granddaughter  of  Peter  Francisco,  of 
Revolutionary  fame.  Six  children  have  been  born  to  this  happy 
union:  Jonathan  \V.,  Jr.,  who  is  associated  in  the  practice  of  law 
with  his  father;  Marceline  P.;  Robert  B.,  of  Seattle,  Wash.,  where 
he  is  practicing  law;  Rebecca;  Thomas  E.,  druggist  of  Port  Town- 
send,  Wash.;  and  Catherine  S.  Albertson.  The  entire  family  are 
communicants  of  the  Episcopal  church,  in  which  the  father  is  a 
senior  warden.  Mr.  Albertson  is  recognized  throughout  the  state  as 
one  of  its  ablest  lawyers  and  most  eminent  citizens.  On  the  side  of 
his  mother's  maternal  progenitors,  he  is  a  descendant  of  the  Wins- 
lows,  of  Plymouth  Rock  or  Massachusetts. 


EDWIN  F.  AYDLETT. 

A  leading  attorney  of  eastern  North  Carolina  is  Edwin  V .  Ayd- 
lett,  of  Elizabeth  City.  His  birth  took  place  in  Camden  county, 
N.  C  on  the  14th  of  May,  1857,  and  his  parents,  Abner  and  Clotilda 
(Lamb)  Aydlett,  were  both  natives  of  that  county.  Abner  Aydlett 
served  as  sheriff  of  the  county  for  several  years,  and  was  a  prominent 
and  successful  planter.  Mr.  Edwin  F.  Aj'dlett  was  graduated  from 
Wake-Forest  college  in  June,  187Q.  Having  read  law  in  Elizabeth 
City  for  one  year,  he  then  completed  his  legal  training  in  Judge 
Strong's  law  school,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1881,  and 
began  practice  in  Camden.  In  December,  1881,  he  came  to  Elizabeth 
City,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  C.  W.  Grandy,  and  this  firm 
has  since  practiced  at  that  place.  While  a  resident  of  Camden  county 
Mr.  Aydlett  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  schools,  but  resigned 
from  the  office.  For  three  terms  he  has  been  city  attorney  of  Eliza- 
beth City,  and  at  present  he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  town  com- 
missioners, and  is  active  and  prominent  in  democratic  politics  in  that 
section  of  the  country.  Mr.  Aydlett  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Elizabeth 
Cit)'  Fair  association,  and  any  movement,  having  for  its  object  the 
advancement  of  the  industries  of  the  community  or  the  uplifting  of 
the  people,  finds  in  him  a  firm  friend.  In  1883  he  was  most  happily 
married  to  Miss  Henrietta  Briggs,  and  two  children.  Henrietta  N.  and 
Evelyn  L.,  are  the  result  of  their  union.  Mrs.  Aydlett  is  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  H.  Briggs,  Esq.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aydlett  are  communi- 
cants of  the  Baptist  church,  of  which  he  is  treasurer,  and  are  held  in 
the  highest  esteem  throughout  the  community. 


144  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


STEPHEN  W.  ISLER, 


a  leading  lawyer  of  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  is  a  native  of  Jones  county, 
N.  C,  where  he  was  born  on  the  iSth  of  October,  1S39,  the  son  of 
Simmons  Isler,  who  was  likewise  a  native  of  that  county,  as  was  his 
father,  William  S.  Isler.  The  family  is  of  German  extraction  the 
founder  of  the  American  branch  of  the  family  having  come  to  this 
country  in  colonial  days.  They  first  settled  in  Newbern,  having  ac- 
companied the  Baron  de  Groffeneice  to  America.  The  records  show 
that  Christian  Isler  was  a  juror  in  Jones  county  in  1763;  other  than 
this  no  correct  statement  of  the  family's  history  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tion is  at  hand.  A  maternal  ancestor  of  our  subject  was  a  Miss 
Williams,  sister  of  Gov.  Williams.  William  Isler  owned  4,000  acres  of 
land  in  Jones  county  (then  Craven  county),  which  were  divided  be- 
tween his  children.  His  father  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolution.  His 
family  consisted  of  Simmons,  Mrs.  Consul  Wooten,  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Herring,  E.  B.  Isler  and  Mrs.  William  Ford.  Simmons  Isler  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Becton, 
of  Jones  county,  who  bore  him  three  children,  viz.:  Col.  John  W. 
Isler,  of  Wayne  county,  Mrs.  Susan  Dawson,  of  Pitt  county,  and  Mrs. 
John  Shade  Wooden,  of  Wayne  county.  His  second  marriage  was 
to  Mrs.  Barbara  Lane,  widow  of  Ezekiel  Lane,  of  New  Hanover 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Miller,  of  Duplin  county,  a  state 
senator  from  that  county.  Four  children  resulted  from  this  union: 
George  M.  (deceased) ;  Stephen  W.,  Simmons  H.,  a  prominent  Pres- 
byterian clergyman  of  Goldsboro,  and  William  R.  (deceased).  The 
father  lived  and  died  in  Jones  county,  was  a  large  land  owner  and 
slaveholder,  and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  throughout  the 
county.  He  commanded  a  militia  regiment  during  the  "  Nat."  Tur- 
ner insurrection.  He  was  related  to  William  Henry  Harrison,  and 
on  one  occasion  entertained  the  Harrison  party  at  his  plantation,  and 
while  Gov.  Mosel}',  of  Florida,  was  a  candidate  for  governor  of  North 
Carolina,  Mrs.  Mosely  and  Mrs.  Isler  were  intimate  friends,  and  Mrs. 
Mosely  asked  Mrs.  Isler  if  she  gave  a  dinner  in  honor  of  the  elder 
Harrison,  and  was  answered  in  the  afiirmative  and  iriformed  that 
Gen.  Harrison  was  a  relative  of  her  husband,  whereupon  Mrs.  Mosely 
replied:  "  I  will  not  speak  to  my  own  brother  should  he  vote  against 
Gov.  Mosely."  It  was  considered  that  the  Harrison  party  opposed 
Mosely.  Stephen  W.  Isler,  our  immediate  subject,  was  reared  in 
Jones  county,  and  was  educated  in  an  academy  in  Virginia,  which  he 
left  to  enter  college  at  Chapel  Hill,  from  which  he  was  graduated. 
Subsequently  he  entered  Harvard  college,  and  was  graduated  from 
the  law  department  of  that  famous  institution,  in  i860.  Two  years 
later  he  entered  the  Confederate  service  as  a  member  of  the  Six- 
teenth North  Carolina  cavalry,  Deering's  brigade,  and  served  through 
the  war.  In  1866  he  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at 
Goldsboro,  and  was  soon  elected  solicitor  for  Greene  county,  which 


%     # 


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^ 


NOKTH  CAROLINA.  145 

office  he  held  until  the  reconstruction  act  of  1S67  went  into  force. 
Since  that  time  he  has  practiced  in  the  state  and  United  States  courts, 
having  distinguished  himself  as  a  man  of  great  ability.  Mr.  Isler  is 
a  member  of  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and 
of  the  Harvard  law  association,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.  His  political 
faith  is  founded  upon  the  tenets  of  the  republican  party.  Brought 
up  in  the  faith  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  he  has  ever  clung  to  its 
doctrines. 

HON.  WILLIAM  TURNER    FAIRCLOTH 

was  born  January  S,  1829,  on  Gtter  creek,  in  Edgecombe  county,  N.C. 
His  father,  William  Faircloth,  and  his  mother,  Susan   Edwards,  had 
five  children,  of  whom  he  was  the  oldest.    His  ancestors  were  English, 
and  they  came  to  North  Carolina  from   the  eastern  shores  of  Mary- 
land and  \'irginia.     His  father  was  an  agriculturist,  and  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  bore  his  hand  to  the  plow  until  he  was  eighteen  years 
of  age.     Having  attended  the  common  schools  and  an  academy,  and 
having  had  other  preparatory  instruction,  in  June,  1850,  he  entered 
Wake  Forest  college,  where  he  completed  the  college  course  in  June, 
1854,  standing  with  the  head  of  his  class.     His  means  being  limited, 
he  taught  school  during  vacation  and  thus  earned  the  money  to  pay 
the  principal  part  of  his  college  expenses.     In  July,  1854,  he  entered 
the  law  school  of  Chief-Justice  Pearson  at  Richmond  Hill,  N.  C,  and 
on  January  i,  1856,  was  licensed  to  practice  in  all  the  state  courts,  and 
located  at  Snow  Hill,  Greene  county,  N.  C,  and  in  a  few  weeks  was 
elected  count}'  solicitor  by  the  county  court.     He  was  still  then  in 
debt  for  necessary  expenses  at  college  and  at  the  law  school,  which 
he  soon  discharged  with  the  first  fruits  of  his  practice.     In  Maj',  1856, 
he  located  in  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  and  has  resided  there  ever  since  in 
the  pursuit  of  his  profession  with  slight  interruptions.     Politically  he 
was  a  Henry  Clay  whig,  and  was  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  secession, 
but  after  his  state  seceded,  he  volunteered  as  a  private  in  Company  C, 
Second   North  Carolina  state  troops,  commanded  b}-  Col.  C.  C.  Tew, 
and  was  on  dut}'  in  the  army  of  northern  Virginia  until  its  surrender 
at  Appomatox  C.  H.  in  April,  1865,  when  he  retired  with  the  rank  of 
captain  of  cavalry,  and  resumed  his  professional  work.     In  August, 
1865,  he  was  elected  by  the  people  of  his  county  (Wayne)  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  provisional  state  convention  which  convened  October  2, 
1865.     In  the  fall  of  1865,  he  represented  his  county  in  the  first  legis- 
lature after  the  war,  which  convened  November  27,  1865.     During 
this  legislature  he  was  elected  solicitor  of  the  Third  judicial  district  of 
North  Carolina,  and  held  the  office  until  displaced  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  state  in  186S. 

On  January  10,  1867,  Mr.  Faircloth  married  Evelyn,  the  oldest 
living  daughter  of  the  late  Council  Wooten,  of  Mosely  Hall  (now 
La  Grange),  in  Lenoir  county,  N.  C.  He  followed  his  profession 
closely,  but  in  1875.  he  was  again  sent  by  his  county  as  a  delegate  to 
the  state  constitutional  convention,  which  assembled  in  Raleigh,  Sep- 
B —  10 


146  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tember  6,  1875,  ^rid  on  November  iS,  1875,  he  was  appointed  and 
commissioned  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  and 
remained  on  the  bench  until  the  term  of  the  court  expired.  The 
other  members  were  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  Justices  Reade,  Rodman 
and  Bynum.  Judge  Faircloth  is  an  ardent  friend  of  the  cause  of 
education.  He  is  now  (1891)  a  trustee  of  the  university  at  Chapel 
Hill,  N.  C;  of  Wake  Forest  college,  of  the  Baptist  female  univer- 
sity at  I-laleigh,  and  of  the  Baptist  orphanage  at  Thomasville,  N.  C. 
At  different  times  he  has  been  a  director  in  the  W.  &  W.  railroad, 
and  A.  &  N.  C.  railroad,  and  in  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum. 
In  1884  he  canvassed  the  state  from  "  Cherokee  to  Currituck  "  as  the 
republican  nominee  for  lieutenant-governor,  and  in  1 888  was  on  the 
republican  ticket  for  justice  of  the  supreme  court.  He  has  been  ex- 
tensively identified  with  various  important  enterprises  looking  toward 
the  development  of  the  state's  resources.  He  is  one  of  the  original 
stockholders  of  the  Goldsboro  Furniture  factory;  is  a  third  owner  of 
the  Hotel  Gregory,  and  has  erected  several  fine  brick  buildings  in 
Goldsboro.  He  is  among  the  largest  stockholders  in  the  Bank  of 
Wayne,  and  has  other  interests  of  like  importance.  Originally  an 
old  time  Henry  Clay  whig,  Judge  Faircloth  is  now  a  staunch  national 
republican,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  its  ablest  leaders  in  the  state. 
As  a  lawyer  he  excels  and  he  has  reaped  the  reward  of  a  successful 
practitioner.  He  and  his  family  are  communicants  of  the  Mission- 
ary Baptist  church,  and  he  is  highly  esteemed  for  purity  of  character 
and  an  upright  walk  in  life. 

HON.  CURTIS  HOOKS  BROGDEN, 

ex-governor  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  N.  C,  on 
the  6th  of  December,  1816.  His  father.  Pierce  Brogden,  was  of  Eng- 
lish descent,  and  also  a  native  of  North  Carolina.  He  married  a 
Miss  Amy  Beard,  who  came  of  Irish  parentage,  but  was  a  North 
Carolinian  by  birth.  Pierce  Brogden  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and 
also  carried  on  a  small  farm.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  181 2 
and  a  man  of  ability  and  great  integrity.  His  father  was  Thomas 
Brogden,  a  native  of  North  Carolina  and  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution. 
He  married  a  Miss  Pierce,  of  Maryland.  Curtis  H.  Brogden,  the 
subject  of  this  biographical  mention,  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm 
and  attended  the  common  schools.  Having  chosen  the  law  as  his 
life  vocation,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845.  Fof  many  years  he 
presided  as  a  justice  of  the  Wayne  county  court.  In  1838  he  was 
elected  by  almost  a  unanimous  vote  to  represent  Wayne  county  in 
the  house  of  commons.  He  was  the  choice  of  the  people  as  their 
representative  in  one  branch  or  the  other  of  the  general  assembly 
until  1856,  in  the  house  from  1838  to  1852,  and  in  the  state  senate 
thereafter  to  1856,  the  year  he  was  elected  comptroller  of  North 
Carolina,  and  for  ten  years  was  the  incumbent  of  that  office;  his  term 
of  office  having  extended  from  January  i,  1857,  to  January  i,  1867, 
In  1868  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  and  again  in   1870.     Two 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1 47 

years  later  he  was  the  successful  candidate  of  the  republican  party 
for  lieutenant  governor,  and  presided  over  the  senate  until  1874,  when, 
on  the  death  of  Gov.  Todd  R.  Caldwell,  he  succeed  to  the  executive 
office  of  the  state,  which  he  held  until  January,  1877.  Previous  to 
this,  however,  in  1868,  Gov.  Brogden  was  an  elector  and  presided 
over  the  electoral  college  which  cast  the  vote  of  the  state  for  Grant 
and  Colfax. 

In  1869  Mr.  Brogden  was  appointed  by  President  Grant,  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  for  the  Second  district  of  North  Carolina  which 
he  declined.  He  has  held  the  principal  offices  in  the  state  militia 
from  captain  to  major-general,  has  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  state 
university,  and  has  filled  several  local  offices,  such  as  town  commis- 
sioner, railroad  director,  etc.  In  1876,  while  governor  of  the  state,  he 
was  elected  to  the  forty-fifth  congress,  receiving  21,060  votes  against 
1 1,874  cast  for  Col.  Wharton  J.  Green,  democrat.  In  1886  he  yielded 
to  the  urgent  solicitations  of  his  friends,  without  regard  to  party,  and 
ran  for  a  seat  in  the  house  of  representatives,  and  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  479  votes.  Gov.  Brogden  is  extensively  interested  in  ag- 
riculture, and  is  probably  the  largest  land  owner  in  Wayne  county. 
He  now  owns  the  homestead  which  was  occupied  by  his  grandfather, 
and  left  by  him  to  his  father,  who  in  turn  bequeathed  it  to  his  son. 
Mr.  Brogden  was  unalterably  opposed  to  secession,  and  has  been 
identified  with  the  republican  party  since  1862.  He  was  offered  the 
colonelcy  of  the  Twent^'-si.xth  North  Carolina  regiment,  but  declined. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  senate  that  conducted  the  famous  impeach- 
ment of  W.  W.  Holden,  and  made  an  able  speech  on  that  occasion. 
It  is  but  just  to  say  that  few  men  have  done  more  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  various  different  interests  of  the  state  than  this  man. 

J.  L.  PATTERSON. 

Few  families  have  held  a  higher  place  in  the  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  the  people  of  the  proud  old  state  of  North  Carolina  than  the 
Patterson  connection.  The  first  member  of  this  family  to  settle  in 
the  new  world  came  from  the  north  of  Ireland  early  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  somewhere  about  the  year  1700  or  1701.  He  first  set- 
tled in  Pennsylvania,  then  removed  to  Virginia.  The  Hon.  Samuel  F. 
Patterson  is  the  first  of  the  name  to  whom  we  will  refer.  He  was 
born  in  Rockbridge  county,  Va.,  in  1799,  and  when  but  a  lad  came  to 
North  Carolina,  settling  in  Wilkesboro,  where  he  resided  until  about 
1835,  when  he  removed  to  Raleigh,  having  been  electecf  treasurer  of 
the  state,  in  which  office  he  served  two  years,  when  he  returned  to 
Wilkesboro.  In  1840  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Raleigh  & 
Gaston  railroad,  and  served  in  that  responsible  position  for  several 
years,  when  he  resigned,  in  1S45,  and  removed  to  Caldwell  county, 
to  take  charge  of  his  father-in-law's,  Gen.  Jones,  estate.  He  was  the 
first  man  to  hold  the  office  of  grand  master  of  the  Masonic  order  in 
the  state.  He  was  trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  for 
many  years.     Several   times  he  ably  represented  Caldwell  county  in 


148  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  state  legislature.  His  demise  occurred  in  1874.  The  Hon. 
Rufus  L.  Patterson,  a  son  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  F.,  was  born  in  Cald- 
well county,  N.  C,  in  1830.  He  was  graduated  from  the  University 
of  North  Carolina  in  185 1,  and  subsequently  became  a  manufacturer 
in  Caldwell  and  Forsyth  counties,  and  later  embarked  in  mercantile 
life  at  Salem.  He  represented  Caldwell  and  Forsyth  counties,  and 
was  a  member  of  both  the  constitutional  conventions  of  1861  and 
1865.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the  state  university  for  an  extended 
period,  and  was  a  man  of  great  ability  and  worth.  His  death  occurred 
in  1879.  He  was  twice  married,  the  first  time  in  1852,  to  Miss 
Louise  M.  Morehead,  a  daughter  of  Gov.  John  M.  Morehead,  of 
Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  four  children  were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom 
still  survive  him,  namely,  Caroline  F.,  wife  of  A.  L.  Coble,  of  States- 
ville,  N.  C,  and  J.  L.  Patterson,  of  Winston,  N.  C.  The  mother  of 
these  children  died  in  Ma}',  1862,  and  the  father  was  again  married  in 
1864,  Miss  Mary  E.  Fries,  daughter  of  Francis  Fries,  of  Salem,  N.  C, 
becoming  his  wife.  This  latter  union  resulted  in  the  birth  of  six  child- 
ren, named  as  follows:  Francis  F.,  Samuel  F.,  Andrew  H.,  Rufus  L., 
John  L.  and  Edmund  V. 

Jesse  Lindsay  Patterson,  the  particular  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
the  son  of  the  first  marriage  of  Rufus  L.  Patterson,  was  born  May  16, 
1858.  Having  been  thoroughly  prepared  for  college  at  P'inley  high 
school  in  Caldwell  county,  N.  C.  Mr.  Patterson  entered  Davidson 
college,  in  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  and  was  graduated  therefrom 
in  1S7S.  He  then  commenced  the  study  of  law  under  Judge  J.  H. 
Dillard  and  Judge  Robert  P.  Dick,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881,  after  which  he  immediately  located  in 
Winston,  N.  C,  and  embarked  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession. 
In  18S2  we  find  him  serving  as  county  solicitor  of  Forsyth  county, 
which  office  he  held  for  two  years.  He  is  the  attorney  for  the  Peo- 
ples' National  bank  of  Winston,  N.  C,  and  extensively  interested  in 
several  land  and  improvement  companies.  In  1888  he  was  most  hap- 
pily united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lucy  B.  Patterson,  a  daughter,  of 
W.  H.  Patterson,  of  Philadelphia,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Gen. 
Robert  Patterson.  As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Patterson  excels,  and  although 
but  just  in  the  flush  of  his  manhood  he  is  already  reckoned  among 
the  leaders  at  the  bar  of  the  county. 

ASA  BIGGS, 

lawyer  and  senator,  was  born  in  Williamstown,  Martin  county,  N.  C, 
February  4,  1811.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  county, 
and  afterward  attended  a  classical  school,  in  which  he  attained  great 
proficiency.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1831. 
He  entered  the  political  arena,  as  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention, which  met  in  1835,  to  amend  the  old  colonial  constitution, 
adopted  in  1767.  In  1840  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  legis- 
lature, by  the  democrats  of  his  legislative  district.  He  at  once  took 
a  prominent  position  in  that  body,  and  was  distinguished  as  the  frie  nd 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  i49 

of  the  internal  improvement  of  the  state,  lie  was  elected  for  another 
term  in  1842,  and  in  1844,  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  state  senate. 
In  1S44  lie  made  a  canvass  for  member  of  congress,  against  Hon. 
David  Outlaw,  and  was  successful,  but  on  his  re-nomination  in  1S46, 
he  was  defeated  by  his  former  opponent.  In  1S50  he  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  commission  to  revise  and  codify  the  laws  of  North 
Carolina,  his  associates  on  the  commission  being  Messrs.  B.  F. 
Moore  and  R.  M.Saunders.  For  this  duty  he  was  amply  equipped 
and  the  code  was  completed  and  went  into  effect  in  1854.  In  that 
year  Mr.  Biggs  was  again  elected  to  the  state  senate,  in  which  body 
he  was  the  recognized  leader  of  the  democratic  side  of  the  house. 
Though  the  whigs  were  in  the  majority  in  the  senate,  they  failed  to 
carry  a  bill,  providing  for  a  state  convention,  to  revise  the  state  con- 
stitution, and  to  the  forcible  speeches  of  Mr.  Biggs  in  opposition  to 
the  measure,  its  defeat  is  chiefly  attributed.  By  this  same  legislature, 
Mr.  Biggs  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  where  he  served 
his  state  with  distinction  for  four  years.  He  then  resigned,  to  accept 
the  appointment  of  United  States  district  judge,  to  lill  the  vacancy 
occasioned  bj"  the  death  of  Judge  Potter.  He  held  this  office  till  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  in  1S61.  He  was  one  of  the  members 
of  the  state  convention,  which  passed  the  ordinance  of  secession,  and 
was  appointed  to  a  judgeship  under  the  Confederate  government. 
He  accepted  the  position,  holding  it  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
then  returned  to  the  practice  of  law,  which  he  pursued  with  success, 
until  i86q.  He  then  removed  to  Norfolk,  Va.,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  commission  business,  as  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Kedar,  Biggs  & 
Company. 

In  1S70  Judge  Biggs  formed  a  law  partnership  at  Norfolk  with 
Judge  W.  N.  H.  Smith,  which  firm  continued  to  do  business  until  the. 
latter  gentleman  was  made  chief-justice  of  the  supreme  court  of 
North  Carolina,  and  removed  to  Raleigh.  Judge  Biggs  died  at  Nor- 
folk, March  6,  1S78.  As  a  public  speaker  he  did  not  shine  for  his 
brilliant  eloquence  or  his  fine-spun  rhetortic.  He  was  plain,  yet  forci- 
ble and  direct,  tenacious  of  his  purpose,  but  never  obstinate  if  con- 
vinced of  his  error.  He  was  modest  in  his  demeanor,  unostentatious, 
but  always  gentlemanly  and  refined.  He  was  conciliatory  towards 
his  opponents,  appealing  to  their  reason,  judgment  and  common 
sense  as  the  best  method  of  convincing  them.  No  purer  statesman 
ever  had  a  place  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  no  fairer  man  ever  ex- 
pounded the  law  from  the  bench  or  bar,  and  no  private  citizen  led  a 
more  exemplary  life.  In  his  family  relations  he  was  provident,  kind 
and  affectionate.  He  was  a  religious  man,  and  belonged  to  that 
strait  sect  known  as  Primitive  Baptist,  in  which  faith  he  lived  and  died. 

HON.    JOHN    H.    DILLARD. 

To  be  ranked  among  the  great  lawyers  of  North  Carolina  one 
must  be  possessed  of  superior  abilities  indeed,  for  few  states  have 
produced  more  eminent  jurists  than  she.    The  Hon.  John  H.  Dillard 


150  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

who  for  many  years  has  figured  prominently  in  the  courts  of  North 
CaroHna,  was  born  in  Roclcingham  county,  N.  C,  November  29,  1819. 
His  preliminary  schooling  was  obtained  at  the  Patrick  Henry  acad- 
.  amy  in  Virginia,  and  later  in  Samuel  Smith's  school  in  Rockingham 
county,  N-  C.  Entering  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  his  course 
was  cut  short  there  after  eighteen  months  by  the  failure  of  his  health. 
Subsequentl}'  health  was  restored,  and  Mr.  Dillard  then  matriculated 
in  William  and  Mary  college  in  1839,  and  was  graduated  from  the  law 
department  of  that  institution  with  the  degree  of  B.  L.,  in  1840.  He 
then  went  to  Richmond,  Va.,  where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
immediately  afterward  located  at  Patrick  Court  House,  now  Stewart, 
Ya.,  and  remained  there  for  five  years,  a  portion  of  which  time  he 
held  the  office  of  commonwealth  attorney.  In  1846  Rockingham 
Court  House,  N.  C,  became  the  scene  of  his  labors,  and  from  1848 
until  1870  he  was  associated  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  with  the 
late  Judge  Ruffin,  who  at  one  time  sat  on  the  bench  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state.  Mr.  Dillard  removed  to  Greensboro,  N.  C,  in 
1868,  and  has  since  made  that  city  his  home.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  served  as  county  attorney  in  Rockingham  county,  and  also  held 
the  office  of  clerk  and  master  to  the  court  of  equity  of  that  county, 
his  term  of  service  extending  until  1862,  when  he  resigned.  In  1S78 
he  was  elevated  to  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  and  entered 
upon  his  high  judicial  duties  January  i,  1879.  His  resignation  from 
the  bench  in  1881  was  accepted  with  the  most  sincere  sorrow  b}'  the 
people,  but  was  rendered  necessary,  owing  to  the  distinguished  gen- 
tleman's failing  health. 

During  the  dark  days  of  1S62,  Judge  Dillard  organized  a  company 
in  Rockingham  county,  of  which  he  was  elected  captain,  the  com- 
mand being  assigned  to  the  Forty-fifth  regiment,  North  Carolina 
volunteer  infantry,  and  he  served  at  the  head  of  his  company  until 
February,  1863.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1846,  Miss  Ann  I.  Martin,  a 
daughter  of  Col.  Joseph  Martin,  of  Henry  county,  Va.,  became  his 
wife.  The  children  of  this  union  are:  Lucy,  wife  of  John  T.  Pannill, 
of  Reidsville,  N.  C;  Thomas  Ruffin  Dillard,  of  Guilford  county, 
N.  C;  Anna,  wife  of  E.  F.  Hall,  of  Reidsville,  John  H.  Dillard,  Jr.,  of 
Murphy,  N.  C,  Drury  C.  Dillard,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  two  oth- 
ers now  dead.  The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  Judge  Dillard  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
As  a  lawyer  he  excels.  Possessed  of  a  mind  of  rare  strength  and 
symmetry,  well  stored  with  the  thrifty  study  of  years,  this  man  has 
achieved  much  in  his  calling.  After  an  extended  period  of  service  as 
a  judge  in  the  highest  court  of  the  state,  he  left  the  bench  with  er- 
mine unspotted.  When  incapacitated  from  active  work  by  disease, 
he  was  too  proud  to  enjoy  the  emoluments  of  an  office  whose  duties 
he  could  not  discharge  with  the  best  of  his  energies.  Judge  Dillard 
is  the  son  of  James  Dillard,  who  was  born  in  Henry  county,  Va.,  in 
17S0.  All  his  active  years  were  spent  as  a  planter  and  tobacco  manu- 
facturer. He  died  in  1859.  His  marriage  to  Lucy  Moorman,  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Moorman,  of  Lynchburg,  Va.,  was  solmnized,  and    the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  151 

happy  union  resulted  in  tlie  birth  of  ten  children,  only  three  of  whom 
survive.  They  are:  Lucy,  widow  of  George  L.Aiken,  of  Leeksville, 
N.  C,  John  Dillard  and  James  P.  Dillard.  James  Dillard  was  a  son 
of  John  Dillard.  He  too  was  a  \'irginian,  and  also  a  planter.  He 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war  as  a  patriot  soldier. 


HON.  JOHN  A.  GILMER 

was  born  in  Greensboro,  N.  C,  April  22,  183S.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  185S,  and  then  began  the 
study  of  law  under  the  tutelage  of  his  father,  Hon.  John  A.  Gilmer. 
In  1859  he  entered  the  University  of  X'irginia,  and  completed  the  law 
course  there  in  i860.  At  this  time  !\Ir.  Gilmer  became  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  the  partnership 
then  formed  existed  until  the  death  of  his  distinguished  sire,  in  1868. 
The  declaration  of  war  between  north  and  south  found  our  subject  a 
member  of  the  Guilford  Grays,  and  he  accompanied  that  company  to 
Fort  Macon,  N.  C.,  in  April,  1861,  where  several  independent  com- 
panies, among  which  was  the  Guilford  Grays,  were  organized  into  the 
Ninth,  later  the  Twenty-seventh  regiment  of  North  Carolina  state 
troops.  Mr.  Gilmer  held  the  rank  of  sergeant  at  this  time,  but  later, 
in  the  year  1861,  was  promoted  to  adjutant  of  the  regiment.  In  1862 
he  was  made  major,  and  was  in  command  at  the  battle  of  Newbern. 
At  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg  he  was  made  a  lieutenant-colonel  for 
gallant  conduct,  and  subsequently  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  col- 
onel, with  which  office  he  left  the  army  at  the  close  of  the  war.  In 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Col.  Gilmer  was  wounded,  and  at  Bris- 
ton  Station  he  was  again  wounded,  this  time  most  grievously,  and  he 
is  still  a  sufferer  from  that  injury.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  leave 
the  hospital  he  reported  for  duty,  and  was  placed  in  the  invalid  corps, 
and  assigned  to  duty  at  Salisburj',  where  he  served  until  attacked  by 
a  malignant  fever  which  entirely  incapacitated  him  for  further  mili- 
tary duty.  In  1864  he  returned  to  Greensboro  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  Two  years  later  Gov.  Worth  appointed  him  adjutant 
general  of  North  Carolina,  and  he  held  that  office  for  one  year.  In 
the  convention  which  met  at  Raleigh  in  1S68  he  was  a  delegate,  but 
was  counted  out  by  Gen.  Canby,  at  Charleston,  S.  C. 

During  the  sessions  of  the  state  senate,  in  187 1-2,  Mr.  Gilmer  rep- 
resented his  district  with  ability,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constit- 
uents. He  was  not  a  candidate  for  public  office  again  until  1S79,  and 
in  that  year  was  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  the  I'ifth 
judicial  district,  and  until  January,  1891,  when  he  resigned  to  attend 
to  his  important  law  practice;  he  served  with  faithfulness  and  integ- 
rity. Judge  (jilmer  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  which 
met  at  New  York  city,  in  1868,  and  has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to 
state  conventions.  He  is  considered  an  able  financier  as  well  as  a 
lawyer,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  National  bank  of  Greensboro,  the 
North  Carolina  railroad  company,  and  is  interested  in  any  movement 


152  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

that  promises  renewed  industry  in  his  city  and  state.  On  the  14th  of 
July,  1864,  he  consummated  one  of  the  happiest  acts  of  his  hfe  by  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Sailie  L.  Lindsay,  a  daughter  of  Jesse  H.  Lindsay, 
late  of  Greensboro,  and  who  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  the  presi- 
dent of  the  National  bank  of  Greensboro.  Three  children  have  been 
born  to  this  most  fortunate  union,  named:  Ellison  L.,  Julia  P.,  wife 
of  Samuel  W.  Dick,  of  Greensboro;  and  John  A.  Gilmer,  Jr.  The 
Hon.  John  Adams  Gilmer,  father  of  Judge  Gilmer,  was  born  in  Guil- 
ford county,  N.  C.,  in  1S05.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  and  was  a 
lawyer  of  wide  reputation.  For  several  years  he  held  the  office  of 
county  attorney  of  his  native  county,  and  from  1845  to  1850,  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  state  senate.  In  1858  he  was  elected  to  con- 
gress, and  again  in  i860.  He  was  the  whig  candidate  for  governor  of 
North  Carolina  in  1856,  but  was  defeated  by  Thos.  Bragg.  In  1861 
he  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  met  at  Raleigh,  and 
resulted  in  the  secession  of  the  state  from  the  union,  and  was  elected 
to  the  Confederate  state  congress;  and  in  1861,  was  a  member  of  the 
peace  convention.  His  marriage  to  Juliana  Paisley,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Wm.  D.  Paisle}',  a  pioneer  clergyman  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
North  Carolina,  and  a  man  greatly  beloved  in  the  state,  was  solemn- 
ized in  1835,  and  resulted  in  the  birth  of  six  children,  named:  Mary, 
(died  in  1858),  wife  of  Col.  Charles  E.  Shober;  William,  died  at  the 
age  of  six  years;  John  A.,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C;  Fanny  M.,  wife  of 
Capt.  A.  G.  Brenizer,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C;  Hattie  P.  (deceased),  wife 
of  Peter  H.  Adams,  and  Julia,  wife  of  S.  J.  Perry,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C. 
The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  November,  1865. 

John  Adams  Gilmer  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Gilmer,  a  Pennsylvanian 
by  birth,  where  he  was  born  in  1775.  In  his  early  manhood  he  came 
to  North  Carolina  and  settled  in  Guilford  county,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  His  demise  occurred 
in  1850.  He  served  for  many  years  as  a  captain  in  the  state  militia, 
and  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  integrity.  Judge  Gilmer  is  de- 
scended from  an  old  and  influential  family  on  the  maternal  side,  as 
well  as  on  the  paternal.  But  before  going  further  we  will  pause  to 
state  that  Capt.  Arthur  Forbis,  who  served  as  a  captain  in  the  patriot 
army  of  1776,  was  a  brother  of  the  paternal  grandmother  of  our  sub- 
ject. Gen.  Alexander  Nebane  was  the  maternal  great-grandfather, 
and  his  distinguished  service  as  a  general  in  the  Revolutionary  army 
is  a  matter  of  national  history.  Judge  Gilmer's  mother's  uncle  was 
Col.  William  Paisley,  also  of  Revolutionary  fame.  In  this  brief  sketch 
it  will  be  seen  that  our  subject  comes  of  families  who  have  been  con- 
nected very  prominently  with  the  establishment  and  growth  of  this 
nation.  From  time  to  time  their  members  have  distinguished  them- 
selves on  the  battle-field  and  at  the  bar,  while  many  have  lived  peace- 
ful lives  as  honorable  gentlemen,  tillers  of  the  soil.  It  is  of  such 
material  that  the  backbone  of  this  nation  is  formed,  and  so  long 
as  families  of  like  worth  remain  true  to  the  names  they  bear  all  will 
be  well. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1 5; 


HON.  DARIUS  H.  STARBUCK 


was  born  in  Guilford  county,  N.  C,  in  181S,  and  died  in  1887.  He 
was  graduated  from  New  Garden,  now  Guilford,  college,  and  then 
began  the  study  of  law  with  John  A.  Gilmer,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  1S40.  In  1S68  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court, 
but  resigned  the  office.  Prior  to  this,  however,  in  1866,  he  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  attorney  for  the  district  of  North  Carolina, 
and  held  that  office  until  1S72.  He  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  seces- 
sion convention  at  Raleigh  in  1S60,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  consti- 
tutional convention  which  met  at  the  same  place  in  1865.  He  was  a 
man  of  magnificent  abilities,  and  rose  to  marked  distinction  in  his 
profession. 

HON.  LEVI  M.  SCOTT 

was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  N.  C,  June  8,  1827.  In  early  child- 
hood he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Guilford  county,  and  his  prelim- 
inary schooling  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  the  latter  county. 
Leaving  school  at  the  age  of  twenty'  he  began  his  active  career  as  a 
school  teacher,  and  at  about  the  same  time  took  up  the  study  of  law. 
In  1850  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Greensboro,  N.  C.,  and  held 
that  office  for  about  three  years.  In  1852  he  was  licensed  to  practice, 
and  a  year  later  received  the  election  as  clerk  of  the  superior  court, 
and  held  that  office  until  1856.  In  the  latter  year  Mr.  Scott  was 
elected  to  represent  his  county  in  the  state  legislature,  and  served  a 
term  of  two  j^ears.  In  1858  he  was  elected  solicitor,  of  Guilford 
county,  and  for  two  terms,  of  four  years  each,  most  satisfactorily  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  that  important  position.  He  was  appointed  as 
receiver  of  sequestrated  property  by  the  Confederate  government  in 
1862,  and  was  retained  in  that  capacity  until  the  close  of  the  war,  his 
duty  having  been  to  collect  all  debts  owing  northern  creditors  from 
southern  debtors,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Confederate  States.  After 
the  termination  of  hostilities  between  north  and  south,  Mr.  Scott  de- 
voted himself  exclusively  to  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at 
Greensboro.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  state  penitentiary  from  1885  until  1889,  and  at  the  present  time  is 
the  attorney  for  the  Bank  of  Guilford.  As  a  lawyer  he  has  won  a 
name  of  which  he  may  be  proud.  Dignified  and  able,  his  opinions 
carry  weight  wherever  promulgated,  and  his  reputation  as  a  man  of 
the  most  rigid  integrity  but  adds  to  his  fame  as  a  distinguished  law- 
yer and  citizen. 

Mr.  Scott  has  been  most  happy  in  his  domestic  relations,  having 
been  united  in  marriage  to  .Miss  Mary  E.  W'eatherly,  in  1861.  Mrs. 
Scott  is  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Andrew  Weatheriy,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C. 
Two  children  have  been  born  to  this  blessed  union,  the  surviving  one 
being  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Reynolds,  now  living  in  Brooklyn,  N.  ^'.  Mr. 
Scott  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  I.  ().  O.  I-".,  and  in  18OO  hekt  the 


154  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

high  honor  of  grand  master  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina.  John  D. 
Scott,  his  father,  was  born  in  Guilford  county,  N.  C,  in  iSoo.  He  was 
given  a  common  school  education,  and  then  gave  his  attention  to  ag- 
riculture, and  was  engaged  in  planting  all  his  life.  He  served  as  a 
colonel  in  the  North  Carolina  militia  cavalry,  and  held  his  commission 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  In  1824  he  married  Miss 
Jane  McLean,  a  daughter  of  Marshal  McLean,  of  Guilford  county, 
N.  C,  and  three  children  were  the  offspring  of  the  marriage,  their 
names  being:  Allen  H.,  of  Guilford  county,  N.  C;  Levi  M.,  of 
Greensboro,  and  William  L.  Scott,  who  died  in  1872.  The  father 
died  in  1880,  his  wife  having  preceded  him  to  rest  in  1845.  John  D. 
Scott  was  the  son  of  Adam  Scott,  who  was  a  native  of  Guilford 
county,  N.  C,  where  he  was  born,  in  17S2.  Hii  demise  occurred  in 
1837.  He  was  a  planter  all  his  life.  His  father  was  Thomas  Scott,  a 
Pennsylvanian,  who  emigrated  to  North  Carolina  in  early  manhood, 
and  settled  in  Guilford  county.  The  ancestors  of  the  Hon.  Levi  M. 
Scott  on  the  paternal  side  were  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  on  the 
maternal  side,  came  from  Scotland. 

MAJOR  JOHN  W.  GRAHAM 

was  born  in  Orange  county,  N.  C,  July  22,  1838.  He  received  a 
thorough  preliminary  education  in  the  best  schools  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  for  two  years  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  his  father,  Hon. 
William  A.  Graham,  being  at  that  time  secretary  of  the  navy,  and 
residing  at  Washington  city;  and  he  graduated  with  distinction  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  in  1857.  He  remained  at  that  institu- 
tion as  tutor  for  two  or  three  j^ears,  and  established  a  fine  reputation 
for  proficiency.  Coming  to  the  bar,  in  i860,  he  soon  won  high  esteem 
for  his  abilit}-,  thoroughness  and  fine  character,  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion which  succeeding  years  only  seemed  to  enhance.  The  war 
breaking  out,  not  withstanding  his  devotion  to  the  Union  and  to  the 
principles  of  the  old  whig  part}',  of  which  his  father  had  been  such 
an  illustrious  leader,  on  the  22nd  day  of  April,  1861,  he  entered  the 
service  of  North  Carolina  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Orange  guards, 
which  became  a  company  of  the  Twenty-seventh  North  Carolina 
regiment,  and  the  next  year  was  promoted  to  be  captain  of  Com- 
pany D  of  the  Fifty-sixth  regiment,  afterward  assigned  to  Ransom's 
brigade;  and  in  September,  1863,  was  again  promoted,  being  made  a 
major  of  that  regiment.  He  served  with  great  acceptability  and  was 
attentive  to  every  duty,  caring  for  his  men  with  assiduity  and  sharing 
in  every  hardship  they  were  called  on  to  endure  in  a  manner  alto- 
gether admirable.  Brave  to  a  fault  and  unflinching  in  the  execution 
of  his  duties,  he  won  the  confidence  of  all  who  had  intercourse  with 
him,  while  he  displayed  a  heroism  and  self-denying  spirit  that  be- 
token those  high  qualities  that  adorn  his  character.  Particularly  was 
he  highly  complimented  for  unusual  gallantry  at  the  battle  of 
Plymouth.  He  escaped  all  the  vicisitudes  of  war,  however,  until  he 
was  seriously  wounded  in  the  trenches  around  Petersburg,  and  again 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  155 

on  the  25th  of  March,  1S65,  when  in  command  of  the  left  of  the  line 
in  the  attack  on  Hare's  Hill  he  was  dangerously  wounded  in  both 
things,  and  was  on  the  evacuation  of  Petersburg  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  Federal  forces.  It  was  late  in  the  summer  before  he  reached 
home. ,  As  soon  as  his  strength  was  somewhat  restored  he  again 
opened  his  law  office  at  Hillsborough  and,  being  chosen  as  solicitor  of 
Orange  county,  served  as  such  during  the  years  1S66  and  1S67  and 
part  of  1 868. 

In  1S67  Major  Graham  was  elected  by  the  democrats  of  Orange 
county,  to  represent  them  in  the  constitutional  convention  of  1868, 
being  one  of  the  few  democrats  in  that  body.  He  then  entered  upon 
that  career  as  a  public  man  which  has  won  for  him  the  unqualified 
respect,  esteem  and  admiration  of  the  thinking  people  of  the  state. 
He  opposed  the  radical  changes  then  proposed  in  our  organic  law 
with  a  persistence  and  an  address  that  riveted  public  attention  upon 
him.  He  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  of  1S6S-69,  and  though  there 
were  but  a  half  a  dozen  democrats  in  that  assembly,  he  never  ceased 
to  oppose  improper  legislation  and  to  strive  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  people.  He  it  was  w'ho  drew  the  important  bill  repealing  the  taxes 
imposed  in  the  special  tax  acts  and  declaring  the  special  tax  bonds 
invalid,  and  directing  them  to  be  returned  to  the  state  treasury.  To- 
gether with  Jarvis,  Plato  Durham,  and  a  few  other  democratic  mem- 
bers, and  with  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  better  element  of  the 
republicans,  he  pushed  the  repealing  legislation  to  a  successful  ter- 
mination, and  gained  a  great  triumph  for  the  people  in  that  corrupt 
legislature.  He  was  again  elected  to  the  legislature  —  that  of  1870-72, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  members,  and  he  was  largely 
instrumental  in  shaping  the  beneficial  and  remedial  measures  of  that 
period.  In  1S72  he  was  nominated  by  the  democrats  for  state  treas- 
urer, but  the  ticket  failed  to  be  elected  by  a  small  adverse  vote.  He 
was  in  the  senate  of  1876-77,  following  the  adoption  of  the  amendments 
to  the  constitution,  when  he  augmented  his  reputation  as  one  of  the 
most  efficient  and  useful  public  men  in  the  state.  Familiar  with  every 
detail  of  the  state  government,  and  a  most  laborious  and  industrious 
member,  a  thorough  lawyer  and  a  practical  man  of  business,  he  took 
rank  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  that  body,  and  exercised  a  great  influ- 
ence on  the  legislation  of  that  session.  In  1886  he  was  chairman  of 
the  state  board  of  commissioners,  to  revise  the  system  of  collecting 
taxes  and  to  equalize  the  valuation  of  property,  and  his  report  is  a 
valuable  state  paper.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  was  also  nominated 
for  congress  in  the  Wake  district,  but  was  defeated  owing  to  influ- 
ences for  which  he  was  not  responsible. 

Major  Graham  has  attained  a  commanding  eminence  in  his  pro- 
fession, ranking  with  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the  state.  He  was  long 
in  partnership  with  Judge  Thomas  Ruffin,the  younger,  and  they  were 
employed  in  many  important  cases  in  their  circuit.  He  has  been  trus- 
tee of  the  North  Carolina  R.  R.  and  for  years  administered  a  trust 
amounting  to  many  thousands  of  dollars.  As  a  citizen  he  has  borne 
a  most  exemplary  character,  as  a  public  man   his  record  is  withdut 


156  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

blemish,  and  as  a  party  leader  he  has  been  prudent,  conciliatory  and 
patriotic,  affable,  honest  and  true,  he  has  the  esteem  and  entire  confi- 
dence of  the  people  of  the  state.  In  1867  Maj.  Graham  married  Re- 
becca, daughter  of  the  late  Paul  C.  Cameron,  who  died  in  1883,  leav- 
ing six  children.  He  was  again  married  in  December,  1887,  to  Miss 
M.  F.  Bailey,  of  Tallahassee,  Fla.,  and  one  son  has  blessed  their 
union.  Living  on  the  site  of  the  old  residence  of  his  father,  re- 
building the  former  home  destroyed  by  fire,  he  has  a  small  farm  on 
the  Eno,  adjoining  the  grounds  owned  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Cameron,  and  one 
of  the  most  attractive  spots  in  the  central  part  of  the  state.  Here  he 
delights  to  spend  such  time  as  he  can  command  from  the  circuit  of 
courts   he  attends,  and  to  realize  that  "there  is  no  place  like  home." 

W.  H.  HAYWOOD. 

William  Henry  Haywood,  one  of  North  Carolina's  distinguished 
statesmen,  was  born  in  Wake  county,  N.  C,  in  1801.  He  graduated 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  181Q,  studied  law  and 
opened  a  law  office  at  Raleigh  for  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In 
1S31  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  first  of  the 
house  of  commons  and  then  of  the  senate.  He  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate  in  1843,  holding  a  seat  in  that  body  till  1846. 
He  then  resigned  and  returned  to  his  law  practice  in  Raleigh.  He 
was  a  man  of  firm  and  commanding  talent,  made  an  able  statesman 
and  an  eminent  law  practitioner.  Ill  health,  however,  compelled  him 
early  to  relinquish  active  business,  and  for  several  of  the  latter  years 
of  his  life  he  entirely  abstained  from  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
Mr.  Haywood  died  in  Raleigh,  October  6,  1S52,  in  the  fifty-second 
year  of  his  age. 

HON.  MATTHEW  LOCKE  McCORKLE, 

a  prominent  attorney  and  ex-judge,  at  Newton,  N.  C,  was  born  on 
Mountain  Creek,  Catawba  county  (Lincoln  county  at  that  time),  No- 
vember 7,  1817.  His  father  was  Francis  McCorkle,  son  of  Francis 
McCorkle,  Sr.,  who  fought  gallantly  at  the  battles  of  Ramsoms,  at 
Cowpens,  Kings  Mountain  and  other  places,  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war  for  our  national  independence.  His  mother  was  Elizabeth 
Maria  Abern'athy,  of  Lincoln  count}',  N.  C.  His  great-grandfather 
was  Matthew  McCorkle,  who  came  to  this  country  about  the  year 
1750,  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  with  his  wife,  Bettie,  nee  Given.  His 
paternal  grandmother  was  Elizabeth  Brandon,  daughter  of  Richard 
Brandon,  who  married  Margaret  Locke,  of  Rowan  county,  the  sister 
of  Judge  Frank  Locke,  and  the  niece  of  Matthew  Brandon,  who  rep- 
resented his  district  in  congress  in  1796.  His  maternal  grandmother 
was  Susan  Maria  Abernathy,  and  his  maternal  grandfather  was  John 
D.  Abernathy,  who  came  from  .Scotland  about  1750.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  is,  therefore,  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  He  attended  the 
old  field  schools  at  intervals,  until   1836,  and  acquired  the  rlidiments 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  157 

of  an  English  education  at  Lincolnton,  under  the  instruction  of  Prof. 
John  Dickey.  In  1S38  he  entered  Davidson  college,  and  began  the 
study  of  Latin  grammar.  Owing  to  financial  embarrassment,  he  left 
college  in  his  junior  year,  and  taught  one  year  at  Hicksby  Grove 
academy,  having  a  large  and  flourishing  school.  He  was  invited  by 
the  philanthropic  society,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  to  deliver  to 
them  a  lecture,  with  which  he  complied.  His  old  class  invited  him, 
with  th-e  permission  of  the  faculty,  to  join  them  in  their  graduation, 
which  he  did,  graduating  within  four  years  from  the  time  he  began 
his  Latin  grammar.  This  was  in  1843.  He  studied  law  under  Chief- 
Justice  Pearson,  and  obtained  license  to  practice  in  1S45,  settling  on 
the  newly  laid  site  of  the  county  seat  of  Catawba,  now  the  city  of 
Newton,  in  lune  of  that  year. 

Mr.  McCorkle  obtained  license  to  practice  in  the  superior  court 
in  1S46,  and  in  the  same  year  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  superior 
court  of  Catawba  county, by  Hon.  John  M.  Dick,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  resignation  of  Isaac  Wyckoff,  who  left  the  state.  He 
was  elected  to  fill  this  office  in  1846,  and  held  it  until  1S50.  In  Deceni- 
ber  of  that  year,  Mr.  McCorkle  was  married  to  Miss  J.  M.  A.  Wil- 
fong,  only  living  daughter  of  John  Wilfong  of  Hickory,  N.  C.  They 
were  blessed  with  nine  children,  five  sons  and  four  daughters, 
seven  of  whom  are  now  living.  The  eldest  daughter,  Elizabeth 
Lavina,  died  at  the  age  of  three  years;  the  eldest  son,  Frank  Wilfong 
died  in  Baltimore  while  attending  medical  lectures.  The  eldest  liv- 
ing son,  Henry,  is  in  Texas  following  the  business  of  engineering. 
The  next  son,  George  is  a  practicing  attorney  at  Newton;  the  next, 
John  Macon,  is  a  practicing  physician,  also  in  Newton;  the  youngest 
son,  Charles  Hilton,  is  in  Catawba  college.  The  eldest  daughter, 
Mary  Locke  married  Eugene  Simons;  Anna  Ellen  married  Jerome 
Dowd,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  Lizzie  Alberta  is  still  unmarried.  Mr. 
McCorkle  volunteered  in  the  late  Civil  war,  raised  a  company  of 
which  he  was  elected  captain.  He  served  one  year  in  the  Twenty- 
third  regiment  of  North  Carolina  troops.  His  health  giving  out,  he 
was  compelled  to  resign.  Upon  the  recovery  of  his  health,  Mr.  Mc- 
Corkle was  appointed  colonel  of  the  North  Carolina  reserves.  In 
1864,  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  the  counties  of  Lincoln, 
Catawba  and  Gaston,  and  continued  to  represent  his  district  in  the 
senate  until  the  state  was  thrown  into  a  provisional  government.  He 
was  elected  in  1875  to  the  constitutional  convention. 

The  law  practice  of  Mr-  McCorkle  is  now  in  all  the  courts,  and 
he  has  met  with  unprecedented  success  in  his  practice  before  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  state.  In  August,  1890,  he  was  appointed  by  Gov. 
Daniel  G.  Fowle,  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  the  Eleventh  judicial 
district  of  North  Carolina,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  the  late  Hon. 
William  M.  Ship.  He  rode  the  ninth  judicial  circuit,  and  gave  great 
satisfaction  to  the  bar  and  to  the  people.  His  judgments  taken  to 
the  supreme  court  were  every  one  of  them  affirmed  by  that  tribunal 
and  the  public  press  of  his  district  was  the  medium  of  many  compli- 
mentary notices  in  praise  of  the  ability,  fairness  and   impartiality  of 


158  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

his  judgments  and  rulings  upon  tlie  bencli.  At  the  last  court  he  held 
in  the  county  of  Surry,  the  attorneys  and  court  officers  called  a  meet- 
ing and  passed  some  very  complimentary  resolutions,  laudatory  of  the 
presiding  judge.  His  health  and  intellect  are  in  a  remarkable  state 
of  preservation,  the  fruits  of  a  steady  and  temperate  life. 

MICHAEL   HOKE   JUSTICE 

was  born  in  Rutherford  county,  N.  C,  February  13,  1844.  He  is  the 
son  of  Rev.  T.  B.  and  Harriet  (Bailey)  Justice,  and  is  the  fourth  child 
in  order  of  birth.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
at  the  age  of  ten  entered  the  academy  at  Rutherfordton,  where  he 
remained  for  five  years.  He  then  entered  the  Golden  Grove  semi- 
nary, taught  by  Prof.  Logan.  This  school  he  attended  two  years  when 
he  left  his  studies  to  enter  the  Confederate  army  in  defense  of  his 
southern  horhe.  He  enlisted  in  the  Si.xty-second  regiment  of  North 
Carolina  troops,  taking  the  rank  of  ordnance  officer  of  that  regiment; 
was  soon  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  his  company,  then  was  raised 
to  the  rank  of  adjutant  of  his  regiment,  and  was  finally  elected  as  ord- 
nance officer  of  the  brigade,  serving  in  that  capacity  until  the  war 
closed.  His  regiment  was  paroled  after  the  surrender  of  Lee,  he  sur- 
rendering to  Gen.  John  M.  Palmer,  at  Rutherfordton,  who  at  that  time 
was  stationed  there  under  a  flag  of  truce.  Soon  after  this  Mr.  Justice 
began  studying  law  with  Judge  John  L.  Bailey,  at  Asheville,  N.  C. 
After  two  years'  studj'  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in  January,  1868. 
He  immediately  opened  a  law  office  at  Rutherfordton,  where  he  has 
ever  since  practiced.  His  business  has  constantly'  extended,  reaching 
out  to  all  the  counties  contiguous  to  his  own.  In  politics  he  has 
closely  identified  himself  with  the  democratic  party.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  congressional  executive  committee  of  his  district,  and 
of  the  judicial  executive  committee.  In  the  legislature  of  1S76-7  he 
represented  the  district  composed  of  Rutherford  and  Polk  counties 
in  the  state  senate,  being  the  first  democratic  senator  who  had  repre- 
sented that  district  since  the  close  of  the  war. 

Mr.  Justice  was  the  democratic  presidential  elector  for  his  district 
in  1884.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  having 
filled  the  highest  official  stations  in  that  fraternity.  In  religious  sen- 
timent he  is  a  Baptist,  having  been  closely  identified  with  that  denom- 
ination for  many  years;  he  is  one  of  the  prominent  members  of  the 
Rutherfordton  Hotel  &  Improvement  company,  and  one  of  the  chief 
directors  of  the  Rutherfordton  military  institute.  In  every  progres- 
sive interest  he  takes  a  deep  concern  and  has  given  a  helping  hand 
to  all  the  improvements  of  the  town  and  county  of  his  residence.  In 
the  Citizens'  Building  &  Loan  association  he  is  counsel  and  one  of 
the  directors.  He  drew  the  charter  for  the  Henrietta  Cotton  Mills 
company.  Mr.  Justice  drew  up  the  charter  that  passed  the  legisla- 
ture in  1890,  incorporating  the  Asheville  &  Thermal  Belt  railroad 
company.  On  the  21st  of  March,  1865,  he  was  joined  in  matrimony 
with  Miss  Maggie   L.,  daughter  of  James  M.  and  Martha  Smith,  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  159 

Buncombe  county,  and  they  have  had  six  children,  four  of  whom  are 
still  living.  The  eldest  son,  E.  J.  Justice,  is  a  graduate  of  Wake 
Forest  and  of  G.  N.  Folk's  law  school,  and  a  partner  in  practice  with 
his  father.  B.  A.  Justice,  the  second  son,  is  in  Wake  Forest  college, 
and  Gaston,  the  third  son,  is  in  attendance  at  the  Rutherfordton 
military  institute. 

COL.  J.  A.  FORNEY, 

an  attorney  of  the  city  of  Rutherfordton,  was  born  in  Rutherford 
county,  N.  C.,  in  1849.  He  is  the  son  of  Albert  G.  and  Elizabeth 
(Logan)  Forney,  and  his  grandfather  was  Jacob  Fornej-,  Sr.,  a  Rev- 
olutionary soldier.  Albert  G.  Forney  died,  when  his  son,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  an  infant,  and  as  the  son  grew  up,  he  attended  the 
home  schools,  till  his  widowed  mother  required  his  services  in  look- 
ing after  the  business  left  by  the  father.  He  finally,  however,  found 
opportunit}'  to  attend  the  academy,  and  in  1874,  entered  the  law 
school  of  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  spending  two  years  under  his  instruc- 
tion, at  the  end  of  which  period  he  procured  license  from  the  su- 
preme court  of  this  state  to  practice.  He  at  once  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  his  native  city,  where  he  has  ever  since  remained, 
and  has  built  up  a  successful  and  lucrative  law  business.  Col.  Forney 
is  a  staunch  democrat,  and  has  served  as  chairman  of  the  democratic 
executive  committee,  of  Rutherford  county,  for  the  past  ten  years. 
He  has  been  recognized  as  a  leader  in  his  party,  and  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  all  its  exciting  campaigns,  ever  since  he  arrived  at  his 
majority.  Col.  Forney  is  president  of  the  Rutherfordton  Hotel  Improve- 
ment company,  and  is  classed  among  the  most  public  spirited  citizens, 
taking  a  vital  interest  in  every  enterprise,  that  looks  to  the  public  im- 
provement of  his  native  city.  Col.  Forney  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Mary  Sue  Davis,  daughter  of  Col.  C.  T.  N.  Davis,  who  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  in  defense  of  the  Confederate 
government.  The  mother  of  Mrs.  J.  A.  Forney'  was  originally  Miss 
Mira  McDowell,  who  was  a  granddaughter  of  Joseph  McDowell, 
who  was  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Six  children  have  been  born  to 
Col.  and  Mrs.  Forney,  as  follows:  Champion  Albert,  Lewis  Berguer, 
Joseph  Francis,  McD.,  Mary  Mansfield,  Mira  Elizabeth,  and  J.  A. 
Forney,  Jr. 

GEORGE  S.  BRADSHAW, 

one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Randolph  county,  X.  C,  attorney-at- 
law  and  clerk  of  the  superior  court,  was  born  in  Alamance  county, 
N.  C,  April  5,  1854.  His  parents  are  William  .S.  and  Margaret  E. 
(Stockard)  Bradshaw,  both  native  North  Carolinians.  The  former 
is  a  farmer  of  the  better  class,  and  has  been  very  successful  in  his  oc- 
cupation. He  is  numbered  among  the  respectable,  worthy,  well- 
known  and  highly  esteemed  agriculturists  of  the  county.  lie  was 
captain  in  the  senior  reserves,  and  took  part  with  his  company  in  the 


l6o  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

batle  of  Bentonville,  being  the  last  engagement  of  the  war.  He  has 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  and  with  his  wife  is  a  devout 
and  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  George  S. 
Bradshaw  is  the  third  in  a  family  of  six  children,  four  of  whom  are 
still  living.  He  was  educated  in  Trinity  college,  graduating  there- 
from in  1876.  He  taught  with  good  success  a  year  and  a  half,  then 
took  a  course  in  the  law  school  of  Dick  &  Dillard,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  January,  1879.  To  his  law  practice  Mr.  Bradshaw  has 
added  the  duties  of  editorship,  being  principal  editor  of  the  Ashboro 
Courier  for  six  years.  He  was  president  of  the  state  press  associa- 
tion for  one  year.  In  1880  he  was  elected  to  the  general  assembly  of 
the  state,  serving  therein  a  term  of  two  years  as  the  representative 
of  Randolph  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  and  educa- 
tion committees,  and  was  chairman  of  the  printing  committee  and  on 
the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections. 

Mr.  Bradshaw  was  elected  as  clerk  of  the  superior  court  in 
1882,  and  has  been  re-elected  for  every  succeeding  term  since  by 
constantly  increasing  majorities,  evincing  the  high  esteem  in  which 
he  is  held  as  an  officer  of  the  court,  and  showing  his  popularity 
among  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was  beaten  for  a  nomination  for 
congress  by  the  narrow  majority  of  one  vote  and  a  half,  in  the 
nominating  convention  of  the  Seventh  congressional  district,  in  1S84. 
He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  state  university,  elected  thereto 
by  the  last  legislature,  and  trustee  of  Trinity  college.  He  has  been 
a  director  in  the  High  Point  railroad  company  ever  since  its  or- 
ganization. In  all  progressive  enterprises  and  schemes  for  improve- 
ment, he  takes  a  leading  part.  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  married  in  1881, 
to  Miss  Lou  McCullock,  daughter  of  John  and  Louise  McCullock, 
of  Guilford  county.  The  home  of  this  happy  couple  has  been 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  five  bright  children:  Kate,  Louise,  Samuel, 
John  and  Mary.  Both  parents  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  south.  Mr.  Bradshaw  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  in  which  association  be  is  held,  as  he  is  by  all  his 
fellow  citizens,  in  the  highest  esteem.  The  personal  characteristics 
of  Mr.  Bradshaw  are  great  energy,  quick  preception,  positive  in 
his  opinions,  all  re-enforced  by  an  active  temperament  and  a  saga- 
cious  judgment. 

AUGUSTUS  W.  GRAHAM, 

of  whom  we  will  now  write,  was  born  in  Hillsboro,  N.C.,  June  8,  1849. 
His  preparatory  schooling  was  obtained  at  Mr.  Nash's  school  in 
Hillsboro,  and  later  at  Dr.  Alexander  Wilson's  excellent  academy  in 
Alliance  county.  Entering  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  he  was 
graduated  therefrom  in  1868.  He  then  commenced  the  study  of  law 
with  William  Ruffin  and  Hon.  William  A.  Graham,  his  distinguished 
father,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1872.  Until  1S88  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Hillsboro,  and  then  removed 
to  Oxford  and   became  associated  with   Robert  W.  Winston,  which 


^^  o^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  l6l 

partnership  existed  until  January'  i,  iSgi.  At  the  latter  date  Mr. 
Winston  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  the  Fifth  district. 
Mr.  Graham  was  elected  secretarj'  of  the  board  of  arbitration  created 
by  the  legislatures  of  Virginia  and  Marjdand  in  1S73,  to  settle  the 
boundary  dispute  between  those  states,  and  served  in  that  capacity 
for  three  years.  In  1SS5  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  senate 
from  the  counties  of  Orange,  Durham,  Person  and  Caswell,  and  served 
one  term.  For  two  years,  from  i88g,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Oxford 
city  council.  Mr.  Graham  was  happily  married  in  1S76  to  Miss 
Lucy  A.  Horner,  an  accomplished  lady,  daughter  of  Prof.  James  H. 
Horner.  Two  of  the  four  children  born  to  this  union  now  survive, 
viz.:  Susan  W.  and  Alice  R.  Mr.  Graham  is  a  man  of  much  ability, 
and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  North  Carolina. 

It  is  eminently  proper  that  this,  necessarily  short  sketch,  should  be 
closed  with  a  brief  mention  of  the  immediate  antecedents  of  our  sub- 
ject. His  grandfather,  Joseph  Graham,  was  born  in  Mecklenberg 
county,  N.  C,  in  1757.  x-\t  the  age  of  nineteen  he  raised  a  company, 
of  which  he  was  made  captain,  to  fight  in  the  patriot  army  of  the 
Revolution.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  held  the  rank  of  major.  He 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Charlotte,  Beatties  Ford,  was  present 
at  Pyle's  defeat  in  Alamance  county,  N.  C,  and  was  in  command  of 
the  Continental  cavalry  when  Lord  Cornwallis  was  stationed  in 
Hillsboro.  At  the  battle  of  Charlotte  he  was  grievously  wounded, 
but  fought  until  literally  cut  down.  After  the  war  he  became  high 
sheriff  of  Mecklenberg  county,  and  retained  that  office  for  several 
years,  resigning  it  upon  his  removal  to  Lincoln  county,  where  he  be- 
came the  pioneer  of  the  North  Carolina  iron  industry.  Upon  the 
organization  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  the  distinguished 
gentleman  was  made  a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees,  and  took  an 
active  and  substantial  interest  in  its  development.  During  the  war 
of  181 2,  we  find  him  once  more  in  the  field  as  a  brigadier-general, 
and  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  army  sent  to  suppress  the  in- 
surrection of  the  Creek  Indians  in  1813-14.  For  his  valor  in  the  war 
of  1812,  North  Carolina's  legislature  voted  him  a  handsome  sword, 
appropriately  engraved.  At  this  time  he  retired  to  his  plantation, 
and  conducted  it  in  connection  with  his  iron  business  until  his  demise 
in  1837.  Joseph  Graham  was  the  son  of  James  Graham,  a  native  of 
county  Down,  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  early  in  1700.  While  a 
young  man  he  came  to  America,  settling  in  Chester  county,  Penn. 
He  was  a  planter.  His  father  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  removed  to 
Ireland  during  his  early  manhood.  The  maternal  ancestors  of  Au- 
gustus W.  Graham  were  English.  His  mother  was  a  direct  descend- 
ant of  a  brother  of  George  Washington,  and  her  father  was  a  man  of 
refinement  and  ability. 

WILLIAM  ALEXANDER  GRAHAM, 

senator  and  statesman,  was  born  in   Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  Septem- 
ber 4,  1804.     He  attended  the  common  schools  of  the  county,  and 

B— I  I 


l62  KORTH  CAROLINA. 

afterward  received  a  classical  training  under  Rev.  Dr.  Muchat,  at 
Statesville,  where  it  was  said  of  him  that  he  was  noted  for  his  thirst 
for  knowledge  and  his  aptitude  for  learning.  He  graduated  from  the 
North  Carolina  university  in  1824,  studied  law  with  Judge  Rufhn,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Newbern,  and  opened  a  law  office  at  Hills- 
borough. Here  he  found  for  associates  a  large  number  of  able  law- 
yers, who  had  been  or  were  subsequently  called  to  preside  over  the 
courts  —  such  men  as  Rufifin,  Mangum,  Murphy,  Badger  and  Nash,  a 
brilliant  coterie  of  counselors  and  jurists.  But  it  was  not  long  before 
Mr.  Graham  stood  side  by  side  with  them  in  the  ranks  of  the  profes- 
sion. As  an  equity  lawyer  he  became  highly  distinguished;  still  he 
was  destined  to  shine  in  the  political  field  with  equal  luster  as  at  the 
bar.  Between  the  years  1833  and  1840,  he  held  a  seat  in  the  state 
legislature,  and  was  several  times  elected  speaker  of  the  house.  On 
the  occurrence  of  the  great  political  revolution  of  1840,  he  was  needed 
in  the  national  councils,  and  was  elected  United  States  senator,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Senator  Strange,  who 
yielded  to  the  instructions  of  the  legislature  asking  for  his  resignation. 
Mr.  Graham's  senatorial  term  extended  from  December  10,  1840, 
to  March  3,  1843.  He  was  the  colleague  of  Willie  P.  Mangum,  who 
had  been  elected  under  similar  circumstances  with  himself.  In  this 
position  he  became  the  associate  of  such  distinguished  senators  as 
Clay,  Webster,  Benton,  Buchanan  and  Wright,  and  his  speeches  be- 
fore the  senate  did  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  the  speeches  of  these 
eminent  statesmen.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  his  senatorial  term 
he  was  elected  governor  on  the  whig  ticket  by  an  unprecedented 
majority.  He  was  re-elected  in  1846  by  a  still  greater  majority,  prov- 
ing that  his  administration  had  been  highly  satisfactory  to  the  people 
of  his  state.  He  was  solicited  to  try  a  third  term,  but  declined.  Presi- 
dent Taylor,  in  1S4Q,  offered  Mr.  Graham  the  Spanish  mission,  and 
this  he  also  declined,  but,  in  1850,  accepted  from  President  Fillmore 
a  place  in  his  cabinet,  as  secretary  of  the  navy.  In  the  presidential 
campaign  of  1852,  the  whig  party  nominated  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  for 
president,  and  W'illiam  A.  Graham  for  vice-president,  but  in  this  cam- 
paign the  whigs  were  defeated,  and  this  proved  to  be  the  death-blow 
of  that  great  party. 

While  Mr.  Graham  was  secretary  of  the  navy  he  projected  the 
Japan  expedition  which  was  so  successful!}'  accomplished  by  Commo- 
dore Perry,  and  which  has  opened  not  only  to  this  country  but  to 
every  commercial  nation  on  the  globe,  trade  relations  with  that  here- 
tofore secluded  nation  which  have  proved  of  incalculable  advantage 
to  all.  He  also  projected  another  expedition  to  explore  the  valley  of 
the  Amazon,  in  South  America,  the  results  of  which  were  of  great 
consequence  to  this  country.  In  1854,  Mr.  Graham  was  again  elected 
to  the  state  senate.  W'hen  North  Carolina  seceded  from  the  Union, 
it  found  in  Mr.  Graham  an  ardent  opponent  to  that  measure,  but  when 
the  convention  met,  the  ordinance  was  passed  unanimously.  He  was 
elected  senator  in  the  second  Confederate  congress,  arfcl  held  that 
office  from  the  22d  of  February,  1864,  until  the  close  of  the  war.     He 


2^^   iJ'^^^-^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  163 

was  a  member  of  the  Union  convention  which  met  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1866.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  settle  the  diffi- 
cult boundary  dispute  between  Maryland  and  Virginia.  He  died  at 
Saratoga  Springs,  August  11,  1875.  Mr.  Graham  married  Susan, 
daughter  of  John  Washington,  of  Newbern,  who  bore  him  two  sons, 
Joseph  and  John  Washington,  both  of  whom  were  officers  in  the  Con- 
federate army. 

HON.  BENJAMIN  HICKMAN  BUNN, 

whose  name  is  familiar  to   every  North   Carolinian,  as  the  successful 
lawyer   and   congressman,    first  saw   the  light  on  the   19th  of   Oc- 
tober,   1S44,    in    Xash  county,  N.  C.      He  is    the  son    of    Redman 
and  Mary  Hickman  (Bryan)   Bunn.     His  father  was  for  many  years 
a  merehant  and  agriculturist  of  Nash  county,  where  he  reared  three 
of  the  noblest  sons  of  North  Carolina,  two  of  whom  fell  during  the 
war  and  the  third   is   the  subject  of  this  sketch.     Of  these  brothers 
William  H.  Bunn  was  the  eldest.     Graduating  at   the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  he  studied  law  and  after  being  licensed  opened  his 
office  at  Wilson,  where  he  was  doing  a  leading  practice  when  the  war 
broke  out.     He  entered  the  Confederate  army  and  was  killed  while 
commanding  a  company  of  cavalry  at  Burgess'   Mills,  October  27, 
1S64.     Elias,  the  second  son,  left  the  university  and  entered  the  army 
and   was  adjutant  of   Col.  Sol  Williams'   regiment.  Twelfth   North 
Carolina  troops,  when  he  was  killed  at  Hanover  court  house,  May  27, 
1862.     The  father  of  Mr.  Redman   Bunn  was  also  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  and  largely  engaged  in  agriculture.     He  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six,  leaving  issue  only  Redman.     His  widow  sometime  subse- 
quent married  William  Dortch,  and  bore  him  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren.    Several  of   these   children  have  risen  to   distinction   in   the 
state.     Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  Hon.  William  T.  Dortch, 
who  was  a  Confederate  States  senator.    Another  was  Isaac  F.  Dortch, 
who  became  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  Alabama.     Benjamin 
Bunn,  the  great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  and  the  one  for  whom  he 
was  named,  came  with  his  brother,  Redman,  from  Virginia  and  settled 
in  North  Carolina,  soon  after  the  war   for  American  independence. 
Redman  Bunn  for  many  years  represented  Nash  county  in  the  popu- 
lar branch  of  the  general  assembly,  and  died  leaving  no  descendants. 
This  family  is  of  English  extraction,  the  former   of  the  American 
branch  having  come   from   London,  England,  early  in  the  history  of 
this  country.     There  is  every  reason  for  supposing  that  it  ernanated 
from  the  same  source  as  the   family  now  bearing  that  name  in  Eng- 
land, members  of  which   have  risen  to    fame  and  distinction  in  that 
land.     The  Hon.  William  H.  Bunn,  at  present  the  queen's  counsel,  is 
a  representative  of  this  branch  of  the  family. 

Benjamin  Hickman  Bunn  had  but  just  completed  his  college  pre- 
paratory course  at  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  Rebellion. 
He  gave  up  further  study  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  southern  army, 
and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Thirtieth  North 


164  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Carolina  infantry,  under  Capt.  Arington.  He  began  his  military  ca- 
reer as  an  orderly  sergeant,  and  in  September,  1862,  was  elected 
junior  second  lieutenant  of  Company  A,  Forty-seventh  North  Car- 
olina infantry.  He  was  afterward  promoted  to  second  lieutenant 
and  then  to  first  lieutenant.  Eighteen  months  prior  to  the  close  of 
the  struggle  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Fourth  company  of 
sharpshooters  of  William  McRae's  North  Carolina  brigade,  in  which 
position  he  gained  the  confidence  of  Gen.  McRae,  who  once  remarked 
to  his  assistant  adjutant-general  that  he  could  tell  Bunn's  company 
as  far  as  he  could  see  them  on  the  field  by  their  manners  without 
recognizing  a  single  face.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  was  honored  by 
promotion  while  still  very  young,  as  the  date  of  his  enlistment  was 
July  20,  1861.  Still,  like  mdny  another  southern  lad,  he  commanded 
men,  while  yet  a  boy,  with  wisdom  and  valor.  Lieut.  Bunn  was 
twice  seriously  wounded;  first  in  the  first  day's  fight  at  Gettysburg, 
and  again  on  the  25th  day  of  March,  1865,  before  Petersburg.  He 
took  a  faithful  and  brave  part  in  the  following  battles:  Gettysburg, 
Bristol  Station,  The  Wilderness,  Spotts^'lvania  Court  House,  Gaines' 
Mill,  Reams  Station,  Burgess'  Mill,  and  before  Petersburg,  where  he 
was  wounded  when  the  Federal  troops  made  an  attack  on  the  ex- 
treme right  of  the  Confederate  line.  He  was  conveyed  to  W^inter 
hospital  at  Richmond,  and  remained  there  until  the  Sunday  morning 
that  Richmond  was  evacuated  and  President  Davis  left  the  city, 
which  was  a  few  days  prior  to  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee  at  Appo- 
matox.  Lieut.  Bunn  had  not  at  this  time  sufficiently  recovered  to 
rise  from  his  bed,  but  he  sent  his  negro  servant  to  Petersburg,  where 
his  baggage  had  been  left,  to  see  if  he  could  not  recover  it.  The  boy 
returned  breathless,  and  with  abject  terror  depicted  on  his  face,  ex- 
claiming that  the  city  was  being  evacuated.  This  was  the  first  intelli- 
gence that  Lieut.  Bunn  had  received  in  regard  to  the  situation,  and 
he  immediately  arose  from  his  bed  and  walked  to  Danville,  Va., 
where  he  boarded  a  train  for  home,  arriving  home  on  the  day  of 
Lee's  surrender.  On  the  first  day  of  December,  of  that  year,  Mr. 
Bunn  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  tutelage  of  his  uncle,  Will- 
iam T.  Dortch  and  Judge  George  V.  Storey,  they  residing  at  Golds- 
boro,  N.  C,  and  was  licensed  to  practice  in  the  county  courts  by  the 
supreme  court  of  that  state  on  the  12th  of  June,  1866.  Twelve 
months  later  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in  the  superior  courts,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession at  Rocky  Mount,  N.  C. 

As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Bunn  excels.  He  has  achieved  much  honor, 
and  has  a  widespread  reputation  as  a  successful  jurist.  Keen,  pro- 
gressive and  profound,  he  has  brought  to  the  task  an  indomitable 
will  and  a  mind  thoroughly  prepared  for  his  life  work.  A  worthy 
contemporary  in  speaking  of  him  says:  "  I  know  of  but  few  men  who 
can  more  deeply  probe  the  essential  points  of  the  law.  His  ability  is 
marked,  and  his  honesty  crystal."  Mr.  Bunn  first  entered  the  politi- 
cal arena  as  a  sub-elector  in  the  Seymour-Blair  campaign  in  1868,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  in  1875,  which  framed 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  165 

the  present  constitution  of  North  Carolina.  In  November,  1882,  he 
was  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  and  while  a  member  of  that 
body  was  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  on  the  code,  an  honor  al- 
most without  precedent,  where  a  member  of  the  lower  house  has 
been  chosen  as  chairman  of  a  committee  formed  of  members  of  both 
the  senate  and  house.  This  committee  which  was  composed  of 
twenty-two  lawyers,  formed  the  present  code  of  the  state.  In  1SS4 
he  was  a  democratic  elector  for  the  Fourth  North  Carolina  district, 
on  the  Cleveland  ticket,  and  when  the  electoral  college  met  in 
Raleigh,  Mr.  Bunn  was  chosen  as  the  messenger  to  convey  the  vote 
of  North  Carolina  to  Washington,  which  he  did,  polling  the  vote  for 
Grover  Cleveland.  Prior  to  this,  however,  in  1S80,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  national  convention  which  nominated  Hancock.  In  1886  he 
was  a  candidate  for  nomination  to  congress,  and  led  the  convention 
for  212  ballots,  but  Hon.  John  M.  Graham  received  the  nomination 
on  the  213th  ballot,  and  was  defeated  at  the  polls  by  John  Nichols,  a 
republican,  who  was  elected  by  1,500  majority.  In  1888,  however,  he 
was  nominated  for  this  distinguished  office,  by  acclamation,  and 
elected  by  a  handsome  majority  of  2,600  votes.  His  career  in  the 
Fifty-first  congress  was  vindicated  by  the  people  in  1890,  when  he 
was  returned  to  congress  by  6,500  majority. 

His  speech  on  the  federal  elections  bill  was  probably  the  crowning 
effort  of  Mr.  Bunn's  public  career.  In  it  he  expressed  a  true  south- 
erner's opinion  of  the  north  and  their  leading  ideas  discussed,  being: 
"The  relative  position  of  the  south  toward  the  north  and  the  way  to 
heal  dissensions  existing  between  the  two  sections  growing  out  of  the 
Civil  war,  and  the  effect  of  the  negro  vote  on  the  presidential  elec- 
tions; showing  conclusively  that  the  negroes  have  for  some  years 
held  the  balance  of  power."  This  speech  was  copied  extensively  and 
a  part  of  it  was  incorporated  in  the  democratic  hand-book.  He  has 
made  over  fift}'  reports  from  the  committee  on  claims,  and  is  one  of 
its  most  active  members.  He  was  appointed  a  sub-committee  of  one 
to  prepare  the  report  on  "  a  bill  for  the  relief  of  John  M.  Langston," 
in  which  the  whole  sum  expended  for  expenses  in  every  contested 
election  case  since  the  organization  of  congress  was  fully  set  forth. 
This  is  the  only  document  ever  published  by  congress  in  which  this 
has  been  done.  The  report  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  com- 
mittee on  claims,  thus  supplanting  two  reports  made  by  them  before 
on  the  same  subject  matter. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  187 1,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bunn  formed  a 
happy  marriage  alliance  with  Miss  Harriet  A.  Philips,  a  lady  of  much 
culture  and  refinement.  Mrs.  Bunn  is  the  daughter  of  James  J.  Phil- 
ips, who  for  many  years  figured  as  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of 
North  Carolina.  He  was  the  father  of  a  large  family  of  children, 
among  them  being  the  Hon.  I""red  Philips,  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  that  state,  and  the  Hon.  James  B.  Philips,  who  is  now  serv- 
ing his  second  term  in  the  state  legislature.  During  both  terms  he 
has  been  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  agriculture,  one  of  the 
most  important  and  honorable  positions  in  the  power  of  that  l)ody  to 


1 66  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

bestow.  Seven  children  have  grown  up  in  the  pleasant  home  of  our 
subject.  Miss  Mary  is  at  present  a  student  in  St.  Mary's  college,  at 
Raleigh,  N.  C;  Hattie  A.,  James  P.  and  Bessie  are  also  in  school,  and 
Annie  Lee,  Redman  and  Benjamin  H.,  Jr.,  are  still  in  their  early 
childhood.  The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal church.  Mr.  Bunn  is  a  man  of  large  and  commanding  stature, 
with  a  keen  eye  and  regular  features.  Quick  and  decisive  in  his 
every  movement,  he  at  once  impresses  one  as  a  man  of  action,  one 
born  to  command  men.  He  is  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  lead- 
ing questions  of  the  day,  and  has  evidently  been  a  comprehensive 
and  intelligent  reader,  both  of  men  and  books. 

HON.  DENISON  WORTHINGTON. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  and  politicians  of  North 
Carolina  is  the  Hon.  Denison  Worthington.  Mr.  Worthington  was 
born  in  Hertford  county,  N.  C,  on  the  6th  of  October,  1S43,  the  son 
of  Dr.  Robert  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Herbert)  Worthington,  natives  of 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  Norfolk,  Va.,  respectively.  Robert  H.  Worthing- 
ton was  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  arm}',  and  while  on  duty  at 
Norfolk,  Va.,  met  and  married  Miss  Herbert.  He  afterward  settled 
in  Murfreesborough,  about  the  year  183S,  and  there  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was  surgeon  of  the 
Seventeeth  North  Carolina  regiment,  and  subsequently  was  stationed 
near  Raleigh.  His  death  occurred  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  December, 
1S71.  Dr.  \Vorthington  was  grand  master  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  of  North 
Carolina,  and  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  State 
Medical  society,  was  a  leading  democrat  and  a  devout  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His  wife  died  in  1S82.  Of  the  nine 
children  who  blessed  this  union,  four  are  now  living,  their  names 
being,  Robert  Herbert,  M.  D.,  the  eldest,  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  and  died  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  1S77;  George  W.,  lived 
and  died  at  Norfolk;  he  was  a  most  gifted  poet,  and  his  name  now 
lives  in  many  lines  of  noted  verse;  Herbert  Livingston,  an  attorney 
of  Norfolk;  Daniel  D.  R.,  and  Arthur,  also  of  Norfolk;  two  daughters 
deceased;  and  Denison  Worthington,  the  latter  the  third  child.  He 
was  reared  at  Murfreesborough,  and  his  education  was  obtained  in 
North  Carolina  and  Maryland.  In  1S62  he  joined  the  Eighth  North 
Carolina  regiment  as  a  non-commissioned  officer,  and  in  1863  was 
promoted  and  assigned  to  the  cammand  of  scouts  on  the  peninsula, 
and  was  taken  prisoner  in  1864.  He  was  confined  in  Fortress  Mon- 
roe, and  subsequently  at  Point  Lookout.  Having  obtained  his  re- 
lease, he  remained  with  the  army  until  the  close.  He  then  settled  at 
Norfolk,  Va.,  where  he  read  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1869. 
Subsequently  Mr.  Worthington  removed  to  North  Carolina,  locat- 
ing in  Hertford  county,  where  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession.  In  1880  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  criminal  court 
of  Martin  county,  and  in  1S81  was  elected  to  the  house  of  representa- 
tives of  North  Carolina,  in  which  body  he  was  chairman  of  the  joint 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  l6j 

committee  for  the  appointment  of  magistrates  for  the  state,  and  in 
18S3  was  again  elected  from  Martin  county,  and  was  chosen  speaker 
pro  tcm.  of  the  house,  and  was  also  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
rules,  and  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  appointed  to  re-district 
the  state,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military,  and  also 
a  member  of  the  committee  on  the  judiciary.  In  May,  1885,  he  was 
appointed,  by  the  governor,  solicitor  of  the  Third  judicial  district,  and 
continued  in  that  office  until  January  i,  1891.  Mr.  Worthington  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order,  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  Missionary  Baptist  church.  His  marriage  to  Miss 
Julia  Wheeler,  daughter  of  Col.  S.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Murfreesboro,  N.C., 
was  solemnized  in  November,  i87i,and  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth 
of  two  children,  viz.:  Bessie  and  Samuel  Wheeler.  Mr.  Worthington 
removed  to  Rocky  Mount,  Nash  county,  in  1891,  and  is  now  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  at  that  place.  He  has  won  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion as  a  jurist,  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  superior  mind  and  great 
abilities.  His  public  career  has  never  been  stained  by  any  dishonor- 
able act,  and  in  his  whole  life  he  is  regarded  as  a  man  of  unswerving 
integrity,  and  upright,  Christian  character. 

HON.  WHARTON  J.  GREEN 

is  socially  and  politically  one  of  North  Carolina's  most  distinguished 
citizens,  as  well  as  a  leading  industrial  factor  in  the  business  com- 
munity. He  is  the  son  of  Gen.  Thomas  J.  Green,  of  Mexican  fame, 
was  born  in  Florida,  and  possesses  many  of  those  noble  traits  of 
character  which  were  illustrated  in  the  statesmanship  and  patriotism 
of  his  father.  Col.  Green  received  a  liberal  and  very  thorough  edu- 
cation at  Georgetown  college,  the  University  of  Virginia  and  at  West 
Point.  He  studied  law  at  Cumberland  university,  and,  on  admission 
to  the  bar,  became  the  junior  partner  of  the  Hon.  R.  J.  Walker,  in 
Washington.  When  the  war  broke  out  he  at  once  joined  the  Warren 
guards,  of  the  Twelfth  North  Carolina  regiment,  as  a  private,  but 
was  soon  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  commanding 
the  Second  North  Carolina  battalion.  He  was  wounded  at  Washing- 
ton, N.  C,  by  a  shell;  was  captured  on  Roanoke  Island,  but  later  was 
exchanged,  and  at  Gettysburg  was  again  wounded  and  captured. 
When  peace  was  declared.  Col.  Green  settled  down  to  a  plantation 
life  near  Warrenton,  N.  C,  which  gave  him  ample  time  for  reading, 
a  recreation  to  which  he  has  devoted  himself  with  great  assiduity, 
and  he  enjoys  the  enviable  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  in- 
formed men  of  our  day.  As  a  statesman,  perhaps  there  is  no  man  in 
the  United  States  congress  that  better  represents  his  constituency, 
and  certainly  none  who  is  thought  more  of  by  the  people  of  his  dis- 
trict. He  was  a  delegate  to  the  democratic  national  conventions  in 
1868  and  1876,  and  in  the  former  year  was  presidential  elector.  In 
1882  Col.  Green  was  elected  representative  from  the  Third  congres- 
sional district  of  North  Carolina,  after  a  close  contest,  and  in  1884  was 
re-elected  by  over  4,600  majority.    He  has  shown  himself  fully  worthy 


l6S  NORTH  CAROLINA.  » 

the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  intelligent  people  of  his  district. 
He  has  delivered  many  weighty  and  well  conceived  speeches  before 
the  house,  treating  some  very  important  questions  in  a  manner  show- 
ing he  was  a  thorough  master  of  his  subject. 

Col.  Green  is  generous  in  thought,  liberal  in  word  and  prompt 
in  action.  He  combines  with  an  easy  adaptability  to  circumstances, 
a  pleasing  presence  by  which  he  ingratiates  himself  into  the  good 
will  of  those  who  have  the  privilege  of  an  acquaintance  with  him. 
He  has  devoted  much  attention  to  the  culture  of  the  grape,  and  upon 
that  subject  and  its  kindred,  wine-making,  he  is  an  authority.  He  is 
the  owner  of  the  Tokay  vineyard,  which  was  originally  planted  in 
1840.  He  bought  the  property  in  1879,  since  which  time  it  has  been 
enlarged  and  improved.  New  varieties  of  grapes  have  been  added, 
and  the  owner  has  spared  neither  money  nor  pains  in  procuring  the 
best  known  facilities  for  grape  culture  and  wine  manufacture,  and  to 
place  his  products  on  the  market.  As  a  consequence  the  Tokay  wines 
have  taken  their  place  among  the  standard  brands  in  America,  and 
are  sold  in  every  state  in  the  Union  except  California.  In  the  exhi- 
bition of  fruits,  Col.  Green  has  taken  many  gold  medals  as  testimon- 
ials of  the  excellence  of  his  products.  Tokay  is  situated  three  and 
one-half  miles  from  Fayetteville,  and  the  vineyard  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  single  vineyard  this  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  all  visi- 
tors have  pronounced  it  one  of  the  most  lovely  spots  on  the  conti- 
nent. It  is  situated  on  an  undulating  table  land,  on  Cape  Fear  river; 
the  eye  takes  in  a  semi-circular  horizon  of  twenty  odd  miles  in  radius. 
The  vinfes  cover  over  100  acres,  and  the  grapes  are  of  some  thirty  or 
forty  varieties.  The  vineyard  produces  annually  from  20,000  to  30,000 
gallons  of  wine.  The  stock  on  hand  is  generally  40,000  gallons  ready 
for  shipment,  and  the  proprietor  owns  a  storage  capacity  of  100,000 
gallons. 

JAMES  L.  WEBB, 

one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  Shelby,  was  born  November  12,  1S53, 
at  Webb's  Ford,  Rutherford  county,  N.  C.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of 
Rev.  G.  M.  and  Priscilla  J.  Webb.  His  grandfather,  James  Webb, 
after  whom  he  was  named,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  ministers  of  North 
Carolina,  and  during  his  life  time  held  many  positions  of  honor  and 
trust.  Rev.  G.  M.  Webb  is  still  living  and  has  been  engaged  in  preach- 
ing the  gospel  for  the  jjast  twenty-five  years,  as  it  is  understood  by 
the  Baptist  denomination.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his 
primary  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  county,  and  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years  entered  Shelbj'  academy.  Here  he  remained 
three  or  four  years  and  then  entered  Wake  Forest  college.  At  this 
institution  he  remained  for  two  years  and  a  half,  when  at  the  urgent 
solicitation  of  Hon.  Plato  Durham,  who  was  at  that  time  publishing 
The  Sliclhy  Banner,  and  was  also  making  the  race  for  congress,  he  left 
college  and  associated  himself  with  Mr.  Durham  in  the  management 
of  this  paper.     He  was  engaged  as  editor  for  some  six  months  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1 69 

then  formed  a  copartnership  with  W.C.  Durham,  and  they  purchased 
an  entire  new  outfit  and  conducted  The  Banner  for  about  two  years. 
Mr.  Webb  then  purchased  the  interest  of  his  partner  and  continued 
the  business  alone  for  about  eighteen  months,  at  which  time  he  sold 
out  and  entered  the  law  ofifice  of  Hon.  Plato  Durham,  where  he  re- 
mained one  year.  He  then  entered  the  law  school  of  Chief-Justice 
Pearson,  and  in  June,  1877,  was  examined  before  the  supreme  court 
at  Raleigh,  and  licensed  to  practice  at  the  bar.  Returning  to  Shelby, 
Mr.  Webb  began  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  in  a  year's  time 
formed  a  partnership  with  Capt.  J.  VV.  Gidney.  This  connection  has 
subsisted  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  time  during  which 
Mr.  Webb  was  engaged  in  the  government  service.  This  firm  acted 
as  the  attorneys  for  Cleveland  county  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  Their 
practice  extends  to  the  neighboring  counties  and  before  the  federal 
courts. 

In  1S80,  Mr.  Webb  was  elected  mayor  of  the  cit}',  administering 
that  office  for  one  term  with  great  satisfaction  to  his  constituents,  and 
he  has  also  held  the  office  of  alderman  for  several  terms.  In  1S83 
he  received  the  unanimous  nomination  of  the  democratic  party  of  the 
Thirty-eighth  senatorial  district,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Gaston 
and  Cleveland,  to  make  the  race  for  senator.  His  opponent  was  1.  H. 
McBrayer,  Esq.,  but  Mr.  Webb  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority. He  was  again  nominated  by  his  party  in  1887  and  elected  by 
a  large  majority.  During  this  session  of  the  legislature,  Mr.  Webb 
frequently  acted  as  president  of  the  senate  and  ruled  with  ability  and 
impartiality.  Mr.  Webb  has  been  actively  engaged  in  politics  and  in  the 
presidential  campaign  of  18S0,  made  an  extensive  canvass  of  the  state. 
He  is  chairman  of  the  Cleveland  county  democratic  executive  com- 
mittee, and  has  held  that  office  for  several  years.  During  the  Cleve- 
land administration  he  was  appointed  postoffice  inspector,  with  head- 
quarters at  Lynchburg,  V'a.,  but  owing  to  illness  in  his  family,  he  was 
obliged  to  resign  his  position  some  months  after  his  appointment.  In 
kSSq,  Mr.  Webb  was  prominently  mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  lieu- 
tenant-governor of  the  state,  but  he  would  not  allow  his  name  to  go 
before  the  convention.  He  was  also  offered  the  solicitorship  of  his 
district  in  i8qo.  Though  not  a  candidate  before  the  last  congressional 
convention,  Mr.  \\'el)b  received  the  vote  of  two  counties,  and  he  is 
named  as  a  candidate  in  the  convention  of  i8g2.  He  is  a  Royal  Arch 
Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  In  all  church  work  he 
is  active  and  open-handed,  ready  to  contribute  lilTcrally  of  his  means 
and  energy  for  religious  culture  and  improvement,  and  for  the  chari- 
ties of  the  church.  Mr.  Webb  was  married  in  1878,  to  Miss  K.  L. 
Andrews,  of  Shelby,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  W.  P.  Andrews.  Two 
daughters  and  a  son  have  been  born  into  their  pleasant  home. 

JOHN  ALSTON  ANTHONY, 

one  of  the  prominent  attorneys  and  educators  of  Cleveland  county, 
N.  C,  was  born  in  \'ork   count}-,  S.  C,  October  23,  18.S4.     H<'  '^  'he 


170  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

second  son  of  Stanhope  H.  and  Margaret  Anthony,  and  moved  with 
his  parents  to  Cleveland  county  in  1S6S.  He  received  the  rudiments 
of  his  education  in  the  public  and  private  schools  of  his  native 
county,  and  afterward  attended  the  Kings  Mountain  high  school,  in 
Cleveland  county,  N.  C.  He  then  entered  college  at  Chapel  Hill 
and  attended  that  institution  during  the  sessions  of  1881-S2.  After 
leaving  college  he  accepted  the  principalship  of  the  Grover  high 
school,  in  Cleveland  county,  and  so  successful  and  satisfactory  were 
his  services  in  that  position  that  he  was  retained  for  five  consecutive 
years.  In  18S6  Mr.  Anthony  was  elected  superintendent  of  public 
schools  and  is  yet  filling  that  responsible  and  laborious  position. 
During  the  years  18S7  and  1888  he  read  law  with  Col.  George  N. 
Folk,  and  in  September,  1888,  procured  license  from  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state  to  practice  his  profession.  Since  that  time  he  has 
prosecuted  an  extensive  and  successful  law  practice  from  his  office  in 
Shelby,  N.  C.  Though  holding  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  his  pro- 
fession, Mr.  Anthony  has  not  abandoned  his  law  studies,  but  keeps 
himself  well  posted  in  the  current  decisions  of  the  courts,  and  is  a 
thorough  student  in  elementary  law  as  well  as  in  practice.  While  he 
maintains  a  high  standing  at  the  bar,  the  fine  condition  of  the  schools 
of  the  county  demonstrates  the  excellence  of  his  admirable  superin- 
tendence and  management.  No  better  test  of  his  efficienc}'  is  needed 
than  is  shown  by  the  advanced  standing,  as  well  in  methods  as  in 
scholarship,  of  the  schools  which  come  under  his  superintending  care. 
Mr.  Anthony's  paternal  grandfather  was  Jacob  Anthony,  and  his 
paternal  grandmother  was  Elizabeth  Bean,  both  natives  of  North 
Carolina.  His  maternal  grandfather  was  John  Graham,  whose  father 
was  Maj.  Arthur  Graham,  a  major  in  the  I^evolutionar}'  war;  he  came 
from  Ireland  to  this  country  about  the  year  1760.  The  maternal 
grandmother  of  Mr.  Anthony  was  Mary  Carruth,  and  her  father  was 
Col.  John  Carruth,  who  held  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  he  also  came  from  Ireland  about  the  year  1760.  October  15, 
1889,  Mr.  Anthony  was  married  to  Miss  Olive,  daughter  of  Dr.  O.  P. 
Gardner,  of  Shelby,  N.  C.  Mr.  Anthony's  tastes  have  not  led  him  into 
the  arena  of  politics.  He  prefers  pre-eminence  in  his  profession  before 
partisan  advancement,  and  to  contribute  to  the  beneficent  results  to 
be  derived  from  a  superior  common  school  sj'stem.  In  his  religious 
views  he  is  broad  and  liberal  and  is  a  conscientious  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

ALEXANDER  MARTIN. 

Alexander  Martin,  senator,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  about  the 
year  1740.  He  graduated  from  Princeton  college  in  1756,  studied 
law  and  was  admitted  to  practice.  He  removed  to  Virginia,  where  he 
remained  for  a  short  time,  and  then,  in  1772,  took  up  his  residence  in 
Guilford  county,  N.  C,  where  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  colonial 
assembly'.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  first  provincial  congress, 
which  met  at   Newbern,  in  1774,  and  was  chosen  to  the  same  body 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I  71 

in  1775.  In  1776  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Second  North 
Carolina  regiment  of  v'olunteers  in  the  Continental  service.  He 
joined  Gen.  Washington's  forces  and  he  was  engaged,  with  his  regi- 
ment, in  the  battles  of  Brandj'wine  and  Germantown.  At  the  close 
of  the  latter  battle  he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial  for  unsoldierly 
conduct  and  dismissed  from  the  service.  But  on  his  return  home,  he 
and  others,  discharged  with  him,  iiiade  themselves  very  useful  in 
quelling  disturbances  and  punishing  the  crimes  of  the  tories  who  had 
engaged  in  a  course  of  robberies  and  murders  of  the  defenseless 
patriots. 

In  1779  to  17S2  Col.  Martin  held  a  seat  in  the  state  senate,  and 
afterward  was  several  times  re-elected.  During  a  large  part  of  the 
time  of  his  senatorship  he  was  the  presiding  officer.  By  virtue  of 
that  office,  he  was  cx-officio  governor  of  the  state  during  the  time 
Gov.  Burke  was  held  prisoner  by  the  tories.  In  17S2  he  was  elected 
governor,  and  was  again  elected  in  17S9.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  that  framed  the  Federal  constitution.  In  1793  he  was 
elected  United  States  senator  and  served  for  the  full  term  of  six 
years.  In  1793,  Princeton  college  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
doctor  of  laws.  As  trustee  of  North  Carolina  university,  he  rendered 
that  institution  great  service,  and  did  much  to  popularize  education 
throughout  the  state.  In  his  executive  messages,  while  governor,  he 
recommended  a  liberal  support  to  the  university  by  state  appropria- 
tions. He  had  a  taste  for  literature,  imbibed  during  his  collegiate 
course  at  Princeton,  but  was  neither  a  voluminous  nor  a  distinguished 
writer,  and  he  will  be  chiefly  known  to  posterity  for  the  high  official 
position  he  was  called  by  his  fellow  citizens  to  occupy.  He  died  at 
Danbury,  in  1807. 

DAVID  STONE 

was  born  in  Hope,  Bertie  county,  N.  C,  February  17,  1770.  In  his 
youth  he  v/as  schooled  by  the  best  teachers  to  be  found  in  his  vicinity, 
and  he  well  repaid  the  labor  of  instruction,  by  his  diligence  and  apt- 
ness for  study.  When  fitted  at  the  academy,  he  entered  Princeton 
college,  from  which  he  graduated  with  highest  honors  in  1788.  He 
took  up  a  law  course,  under  the  instruction  of  Gen.  William  R.  Davie, 
one  of  the  foremost  attorneys  of  his  time,  and  with  his  quick  mind, 
and  naturall)'  studious  hal)its,  made  rapid  proficiency.  Mr.  Stone 
came  from  the  teachings  of  his  law  preceptor,  solidly  equipped  for  a 
brilliant  and  successful  practice  of  his  profession.  This  thorough 
training,  under  one  of  the  brightest  legal  lights  of  his  time,  added  to 
his  superior  general  education,  gave  him  a  prestige  which  he  did  not 
fail  to  utilize.  His  character  'as  a  private  citizen  was  such  as  to  in- 
spire the  confidence  of  his  clients;  his  abilities  as  a  lawyer  were  of  the 
first  order;  he  was  gentlemanly  and  urbane  in  his  manners,  unselfish 
and  considerate  of  the  rights  of  all  men;  it  was  no  wonder  that  he 
took  a  high  rank  in  his  profession. 

In  1796  when  Mr.  Stone  had  only  attained  his  twenty-sixth  year, 


172  NORTH    CAROLlJsA 

he  was  called  to  the  bench  of  the  superior  courts  of  law  and  equity 
by  the  voice  of  the  legislature.  He  had  previously  held  a  seat  in  the 
house  of  commons,  and  had  there  added  largel}'  to  his  popularity  by 
his  solid  attainments  and  his  gentlemanly  bearing.  His  conduct  upon 
the  bench,  where  he  displaj-ed  qualities  as  a  jurist  of  the  highest  order 
raised  him  still  higher  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow  citizens.  In 
17QQ  he  was  elected  as  a  representative  in  congress,  which  position  he 
held  for  two  years,  and  was  then  elected  a  United  States  senator.  He 
had  nearly  completed  his  term  of  six  years  when,  in  1807,  he  resigned 
to  again  take  the  judgeship  of  the  superior  court  of  his  state.  The 
next  year  he  was  elected  governor,  and  in  that  high  office  exhib- 
ited the  same  exalted  qualities  w-hich  had  distinguished  him  in  the 
other  departments  of  the  government.  In  iSii  ]Mr.  Stone's  presence 
was  again  required  in  the  state  legislature.  It  was  a  crisis  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  body  which  called  for  the  best  statesmanship,  when  ques- 
tions affecting  the  future  political  and  material  interests  of  the  state 
were  to  be  decided.  Gov.  Stone's  long  official  experience  in  ail  of 
the  departments  of  the  state  government,  and  in  the  legislative  de- 
partment of  the  general  government,  eminently  fitted  him  to  take 
part  and  lead  off  in  the  legislative  proceedings  in  such  a  juncture. 

Though  he  did  not  accomplish  the  results  he  had  undertaken,  on 
account  of  a  strong  opposition,  yet,  that  he  still  retained  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  his  fellow  members,  was  demonstrated  by  the 
fact  that  they  again  elected  him  to  the  United  States  senate,  for  the 
full  term  of  six  years.  This  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1812, 
against  Great  Britain,  and  the  voice  of  North  Carolina  was  almost 
unanimous  for  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  that  war.  President  Mad- 
ison needed  to  have -his  hands  strengthened  by  wise  counsel.  It  was 
believed  that  Gov.  Stone  was  the  man  for  such  a  purpose.  It  turned 
out,  however,  that  Gov.  Stone  differed  from  the  legislature,  and  with 
his  colleague  in  the  senate,  on  some  grave  questions.  He  voted 
against  the  embargo  act,  which  had  passed  the  house,  and  was  de- 
feated in  the  senate  by  two  majority.  For  this  the  legislature  passed 
a  resolution  of  censure,  and  Gov.  Stone  resigned,  and  this  was  the 
close  of  his  brilliant  official  career.  He  died  in  1818,  too  prema- 
turely in  years,  but  ripe  in  conspicuous  and  useful  service  to  his  state. 

THEODORUS  H.  COBB 

was  born  August  20,  1854,  at  Lincolnton,  N.  C.,  and  is  now  residing  in 
Asheville  where  he  practices  law  with  great  effectiveness  and  success. 
His  father  was  Bartlett  Yancey  Cobb,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Barbara  Milinda  Henderson.  Both  parents  were  natives  of 
North  Carolina,  and  both  were  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction.  Bartlett 
Y.  Cobb  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  early  in  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  and  gave  his  life  to  the  cause,  d^'ing  in  the  service  June  17, 
1862.  In  the  fall  of  the  next  year  the  widowed  mother  removed  to 
Lincolnton,  the  home  of  her  parents.  Theodorus  H.  Cobb,  during 
the  year  1872,  engaged  in  school  teaching  in  the  neighboring  county 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1/3 

Gaston,  having  been  well  trained  for  such  occupation  in  the  schools 
of  Lincoln  and  Caswell  counties.  He  was  acting  register  of  deeds 
for  Lincoln  county  in  1S73-4.  He  studied  law,  first  under  John  D. 
Shaw,  of  Lincoln  county,  then,  during  1875,  at  the  law  school  of  Hon. 
R.  M.  Pearson,  at  Richmond  Hill,  Yadkin  county.  In  January,  1876, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  immediately  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  company  with  John  D.  Shjvv,  his  former  preceptor- 
Their  field  of  practice  was  Lincoln  and  adjoining  counties,  and  the 
partnership  continued  until  1S79,  when  Mr.  Shaw  removed  to  Rich- 
mond county.  Mr.  Cobb  then  practiced  alone  until  iSSi,  when  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  Judge  D.  Schenck,  the  firm  continuing 
for  about  fifteen  months,  when  Mr.  Schenck  removed  to  Greensboro. 
Mr.  Cobb,  again  left  alone,  practiced  till  1S86,  when  he  removed  to 
Asheville  where  he  opened  an  office  and  practiced  alone  until  1887,  at 
which  time  he  went  into  partnership  with  J.  G.  Merrimon,  and  this 
connection  still  exists.  The  Carolina  Central  railroad  company  has 
retained  Mr.  Cobb  for  general  counsel  for  several  years,  and  he  still 
holds  that  position;  he  is  also  city  attorney  for  Asheville,  and  has 
been  since  Maj',  1SS9,  having  been  re-elected  in  May,  1891.  His  legal 
attainments  are  of  a  high  order,  and  he  is  a  wise  counselor  and  a 
most  effective  advocate  at  the  bar.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  refined 
culture,  of  courteous  manners  and  a  genial  temperament,  and  is  a 
general  favorite  in  society  circles.  His  law  practice  is  continually 
increasing  and  there  is  a  propitious  future  before  him.  In  De- 
cember, 1879,  Mr.  Cobb  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen  V.,  daughter 
of  V.  O.,  and  Jane  D.  Johnson,  of  Charlotte.  Their  family  circle 
has  been  broadened  and  brightened  by  the  advent  of  three  chil- 
dren:    Ellen    B.,  Bartlett  J.,  and  Vivian  J. 


HON.  WILLIAM  HENRY  MALONE, 

a  prominent  lawyer  and  leading  author,  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  was  born 
in  Wythe  county,  Va.,  July  24,  1832.  He  is  the  son  of  Theophilus 
Malone,  a  Virginian,  and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  who  removed  to 
Tennessee  prior  to  the  Civil  war  and  died  there  about  1878.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Martha  Ilolden,  a  native  of  Wake 
county,  N.  C,  who  survived  her  husband  only  about  one  year.  She 
was  a  sister  of  Benjamin  Holden  and  Richard  Holden,  wealthy  plant- 
ers, the  former  of  whom  died  in  Wake  county  in  early  manhood.  The 
latter  removed  to  a  point  near  Iluntsville,  Ala.,  where  he  accumu- 
lated a  large  estate,  having,  Ijcfore  the  Civil  war,  300  slaves  and  prop- 
erty altogether  worth  more  than  a  million  dollars.  His  descendants 
now  reside  in  Iluntsville,  Ala.  Hon.  William  II.  Malone  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Tennessee  when  a  small  child,  and  he  was 
reared  to  manhood  on  a  farm.  He  received  a  thorough  early  edu- 
cation, and  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty-two  taught 
school  as  a  temporary  pursuit.  While  thus  employed  he  devoted  his 
leisure  time  to  the  study  of  law,  and  at  the   close  of  his  last  term  of 


174  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

school,  entered  the  law  office  of  Montgomery  Thornburg,  of  New- 
market, Tenn.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S54,  and  at  once  be- 
gan the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  devoted  himself  to  his  law 
practice  in  eastern  Tennessee  until  1862,  being  the  partner  during  a 
portion  of  the  time  of  Hon.  John  Baxter,  late  judge  of  the  United 
States  circuit  court.  In  i860  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Harris,  of 
Tennessee,  attorney-general  of  the  Second  judicial  district  of  Ten- 
nessee, which *he  held  until  the  authority  passed  under  Federal  con- 
trol. In  1861  Mr.  Malone  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention 
in  Tennessee,  which  was  to  consider  the  advisability  of  seceding  from 
the  union.  In  i860  he  was  a  Douglas  elector  in  the  Knoxville,  Tenn., 
district;  he  was  a  democrat  but  opposed  to  secession. 

In  1862  Mr.  Malone  entered  the  service  of  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment, and  after  performing  some  military  work,  he  was  assigned  to 
duty  in  the  manufacture  of  salt  at  the  Virginia  salt  works  for  the 
state  of  Tennessee,  under  the  supervision  of  the  governor  of  that 
state,  and  he  continued  in  that  capacity  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
While  thus  employed  his  family  resided  in  Knoxville.  In  1863,  Mr. 
Malone  was  arrested  by  some  Federal  raiders  and  was  taken  to  their 
headquarters  at  Knoxville.  He  was  required  to  give  a  large  bond  to 
report  to  the  provost-marshal  thirty  days  later,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  and  his  family  were  banished  by  the  Federal  authority  and 
compelled  to  remove  to  a  point  within  Confederate  control.  In  view 
of  the  serious  trouble  growing  out  of  the  war  in  Tennessee,  he,  in 
1865,  removed  to  Caldwell  county,  N.  C,  where  he  soon  after  resumed 
the  practice  of  law.  In  1868  Mr.  Malone  was  elected  to  the  lower 
branch  of  the  legislature,  from  Caldwell  count}',  and  served  two 
years.  He  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  discussion  of  all  important 
matters  which  came  before  that  legislative  body  and  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  judiciary  committee.  He  was  one  of  the  few  mem- 
bers of  that  legislature  who  voted  against  the  adoption  of  the  fif- 
teenth amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  He 
opposed  it  by  a  strong  speech,  which  made  a  perceptible  impression 
upon  the  assembly.  It  was  during  this  same  session  that  the  Ku  Klux 
excitement  reached  its  greatest  height  and  a  measure  known  as  the 
Shoffner  bill,  which  authorized  the  governor  of  the  state  to  declare 
certain  counties  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  became  a  law.  Mr.  Malone 
strongly  opposed  the  passage  of  this  bill  and  in  a  speech  he  pre- 
dicted the  disastrous  state  of  affairs  which  its  passage  subsequently 
brought  about  and  denounced  it  as  destructive  of  the  civil  liberties 
of  the  people.  It  was  the  enforcement  of  this  law  that  led  to  the 
subsequent  impeachment  of  the  governor,  VV.  W.  Holden.  While 
the  impeachment  trial  was  in  progress,  the  late  Chief-Justice  W.  N.  H. 
Smith,  of  North  Carolina,  then  one  of  his  counsel,  read  the  speech 
of  Mr.  Malone  referred  to  above  as  the  first  exposition  of  the  in- 
famous character  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  Malone  was  one  of  the  framers  of  the  first  democratic  plat- 
form of  North  Carolina,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  at  a  time  when 
the  different  parties  were  in  a  state  of  chaos.     This   was  in  186S;  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I75 

State  was  then  under  republican  rule,  the  legislature  being  made  up 
largely  of  carpet-baggers  and  negroes.  At  the  close  of  his  legisla- 
tive term,  Mr.  >\Ialone  retired  from  politics,  declining  to  be  a  candi- 
date for  re-election.  He  shortly  afterward  removed  to  Asheville,  in 
which  place  he  has  since  been  a  leading  citizen  and  a  prominent 
member  of  the  bar.  In  1886  he  was  an  independent  candidate  for 
congress,  making  his  fight  on  the  following  issues:  He  advocated  the 
free  coinage  of  silver  and  opposed  the  contraction  of  the  currency 
and  national  banks.  He  also  advocated  a  protective  tariff  and  op- 
posed the  evils  of  the  caucus  system  in  vogue  in  the  national  bouse 
of  representatives.  Though  he  was  defeated  by  the  regular  demo- 
cratic nominee,  Thomas  D.  Johnston,  he  received  a  very  flattering 
vote,  and  carried  his  home  county  by  a  handsome  majorit3\  Mr. 
Malone  has  avoided  politics  for  the  most  part  to  devote  his  atten- 
tion to  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  won  a  high  place,  having  a 
wide  and  well  established  reputation  as  a  successful  and  able  advo- 
cate in  both  the  civil  and  criminal  branches  of  the  law.  Throughout  a 
long  professional  career,  he  has  maintained  a  most  honorable  stand- 
ing, and  no  blot  or  act  of  impropriety  can  be  found  upon  his  record. 
He  is  widely  known  as  a  lawyer  who  gives  close  and  careful  attention 
to  every  case  entrusted  to  his  care,  and  as  an  attorney  who  is  con- 
scientious in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 

Mr.  Malone  has  not  only  reached  a  high  place  in  the  legal  circles 
as  a  successful  practitioner,  but  he  has  also  made  for  himself  a  last- 
ing name  as  the  author  of  legal  works.  He  published  a  work  entitled, 
"A  Treatise  on  Real  Property  Trials"  and  another  called  "Criminal 
Briefs,"  the  former  of  which  was  issued  in  1SS3  and  the  latter  in  1886. 
Both  have  had  extensive  circulation,  and  the  supremecourt  of  North 
Carolina  has  recently  paid  the  former  work  a  very  high  tribute,  and 
it  is  frequently  quoted  from  by  that  august  body  and  also  by  the 
courts  of  the  different  states.  In  politics  Mr.  Malone  is  thoroughly 
independent,  and  is  an  ardent  protectionist  and  a  warm  admirer  of 
James  G.  Blaine,  a  very  strong  resemblance  to  which  distinguished 
statesman  he  bears.  This  latter  is  so  great  that  it  is  a  very  common 
thing  for  him  to  be  reminded  of  it.  Mr.  Malone  is  a  Master  Mason, 
and  is  the  local  attorney  for  the  Richmond  &  Danville  railroad.  He 
is  also  attorney  for  the  Cranberry  Iron  <S:  Coal  comjjany,  the  Roan 
Mountain  Steel  &  Iron  company,  besides  several  land  corporations. 
Mr.  Malone  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Col.  Warham  Easley,  of  Grainger  county,  Tenn.,  whom 
he  married  in  1S52.  She  died  in  1S64,  leaving  three  sons,  two  of 
whom  are  deceased,  and  one  daughter.  In  1866  he  married  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Murray,  of  Asheville,  a  sister  of  Col.  John  S.  McElroy,  of 
that  city. 

HON.  WILLIAM   W.  JONES, 

a  prominent  lawyer  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Gr-anville  county, 
N.  C,  July  9,  1841.     He  is  the  son  of  Col.  IVotheus  E.  A.  Jones,  a 


176  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

f 

native  also  of  Granville  county  born  in  1S12,  and  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation who  served  as  a  colonel  of  the  state  militia.     He  died  in 

1871.  He  was  the  son  of  William  Jones,  a  native  of  Mecklenberg 
county,  Va.,  and  a  farmer  by  pursuit  who  accompanied  his  father 
from  Virginia  to  North  Carolina,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Paternally,  the  genealogy  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of 
Welsh  extraction,  his  great-grandfather  being  one  of  three  brothers 
who  came  to  America  from  Wales.  The  mother  of  Hon.  William  W. 
Jones  was  Mary  F.  Hawkins,  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  and  the 
daughter  of  Hon.  John  D.  Hawkins,  also  a  native  of  Franklin  county, 
and  a  prominent  citizen  who  represented  his  district  in  both  branches 
of  the  state  legislature.  He  was  a  lawyer  by  profession  and  one  of  the 
influential  members  of  the  bar.  He  was  the  son  of  Col.  Philemon  B. 
Hawkins,  a  native  of  North  Carolina  and  an  agriculturist.  Mr.  Haw- 
kins, Sr.,  was  a  captain  in  the  Continental  army  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  He  had  two  brothers  in  the  colonial  army,  one  being 
Col.  Benjamin  Hawkins,  a  commissioned  colonel  under  Washington 
and  the  other  being  William  Hawkins  who  subsequently  served  as 
governor  0/  North  Carolina.  The  maternal  ancestry  dates  back  to 
the  time  of  Sir  William  Hawkins  of  the  British  navy.  "The  maternal 
grandmother  of  Mr.  Jones  was  a  Scotch  lady.     His  mother  died  in 

1872.  Hon.  William  W.  Jones  was  reared  to  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  in  Henderson,  Granville  county.  In  1857  he  entered  the  North 
Carolina  university  from  which  he  graduated  in  1862.  Immediately 
after  completing  his  collegiate  course,  he  entered  the  Confederate 
service  in  Company  G,  Third  North  Carolina  regiment  commanded 
by  Col.  Baker  who  was  succeeded  by  Col.  Moore.  Mr.  Jones  served 
in  Gen.  Barringer's  brigade  of  cavalry  and  was  with  the  command  as 
a  private  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  served  his  country  patrioti- 
cally for  three  years. 

Meanwhile,  during  his  collegiate  course,  Mr.  Jones  having  deter- 
mined to  fit  himself  for  the  legal  profession,  was  a  member  of  the  law 
class,  and  in  1866,  resumed  the  study  of  law  under  Judge  William  H. 
Battle,  one  of  the  supreme  judges  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1867,  and  in  1868,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
superior  court  of  the  state  and  the  United  States  supreme  court.  He 
at  once  located  at  Henderson,  N.  C,  and  began  the  practice  of  the 
law.  In  1869  he  located  in  Raleigh,  and  some  years  later,  in  1885,  he 
became  a  resident  of  Asheville,  the  climate  there  being  more  congen- 
ial to  his  health.  Mr.  Jones  is  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  prominent 
lawyers  in  the  state.  He  is  a  democrat,  but  has  persistently  esche\ved 
political  preferment  throughout  his  whole  career,  with  the  exception 
of  one  term  in  the  senate  from  1883  till  1885.  He  has  often  been 
solicited  to  accept  other  positions  of  honor  and  profit.  The  hrm  of 
Jones  &  Shuford  are  the  attorneys  for  the  National  bank  at  Ashe- 
ville. The  marriage  of  Mr.  Jones  occurred  in  1871,  at  which  time 
Miss  Bettie  E.,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  E.  Johnson,  a  prominent 
physician  of  North  Carolina,  became  his  wife.  They  have  five  chil- 
dren living,  one  son  and  four  daughters. 


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NORTH  CAROLINA.  177 


CAPT.  MELVIN  EDMUNDSON  CARTER. 

Capt.  Meivin   E.  Carter  is  descended  from  the  Virginia   family  of 
the  same  name;  his  ancestors  came  to  North  CaroHna  at  th<'  close  of 
the  Revolutionary  war,  in  which  they  had  taken  an  honorable  part. 
One  of  his  great-grandfathers  served  under  Washington,  and  was  in 
twenty-six    regular  battles.      Mr.  Carter  was  born  in   what  is  now 
Madison  county,  on  the  27th  day  of  February,  1S43.     He  was  edu- 
cated at   Col.   Stephen  Lee's  classical  and  mathematical  school,  near 
Asheville,  and  at  the  university,  under  Gov.  Swain.     He  studied  law 
under  the  late  Judge  Bailey,  and    was  licensed  to  practice  in  the 
county  courts  in   January.    1867,  and  in  the  supreme  courts  in    1869. 
He  has  continued  actively  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  at  Ashe- 
ville since  obtaining  his  license.     Mr.  Carter  has  always  been  a  dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  but  has  never  aspired  to  political  honors.     Under 
protest,  he  allowed  his  friends  to  elect  him  to  the  legislature  on  four 
different  occasions.     He  was  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives 
in  1876,  187S,    18S0  and   188S.     He  held   the  position  of  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  elections,  chairman  of  the  house  branch  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  sale  of  the  western  North  Carolina  railroad,  and  at  his 
last  session,  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  judiciary.     It  would  be 
impossible  in  the   short  space  allowed  us,  to  mention   in   detail,  the 
many  important  matters  of  legislation,  with  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  identihed  during  his  legislative  career.     A  zealous  friend 
of  education,  he  always  urged  the  most  liberal  appropriations  for  the 
education  of  both  the  white  and  colored  children  of  the  state.     Mr. 
Carter  always  stood  by  the  state's  charitable  institutions,  voting  for 
liberal  allowances,  to   maintain  the  unfortunates  of  both  races.     He 
feels  an  especial  pride  in  the  part  he  bore,  in  the  settlement  of  the 
state  debt.     But  his  friends  have  probably  regarded  his  effcjrts  in  be- 
half of  the  completion  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad,  as  the 
most  important  work  of  his  official  life. 

Mr.  Carter  served  as  captain  of  Company  A,  of  the  .Sixty-fourth 
North  Carolina  regiment  in  the  late  war.  His  regiment  was  captured 
at  Cumberland  Gap,  in  1863,  and  remained  in  prison  until  the  war 
closed.  He,  however,  escaped  with  a  few  men  when  his  command 
was  captured,  and,  proceeding  to  Jonesboro,  Tenn.,  after  many  days 
of  dodging,  stopped  for  a  little  rest  in  the  court-house.  During  the 
first  night,  however,  an  Ohio  regiment  of  infantry  ran  up  on  a  train 
from  Knoxville,  and,  reaching  Jonesboro,  a  company  was  detached 
to  surround  and  capture  the  small  squad  of  sleepers  in  the  court- 
house. Aroused  too  late  to  escape,  the  company  of  twenty  soldiers 
had  time,  nevertheless,  to  fire  a  volley  into  the  enemy,  and  in  the 
confusion  that  followed,  Mr.  Carter  and  two  of  his  men  escaped.  The 
Ohio  regiment  proceeded  on  its  way  in  the  direction  of  southwc^stern 
Virginia,  and  ^tr.  Carter  and  his  men  followed  on  foot.  Reaching  a 
favorable  spot  they  removed  a  rail,  so  that  the  return  train  would 
miss  the  track.  Sure  enough,  when  the  train  was  speeding  along,  the 
B — 12 


178  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

next  day,  on  its  return  trip,  the  engine  was  thrown  from  the  track, 
and,  to  cut  an  interesting  story  short,  the  regiment  was  overtaken  by 
the  Confederate  forces,  and  captured  at  Limestone,  Tenn.,  a  few 
miles  below  Jonesboro.  Mr.  Carter  received  the  personal  thanks  of 
the  commanding  general  for  the  valuable  service  he  had  rendered. 
Mr.  Carter  raised  another  company,  and,  while  in  service  under  Gen. 
John  C.  Breckinridge  in  Tennessee,  was  captured  and  sent  north  by 
way  of  Nashville,  Louisville  and  Johnson's  Island.  While  in  Jersey 
City,  awaiting  a  train  to  carry  him,  with  other  prisoners,  to  Fort 
Delaware,  he  again  escaped,  and,  finding  his  way  to  Washington, 
gathered  valuable  information  for  his  cause,  which  he  succeeded  in 
carrying  through  Grant's  lines  to  Richmond,  receiving  the  thanks  of 
Gen.  Breckinridge,  then  serving  as  secretary  of  war.  Mr.  Carter  was 
married  in  1S77,  to  .Susie  R.  Rawls,  of  Union,  S.  C,  and  an  interesting 
family  of  six  children  is  the  result. 

HON.  HEZEKIAH  A.  GUDGER, 

a  distinguished  citizen  of  Asheville,  N.  C.,  and  an  eminent  attorney 
and  statesman,  was  born  May  27,  1849,  in  Madison  county,  N.  C.  He 
is  the  son  of  Jackson  J.  and  Sarah  Emeline  (Barnard)  Gudger,  both 
native  North  Carolinians.  The  father  was  a  first  class  business  man, 
active  and  energetic,  yet  careful  and  prudent.  He  devoted  his  at- 
tention largely  to  real  estate,  and  was  very  successful  in  his  opera- 
tions. He  held  the  offices  of  clerk  of  the  superior  court  and  chair- 
man of  the  county  court  of  Madison  county  for  many  years  up  to 
1S68.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  began  his  educational  course  at  the 
Weaverville  high  school,  which  he  attended  for  two  years.  He  then 
entered  upon  the  study  of  law  at  Asheville,  under  the  guidance  of 
Judge  J.  L.  Bailey,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  187 1.  Be- 
ginning the  practice  of  his  profession  the  same  year,  Mr.  Gudger 
opened  an  office  in  his  native  county.  His  aptitude  for  public  busi- 
ness was  soon  discovered,  and,  in  1872,  he  was  elected  to  the  popular 
branch  of  the  state  legislature  as  the  representative  of  Madison 
county.  The  county  was  strongly  republican  up  to  that  time,  but  Mr. 
Gudger's  personal  popularity  carried  him  through  upon  the  demo- 
cratic ticket,  and  his  legislative  career  justihed  the  choice  of  the  peo- 
ple. He  was  re-elected  at  the  next  trial  by  an  increased  majority, 
and  in  1876,  was  chosen  for  a  third  term.  He  was  not  there  in  the 
interest  of  a  party,  but  was  the  capable,  efficient  and  watchful  repre- 
sentative of  the  interests  of  the  district  which  had  entrusted  him  with 
those  interests.  Besides  his  legislative  capacity,  Mr.  Gudger  was  well 
qualified  to  work  in  the  educational  field,  and  in  February,  1877,  was 
elected  principal  of  the  state  institute  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  located 
at  Raleigh.  His  fitness  for  this  position  was  illustrated  by  his  reten- 
tion in  it  for  six  years. 

At  the  close  of  the  term,  in  1S84,  Mr.  Gudger  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Asheville,  in  partnership  with  H.  B.  Carter, 
Esq.     But  the  state  still  had  need  of  his  services,  and  at  the  election 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  179 

in  1S84,  he  was  chosen  to  represent  his  district  in  the  senate.  Al- 
ready thoroughly  experienced  in  legislation,  he  made  himself  efficient 
in  the  upper  branch  not  only  by  his  championship  of  the  material 
concerns  of  the  state,  but  stood  as  the  fast  friend  of  the  free  school 
system,  upon  which  through  the  education  of  the  masses,  the  per- 
petuation of  a  free  government  must  ever  rest.  The  ideal  republic 
can  never  be  realized  but  b}'  the  education  and  social  elevation  of 
the  constituent  voter.  In  a  representative  government  the  masses 
must  be  intelligent  to  reach  the  desired  results  and  these  principles 
were  uppermost  in  Mr.  Gudger's  political  creed.  With  such  senti- 
ments it  was  fitting  that  he  should  be  appointed  a  trustee  of  the  state 
university,  a  preferment  accorded  him  by  the  legislature  and  which 
he  still  holds.  At  the  convention  of  the  instructors  for  the  blind, 
held  in  Janesville.  Wis.,  in  iSSo,  Mr.  Gudger  was  a  delegate,  and  so 
thoroughly  identified  was  he  in  the  general  t)bjects  of  the  convention 
that  he  was  unanimously  chosen  as  its  president,  though  he  was  the 
youngest  member  of  that  convention.  This  was  the  most  flattering 
recognition  of  his  fitness  for  such  a  trust  and  of  his  ability  in  the 
educational  field.  As  an  effective  public  speaker  Mr.  Gudger  has 
demonstrated  his  ability  in  several  political  campaigns  in  which  he 
has  canvassed  the  state  for  the  democratic  ticket.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  a  Knights  Templar,  and  was  chosen 
deputy  grand  master  of  the  state.  In  January,  iSgi,  he  was  elected 
grand  master  of  the  Grand  lodge  of  North  Carolina.  He  is  also  a 
member  in  good  standing  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Besides  these  secret 
associations,  Mr.  Gudger  is  and  has  for  some  time  been  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  he  has  on 
two  occasions  represented  the  denomination  as  a  delegate  to  its  an- 
nual and  general  conferences.  Mr.  Gudger  was  married  in  August, 
1876,  to  Miss  Jennie  H.,  daughter  of  B.J.  and  Sarah  E.  (Baird)  Smith, 
of  Asheville,  and  they  have  five  children:  Francis  A.,  Ada  L., 
Hiram  A.,  Mary  and  Emma. 

GEORGE  A.  SHUFORD. 

Biography  has  wider  and  more  useful  service  than  in  ministering 
to  the  vanity  of  its  subject  or  the  pride  of  its  friends;  something  more 
noble  even  than  the  record  of  distinction  in  whatever  field  of  work  it 
has  been  achieved.  Its  true  mission  is  to  seize  upon  such  points  of 
character  and  career  as  may  be  presented  for  imitation,  emulation  or 
encouragement;  and  even  the  humblest  of  men  in  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  duty,  faithful  application  of  the  means  opportunity  presents 
to  their  use,  perseverance  under  opposition,  fortitude  under  adversity, 
courage  under  trial,  integrity  under  temptation,  may  illustrate  more 
usefully  and  splendidly  those  characteristics  of  humanity  which  ennol)le 
and  adorn  it,  than  those  more  dazzling  and  striking  examples  which 
mankind  is  more  apt  and  ready  to  take  up  as  its  idols  and  exemplars. 
What  is  worth  following,  worth  imitating,  worth  worshiping,  is  not 
universally  found   in  that  higher  sphere  of  action  to  which  ambition 


l8o  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

chiefly  directs  its  aim.  Without  question  the  pages  of  history  are 
adorned  with  names  so  indeHblj'  inscribed  with  deeds  of  almost 
super-human  achievement  that  they  can  never  lose  their  hold,  so  long 
as  history  and  society  last  and  hold  together  upon  human  admiration 
and  as  spurs  to  human  imitation.  But  rare  are  those  characters 
which  sustain  the  scrutiny  of  analysis,  and  emerge  from  it  free  from 
the  taint  of  counterbalancing  vices  and  infirmities.  It  is  rather  in 
the  more  modest  walks  of  life,  in  that  intermediate  stage  of  action, 
where  the  actor  is  playing  his  part  for  the  present,  not  like  Napoleon, 
for  the  "  eternity  of  time  "  and  the  admiration  of  posterity,  but  with 
reference  to  present  good  and  contemporary  influence,  that  the 
most  useful  and  practical  exemplars  for  the  young,  and  the  most  en- 
couraging examples  for  the  struggling  must  be  sought.  In  a  few 
brief,  strong  words,  the  Latin  poet  presents  the  real  ideal  of  the  man 
who  is  to  make  the  proper  impress  upon  the  present,  without  con- 
cerning himself  with  the  thought  of  a  remote  temporal  future:  "J^/s- 
tutn  ac  tcnacon  propositi  vinim :"  a  man  just  in  his  dealings  with  his 
fellow  man,  a  man  fixed  in  his  principles  and  tenacious  in  adherence 
to  them,  a  man  so  just  that  he  cannot  be  dishonest,  and  so  brave  and 
sincere  that  he  cannot  be  corrupt;  and  when  to  this  lofty  heathen 
idea!  is  superadded  those  graces  that  Christian  doctrine  so  gen- 
erally imparts,  the  daily  walks  of  life  will  provide  abundant  illus- 
tration of  useful  and  admirable  character  and  career  without  seeking 
for  such  in  the  lofty  and  resplendent  sphere  of  world  renowned  pub- 
lic fame  and  service. 

In  such  daily  walk  we  find  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  George  A. 
Shuford,  living  illustration  of  what  virtues  and  characteristics  are 
needed  for  the  perfection  of  an  honorable  and  useful  career,  both  in 
its  private  and  public  relation.  He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Bun- 
combe, state  of  North  Carolina,  August  i,  1S55.  His  parentage  was 
such  as  to  give  assurance  of  the  perpetuation  in  unbroken  line  of 
moral  and  mental  features  stamped  upon  the  individuality  of  a  long 
succession  of  generations.  His  father's  family  was  that  of  German 
stock,  now  so  firmly  rooted  in  the  middle  and  western  portions  of 
North  Carolina,  into  which  it  was  transplanted  during  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  after  having  flourished  and  greatly  increased  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  spirit  of  emigration  seized  upon  the  Pennsylvania 
colonists  when  their  numbers  compelled  the  occupation  of  ampler  ter- 
ritory; and,  governed  by  characteristic  sagacity,  the  emigrants  sought 
that  fertile,  beautiful,  and  then  almost  unoccupied  region,  extending 
parallel  with  the  Blue  Ridge  through  Virginia  down  into  South  Car- 
olina, and  including  the  rich  valleys  watered  by  the  head  streams  of 
the  many  rivers  which  pursue  their  devious  courses  to  the  distant 
Atlantic.  In  this  region,  with  German  tenacity,  they  remained  fixed, 
as  if,  in  the  language  of  the  Indian  finding  the  locality  that  filled  all 
his  hopes  and  wishes,  they  had  said,  "  here  we  rest."  For  though 
in  turn  they  have  sent  out  their  surplus  and,  with  their  population, 
invigorated  other  lands,  the  main  body  still  remains  where  it  first 
planted  itself,  unchanged  in  those  characteristics  of  peacefulness,  in- 


NORTH  CAROI.IXA.  l8l 

dustry,  thrift,  integrity  and  fixity  of  purpose,  wiiich   have  always  dis- 
tinguished that  branch  of  the  human  family. 

The  Shuford  family  were  Alsatians,  coming  early  in  colonial  his- 
tory to  Pennsylvania.  From  that  state,  members  of  it  removed  be- 
fore the  war  of  the  Revolution,  to  the  county  of  Lincoln,  into  that 
part  now  known  as  Catawba,  N.  C.  The  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  member  of  a  family  of  seven  brothers, 
all  of  them  noted  for  their  strength  and  stature,  all  of  them  exceed- 
ing six  feet  in  height.  All  were  farmers,  prosperous  and  independent. 
They  were  all  intelligent,  and  their  names  w^ere  synonymous  with 
integrity.  The  early  record  shows  that  they  filled  various  places  of 
honor  and  trust,  the  legacy  of  a  good  and  honored  name  perpetuated 
to  the  present  day  throughout  western  North  Carolina.  The  great- 
grandfather of  George  A.  Shuford  settled  in  Buncombe  county,  in 
that  portion  now  erected  into  the  county  of  Transylvania,  soon  after 
the  close  of  tiie  Revolutionary  war,  engaging  in  stock-raising;  to 
which  the  character  of  the  country  offered  peculiar  inducements. 
He  lived  there  useful  and  honored  until  his  death  at  ?  ripe  old  age. 
He  had  only  one  son,  David  Shuford,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  who,  inheriting  the  characteristics  of  his  ancestors,  was 
noted  for  his  industry,  generosity,  hospitality  and  stern  integrity.  He 
Was  endowed  with  a  strong  natural  intellect,  a  high  sense  of  honor 
and  justice,  and  a  broad  liberality  for  his  fellow  men.  He  was  a 
patriarch  and  arbiter  in  the  primitive  community  in  which  he  lived, 
whose  advice  was  often  sought  for  and  whose  judgment  in  matters  of 
controversy  among  his  neighbors  was  usually  final.  He  raised  a  large 
and  honorable  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  George  Shuford,  the 
eldest  son  of  David  Shuford,  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  In  his  earlier  years  he  engaged  largely  in  the  mechanic  arts, 
in  which  he.  became  skillful  and  successful;  but  his  later  years  were 
given  to  the  labors  and  pleasures  of  the  farm,  carefully  avoiding  the 
cares  of  public  life,  passing  away  in  a  good  old  age,  leaving  behind 
him  the  memorj'  of  a  useful,  honest  and  respected  name.  He  was  twice 
married.  His  first  wife  was  Louisa  M.  Beachem,  a  native  of  Green- 
ville, S.  C.  She  was  of  an  English  family  which  had  for  several  gen- 
erations lived  in  South  Carolina.  By  the  first  marriage  there  were 
five  sons  and  one  daughter.  On  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Shu- 
ford married  again,  and  the  issue  of  the  second  marriage  was  one 
daughter. 

George  A.  Shuford  was  the  fourth  son  at  the  time  previously  men- 
tioned, llis  early  years,  passed  like  those  of  most  country  boys,  leave 
no  especial  mark  for  the  note  of  the  biographer.  I  lis  first  step  in  the 
march  of  life  was  into  the  Sand  Hill  academy  in  Buncombe  county, 
near  which  his  father  then  resided,  and  afterward  he  was  placed  at 
Davidson's  River  academy  in  the  present  county  of  Transylvania. 
His  teacher  there  was  Mr.  A.  D.  Farmer,  regarded  as  a  well  qualified, 
but  somewliat  eccentric  i^edagogue.  He  entered  successively  the 
academies  at  Brevard,  unclcr  Dr.  McNeil  Turner,  and  the  l-'ranklin 
high  school,  under  Mr.  Daniel  M.  Jones,  and  attaching  himself  to  that 


lS2  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

gentleman  when  he  removed  to  Waynesville.  He  employed  a  por- 
tion of  his  time  from  1874  to  iS76in  teaching;  he  then  entered  Emorj'- 
and  Henry  college,  Virginia,  and  there  completed  a  special  course  of 
study.  During  the  fall  of  1877  he  taught  school,  and  meanwhile  pur- 
sued a  course  of  study  preparatory  to  engaging  in  the  study  of  the 
law  which  he  had  chosen  as  his  profession.  Thus,  after  long  years  of 
patient  preparation  and  looking  forward,  he  took  the  decisive  step 
toward  the  attainment  of  those  honors,  and  it  maj'  be  added,  those 
emoluments  which  reward  the  pursuit  of  the  law,  of  all  professions 
the  one  most  sure  to  bring  into  prominence  the  noblest  character  of 
the  man,  the  real  qualifications  of  the  student;  illustrating  the  one  by 
illustrating  the  virtues  of  integrity  and  fidelity  to  responsibilities  as- 
sumed, and  confirming  public  confidence  by  the  possession  of  those 
acquirements  of  legal  learning  and  enlarged  general  information 
without  the  possession  of  which  the  lawyer  is  imperfectly  equipped 
either  for  the  attainment  of  honors  or  for  professional  reputation. 

Mr.  Shuford  began  the  study  of  law  in  Waynesville,  N.  C,  under 
the  instructions  of  the  Hon.  J.  C.  L.  Gudger  and  Mr.  Garland  S.  Fer- 
guson; the  first  to  become  subsequently  an  honored  judge  of  the 
Twelfth  judicial  district;  the  other  for  eight  years  the  able  solicitor, 
for  the  same  district.  He  soon  afterward  entered  the  law  school  at 
Greensboro,  N.  C.,  conducted  by  the  Hon.  Robert  P.  Dick,  judge  of 
the  United  States  district  court,  and  the  Hon.  John  H.  Dillard,  then 
associate-justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina.  A  school 
under  instructors  of  such  eminence  assured  the  solidity  of  the  ac- 
quirements of  its  cicvcs:  and,  accordingly,  after  a  highly  satisfactory 
and  honorable  examination  before  the  supreme  court  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Mr.  Shuford  was  admitted  in  January,  1S79,  to  practice  in  all  the 
courts  of  the  state,  and  at  once  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Waynesville,  alone  at  first,  but  soon  after  associating  him- 
self with  Mr.  Alden  H.  Howell,  an  experienced  practitioner  of  that 
town.  At  the  end  of  two  years  this  partnership  was  dissolved,  Mr. 
Shuford  removing  to  Asheville,  and  entering  into  partnership  with 
the  Hon.  Thomas  D.  Johnston,  which  association  was  continued  until 
Mr.  Johnston  was  elected  to  the  national  congress  as  a  member  of 
the  house  of  representatives.  After  practicing  alone  for  two  years, 
Mr.  Shuford  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  W.  W.  Jones,  which 
connection  still  exists.  A  firm  unsurpassed  in  Asheville  for  its  hold 
upon  public  confidence,  gained  through  the  professional  learning  of 
its  members,  their  lofty  personal  character,  their  interest  in  their 
clients,  their  inflexible  regard  to  duty.  In  these  gentlemen  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law  is  illustrated  with  its  traditional  lustre  and  elevated 
to  the  dignity  through  which  it  should  always  exact  popular  reverence. 

In  1884  'Mr.  Shuford  was  elected  presiding  justice  of  the  inferior 
court  of  Buncombe  county,  the  court  was  given  limited  criminal  juris- 
diction, not  embracing  capital  offenses,  yet  the  cognizance  of  the 
lower  grades  of  crime  gave  ample  field  for  the  display  of  learning, 
and  also  for  the  exercise  of  firmness,  impartiality,  and  also  mercy 
when  wise  consideration  for  the  public  interest  justified  it.     All  these 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  l8, 


3 


qualifications  were  so  strongly  and  happily  blended  in  the  judicial 
character  of  Judge  Shuford,  that,  during  the  term  of  the  four  years 
during  which  he  served  he  daily  added  to  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  the  people  while  he  inspired  a  wholesome  fear  in  the  minds  of 
of  offenders;  and  then  returned  to  duties  of  his  private  pursuits 
crowned  with  the  reward  accorded  to  the  good  and  faithful  officer. 
With  this  exception  Mr.  Shuford  has  never  aspired  to  office.  He  is  a 
politician  to  the  extent  expected  from  every  good  citizen,  a  man  alive 
to  the  public  interests,  feeling  sensibly  the  need  of  entrusting  their 
conduct  to  good  and  able  men,  jealous  of  the  public  liberties,  sensi- 
tive to  the  public  honor,  zealously  hostile  to  whomsoever  or  whatso- 
ever may  attempt  to  abridge  the  one  or  tarnish  the  other.  To  this 
extent  he  is  a  politician,  and  a  trusted  and  watchful  member  of  the 
democratic  party,  to  which  he  belongs,  and  as  testimony  to  his  un- 
flinching fidelity  to  his  party  principles,  and  the  wisdom  and  value  of 
his  counsels,  he  has  ably  served  as  the  chairman  of  the  county  demo- 
cratic executive  committe,  and  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
judicial  district  in  which  he  resides.  But  he  has  steadily  suppressed 
all  aspirations  for  the  political  honors  which,  with  his  consent,  would 
be  so  readily  accorded  to  him.  As  a  member  of  the  state  democratic 
convention  of  North  Carolina  of  i8SS,  he  served  on  the  committee 
on  platform  and  resolutions,  and,  as  one  of  a  sub-committee  of  two, 
he,  with  his  associate,  drafted  the  platform  which  was  adopted  by  the 
convention,  on  which  the  democratic  party  waged  its  campaign,  and 
under  which  a  splendid  victory  was  won  for  democracy.  In  private 
life  he  is  of  exceptionally  amiable  disposition,  sprightly  in  conversa- 
tion, intelligent,  and  read  in  the  best  literature  of  the  day,  a  sincere 
and  active  Christian,  a  worthy  member  of  the  Methodist  church.  As 
a  citizen  he  is  public-spirited  and  liberal,  and  participates  and  often 
leads  in  those  intelligent  measures  having  as  their  object  the  im- 
provement and  advancement  of  the  fine  section  of  which  he  is  a 
native.  In  his  professional  career  he  has  already  attained  a  name 
and  eminence  honorable  to  his  character,  and  his  efforts  and  achieve- 
ments gained  in  a  comparatively  brief  professional  life.  To  few  men 
does  the  pathway  of  the  future  open  a  fairer  or  more  prosperous 
career. 

W.  R.  DAVIE. 

William  Richardson  Davie  was  born  in  Egremont,  England, 
June  20,  1756.  In  his  youth  he  was  brouglit  to  this  country  by  his 
father,  Archibald  Davie,  in  1763,  and  was  adopted  by  his  maternal 
uncle.  Rev.  William  Richardson.  He  began  school  at  Charlotte,  N.  C, 
entered  Princeton  college  and  graduated  from  that  institution  in  the 
fall  of  1776.  Before  his  graduation  he  had  joined  a  party  of  students 
as  volunteers  in  the  northern  army.  The  campaign  closing  early  in 
the  fall,  he  retvu-ned  to  college,  where  he  graduated  with  highest 
honors.  He  then  returned  to  North  Carolina  and  began  the  study  of 
law  at  Salisbury,  at  the  same  time  aiding  to  raise  a  company  of  cav- 


184  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

airy  to  join  the  American  forces.  He  was  commissioned  lieutenant 
by  Gov.  Caswell,  April  5,  1799.  He  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the 
command  of  the  company,  joined  Pulaski's  legion  and  soon  took  the 
rank  of  major.  At  the  battle  of  Stono  he  was  in  command  of  the 
right  wing  of  Lincoln's  army,  and  was  severely  wounded  during  the 
tight.  He  was  with  Gen.  Greene  through  the  southern  campaign, 
fought  at  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House,  Hoblark's  Mill  and  at 
the  evacuation  of  Camden. 

Having  served  his  country  gallantly'  and  made  a  most  brilliant 
military  record,  Mr.  Davie  returned  to  his  law  studies  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Salisbury  in  September,  1779.  His  career  as  a 
lawyer  was  equally  brilliant  and  successful  with  his  accomplishments 
as  a  soldier,  and  he  immediatel}'  placed  himself  in  the  foremost  rank 
of  his  profession.  His  eloquence  and  effectiveness  at  the  bar  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  the  public  and  his  services  were  in  demand  from 
every  part  of  the  state,  his  practice  extending  to  all  the  courts. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  which  met  in 
Philadelphia  in  May,  1787,  but  was  obliged  to  leave  for  his  home  be- 
fore the  deliberations  of  that  body  were  completed,  and  for  that 
reason  did  not  sign  the  constitution.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  con- 
vention at  Hillsboro,  called  to  consider  the  Federal  constitution,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  able  advocates  in  favor  of  its  adoption  by  the 
state.  Between  the  years  of  17S5  and  179S,  he  was  six  times  elected 
to  the  North  Carolina  house  of  commons.  In  the  legislature  he 
drew  the  act  for  the  organization  of  the  North  Carolina  university, 
and  was  foremost  in  providing  for  the  erection  of  its  buildings,  estab- 
lishing its  professorships  and  arranging  its  curriculum  of  studies. 
Judge  Murphey, one  of  his  junior  contemporaries,  who  was  an  attend- 
ant of  the  house  of  commons  when  Gen.  Davie  was  advocating  the 
claims  of  the  university  said  of  him:  "  I  was  present  in  the  house  of 
commons  when  Davie  addressed  the  house  for  a  loan  of  money  for 
the  university,  and  although  thirty  years  have  elapsed,  I  have  a  most 
vivid  recollection  of  the  greatness  of  his  manner  and  the  power  of 
his  eloquence.  In  the  house  of  commons  he  had  no  rival.  His  elo- 
quence was  irresistible. " 

In  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  disputes  between  the  Carolinas, 
Mr.  Davie  acted  at  three  several  times  as  commissioner  on  the  part 
of  North  Carolina.  He  was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the 
United  States  army  in  1798,  and  was  the  author  of  a  treatise  on 
cavalry  tactics.  He  had  previously  been  appointed  major-general  of 
the  North  Carolina  militia.  In  December,  1799,  he  was  elected  gover- 
nor of  the  state,  but  before  he  had  finished  his  full  term,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Adams  upon  a  special  embass}'  to  Prance,  in 
company  with  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  Chief-Justice  William  \'.  IVIurray. 
In  1802  he  was  appointed  by  President  Jefferson  an  Indian  commissioner 
to  treat  with  the  Tuscaroras.  In  1803  he  was  a  candidate  for  congress 
against  Hon.  Willis  Alston  by  whom  he  was  defeated.  Shortly  after 
this  he  retired  to  a  farm  on  the  Catawba  river,  in  South  Carolina 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.     He  was  offered  a  com- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1 85 

mission  as  major-general  of  the  United  States  army,  in  1813,  but  de- 
clined on  account  of  increasing  age,  and  impaired  health.  He  died 
in  Camden,  S.  C,  November  8,  1820,  leav'ing  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  mother's  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Jones,  daughter 
of  Allan  Jones. 

GABRIEL   HOLMES 

was  born  in  Sampson  county,  N.  C,  in  1769.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  branches  at  the  public  schools  and  studied  the  classics  under 
the  instruction  of  Rev.  Dr.  McCorkle,  of  Iredell  county.  He  gradu- 
ated from  Harvard  university  and  afterward  studied  law  with  Judge" 
Taylor,  chief-justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina.  When 
he  was  only  t\vent3'-four  j^ears  of  age  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legis- 
lature where  his  services  were  such  that  he  was  repeatedly  re-elected, 
holding  the  office  for  about  twenty  years.  He  then  retired  for  a  while 
to  private  life,  but  in  1821  the  legislature  of  the  state  elected  him 
governor  of  the  state.  In  1824  he  was  elected  by  his  congressional  dis- 
trict to  a  seat  in  the  national  house  of  representatives,  and  two  years 
afterward  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office.  He  died  September  26, 
1829,  before  his  last  congressional  term  had  e.xpired,  and  a  tablet  in 
the  congressional  cemetery  perpetuates  the  date  of  his  decease,  and 
the  principal  events  of  his  life. 

Mr.  Holmes  was  not  only  a  finished  and  profound  scholar,  but  he 
was  the  possessor  of  personal  characteristics  which  gained  for  him 
the  highest  respect  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  was  associated. 
He  was  affable  in  his  deportment,  kind  and  sympathetic  in  his  dispo- 
sition, and  by  his  attainments  and  culture,  was  htted  to  move  in  the 
highest  circles  of  society,  where  he  was  ever  welcome.  His  death 
was  an  irreparable  loss  to  his  family,  and  not  less  so  to  the  state 
which  had  honored  him  with  the  highest  office  in  its  gift.  He  served 
the  state  faithfully,  honestly  and  effectively,  and  shed  lustre  upon  the 
official  trusts  which  had  been  reposed  in  him. 

COL.   ALLEN    TURNER    DAVIDSON, 

an  old  and  honored  citizen  and  retiretl  lawyer  of  i\sheville,  N.  C, 
was  born  in  Haywood  county,  N.  C,  on  Jonathan  Creek,  May  9,  1819. 
He  was  the  son  of  William  Mitchell  Davidson,  a  native  of  Burke 
county,  N.  C,  born  in  1781,  and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  who  died  in 
May,  1846.  The  latter  was  a  son  of  William  Davidson,  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  and  the  cousin  of  Gen.  William  Davidson,  who  fell 
at  the  battle  of  Cowan's  Ford  during  the  struggle  for  independence. 
The  father  of  William  Davidson  was  John  I^avidson,  and  the  father 
of  (km.  William  Davidson  was  George  Davitlson.  John  and  George 
Davidson,  brothers,  came  to  America  from  Europe.  The  mother  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Betsy  \'ance,  a  native  of  Burke  county, 
and  the  daughter  of  Capt  David  Vance,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  She 
was  also  the  aunt  of  United  States  Senator  Vance  of  this  state.     Her 


I  86  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

birth  occurred  in  1787,  and  she  died  April  15,  1861.  Capt.  David 
\'ance  was  a  native  of  V'irginia  and  a  farmer  by  occupation.  The 
Vance  family  are  descended  from  the  family  of  De  Vaux,  of  Nor- 
mandy, France.  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
Haywood  county,  N.  C,  and  received  an  academic  education.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  he  found  employment  in  a  store  owned  by  his  father  in 
Waynesville.  In  1S42  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  INIiss  Elizabeth 
A.  Howell,  an  educated  Christian  lady  who  greatly  assisted  him  in 
his  profession  and  life  work.  About  the  time  of  his  marriage,  or  im- 
mediately after,  Mr.  Davidson  took  up  the  study  of  law,  and  while  a 
student  in  1S43  ^^'^s  appointed  clerk  and  master  inequitj'of  Haywood 
county.  His  legal  preceptor  was  Michael  Francis.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  January  i,  1845,  retiring  from  the  above  mentioned  ofhce 
in  the  spring  of  1S46.  He  removed  to  Murphy,  Cherokee  county, 
where  he  at  once  actively  entered  upon  the  practive  of  law.  There 
he  resided  until  1863,  devoting  his  whole  attention  to  his  professional 
labors.  He  threw  his  whole  soul  into  his  work,  and  became  one  of 
the  leading  lawyers  of  that  section.  During  twelve  years  of  his  resi- 
dence there,  Mr.  Davidson  served  as  solicitor  of  Cherokee  county. 
In  April,  i860,  the  Miners  &  Planters'  bank  was  organized  at  Murphy, 
and  he  was  chosen  president.  In  1861  he  was  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  secession  convention. 

Meantime,  in  his  youth,  Col.  Davidson  had  served  as  a  member 
of  the  state  militia  and  was  a  commissioned  colonel  before  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  secession  convention,  above  referred 
to,  after  passing  the  ordinance  of  secession,  chose  him  as  one  of  the 
North  Carolina  delegates  to  the  provisional  government  at  Richmond. 
He  served  out  the  provisional  term,  and  in  1862,  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Confederate  congress,  the  permanent  government  having 
meanwhile  been  established.  He  served  until  the  spring  of  1864,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1865,  located  in  Macon  county,  N.  C,  at  Franklin,  and 
in  the  spring  of  i86g  he  moved  to  Asheville.  In  1864-5  ^^  served  as 
a  member  of  the  council  of  Gov.  Vance,  and  in  the  same  year  acted  as 
agent  of  the  commissionary  department  of  the  state,  it  being  his  dut}' 
to  distribute  provisions  to  the  widows  and  families  of  Confederate 
soldiers  in  western  North  Carolina.  After  locating  in  Asheville,  Col. 
Davidson  devoted  his  whole  attention  to  his  law  practice  until  1885, 
when  he  retired.  His  active  career  covered  a  period  of  forty  years, 
during  which  he  was  one  of  North  Carolina's  most  influential  men. 
As  a  lawyer.  Col.  Davidson  stood  at  the  head  of  his  profession  in 
western  North  Carolina.  Though  a  very  successful  lawyer  in  gen- 
eral, he  excelled  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  He  defended  fifty-seven  cases 
for  murder  and  in  not  a  single  case  was  his  client  executed.  He  is 
president  of  the  Asheville  bar  association  and  politicall}'  is  a  demo- 
crat. Col.  Davidson  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south,  and  a  Royal  Arch  Mason.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  First 
National  bank,  of  Beaumont,  Tex.,  and  also  of  the  North  Georgia 
railroad.  Three  sons  and  three  daughters  are  the  living  children  of 
Col.  Davidson,  one  of  the   former,  Hon.  T.  F.  Davidson,  being  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  1^7 

present  attorney-general  of  North  Carolina.  Wilbur  S.  Davidson  is 
cashier  of  the  National  bank,  of  Beamont,  Tex.  Robert  Vance  Dav- 
idson is  a  lawyer  in  Galveston,  Tex. 

JOHN  W.  ELLIS. 

John  Willis  Ellis  was  a  native  of  Rowan  county,  N.  C;  born  No- 
vember 25,  1820.  He  was  the  son  of  Anderson  Ellis.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  under  private  tutors,  and  he  graduated  from  the  North 
Carolina  university  in  1S41.  He  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge 
Pearson,  afterwards  chief-justice  of  the  state,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1S42.  He  began  practice  in  Salisbury,  where  he  very  soon 
gained  a  large  clientage  and  carried  on  a  prosperous  business.  In 
1S44  he  w-as  chosen  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives,  to  rep- 
resent Rowan  county.  His  politics  were  not  in  accordance  with  a 
majority  of  his  constituents,  but  they  elected  him,  nevertheless,  from 
higher  considerations  than  those  of  partisanship,  and  in  his  course  in 
the  legislature,  he  fully  justified  the  wisdom  of  their  choice,  evidenced 
by  several  re-elections.  He  was  a  true,  candid  and  philanthropic 
legislator,  dealing  what  he  conceived  to  be  justice  to  all  parties.  He 
directed  his  attention  largely,  while  a  member,  to  the  internal  im- 
provement of  the  state,  being  the  friend  of  the  railroad  projects  and 
of  state  educational  and  charitable  institutions. 

In  1848  Mr.  Ellis  was  elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina superior  court,  being  among  the  youngest  men  ever  elevated  to 
the  bench,  yet  he  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best.  His  decisions  gener- 
ally met  the  public  approbation,  as  well  as  that  of  the  higher  courts. 
He  was  patient,  dignified  and  impartial  in  his  rulings.  He  was  elected 
governor  of  the  state  in  1858,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  over  one 
of  the  most  popular  opponents  his  party  could  select.  He  was  re- 
elected by  a  large  majority  on  the  eve  of  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
war.  When  that  catastrophe  happened  he  was  called  upon  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  to  furnish  troops  for  the  Union  cause,  which  he  promptly 
refused,  and  on  behalf  of  the  state  government  he  took  possession  of 
Fort  Macon,  the  public  works  at  Wilmington,  and  the  arsenal  at 
Fayetteville.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1861,  he  ordered  the  seizure  of 
the  United  States  mint  at  Charlotte.  When  the  ordinance  of  seces- 
sion was  under  discussion.  Gov.  Ellis,  was  one  of  its  most  ardent  and 
active  supporters.  But  the  cares  of  state  proved  too  much  for  his  al- 
ready impaired  constitution,  and  he  died  in  July,  1861,  at  White  Sul- 
phur Springs,  whither  he  had  gone  in  the  hope  of  recuperation.  His 
death  at  this  juncture  was  a  severe  loss  to  the  state,  and  a  mournful 
event  to  a  large  circle  of  personal  friends  and  admirers. 

HUTCHINS  G.  BURTON 

was  a  native  of  Granville  county,  N.  C.  He  studied  law  and  settled 
in  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  county.  In  1810  he  was  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  and  by  that  body  was  appointed  attorney-general  of 


1 88  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  state.  Afterward  he  removed  to  HaHfax  county,  and  in  1817  was 
chosen  to  represent  that  county  in  the  state  legislature,  serving  two 
years.  In  1819  he  was  elected  to  congress  from  the  Halifax  district 
and  was  re-elected  in  1821.  He  was  elected  governor  of  the  state  in 
1824.  In  1826  he  was  nominated  by  President  John  Ouincy  Adams, 
as  governor  of  the  territory  of  Arkansas,  but  the  senate  failed  to 
confirm  the  nomination.  He  married  Sally,  daughter  of  Willie  and 
Mary  Montford  Jones,  and  granddaughter  of  Robin  Jones.  He  died 
in  Iredell  county,  in  1836.  Gov.  Burton  was  a  man  of  genial  and 
social  disposition,  of  polite  manners  and  of  correct  deportment.  He 
was  a  universal  favorite  in  society,  to  which  he  imparted  grace  and 
ornament. 

HON.  CLEMENT  DOWD 

was  born  in  Moore  county,  N.  C,  August  27,  1832.  His  father  was 
Willis  D.  Dowd,  and  the  maiden  name  of  his  mother,  Ann  Maria 
Gaines.  They  were  both  natives  of  South  Carolina,  the  father  of 
Irish  and  the  mother  of  Scotch  descent.  Willis  D.  Dowd  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  lower  branch  of  the  state  legislature.  Thereafter 
he  served  several  times  in  both  branches.  He  was  the  son  of  Cor- 
nelius Dowd,  also  a  farmer  and  a  native  of  Moore  county.  For 
twenty-five  years  he  was  clerk  of  the  county  court  in  his  native 
county.  His  father  was  Conner  Dowd,  who  came  from  Ireland  at  an 
early  day  and  settled  in  Moore  county,  where  he  lived  and  died, 
spending  his  days  in  the  farming  industry.  Clement  Dowd  was 
reared  upon  the  homestead  farm,  where  he  learned  the  lessons  of  in- 
dustry and  perseverance.  Here  he  worked  till  seventeen  years  of 
age,  in  the  meantime  attending  the  old  field  schools  and  obtaining  a 
fair  English  education.  He  then  began  teaching  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  county.  This  was  the  stepping  stone  to  higher  and  more  im- 
portant stations  in  life,  and  by  means  of  the  income  secured  from 
teaching,  Mr.  Dowd  was  enabled  to  incur  the  further  expense  of  at- 
tending the  academies  in  his  neighborhood.  By  these  helps  in  1852 
he  gained  admission  to  the  university  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1856.  For  two  years  thereafter  he  taught  the  Carthage  academy,  in 
which  he  had  formerly  been  a  student.  During  the  two  years  he 
studied'  law,  and  in  January,  1859,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  The 
same  year  he  began  practice  at  Carthage.  In  1857  Mr.  Dowd  was 
married  to  Miss  Lydia  Bruce,  of  Moore  county,  and  they  have  had 
three  sons  and  four  daughters.  In  April,  1861,  he  entered  the  Con- 
federate army,  enlisting  in  Company  H,  of  the  Twenty-sixth  North 
Carolina  state  troops.  This  company  had  been  raised  by  him  and 
others  in  his  county,  and  he  was  made  first  lieutenant.  After  the 
battle  of  Newbern  he  was  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  the  company, 
for  in  this  battle  the  captain  had  been  slain.  He  was  subsequently 
made  first  major,  but  in  1S62,  by  reason  of  failing  health,  he  was  re- 
lieved and  returned  to  his  home. 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


iSq 


In  the  fall  of  iS66,  Major  Dowd  came  to  Charlotte  and  forming  a 
copartnership  in  law  with  Hon.  Z.  B.  Vance,  began  again  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  the  partnership  continuing  for  six  years.  Mr. 
Dowd  was  elected  maj^or  of  Charlotte  and  re-elected,  holding  the 
office  till  1S71,  when  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Merchants  & 
Farmers'  National  bank,  of  Charlotte.  This  position  he  held  until 
1874,  when  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Commercial  National 
bank,  of  Charlotte,  and  remained  there  until  iSSi.  In  the  fall  of  1880 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  congress  from  the  Sixth  district,  by  the 
democratic  party,  receiving  16,401  votes  against  12,366  for  W.  B. 
Myers,  republican.  He  was  re-elected  in  1882  receiving  a  vote  of 
15,549.  In  the  Forty-eighth  session  of  congress.  Major  Dowd  was  one 
of  the  coinage  committee,  and  was  chosen  to  draft  a  bill  for  recoin- 
ing  the  "trade  dollar"  and  converting  it  into  thestandard  or  "  Bland" 
dollar,  providing  also  for  the  removal  of  the  government  tax  on 
State  bank  circulation  which  tax  as  it  then  provided  granted  and  now 
grants  a  monopoly  to  National  banks  which  alone  can  issue  bank  notes. 
The  bill  was  not  enacted  into  a  law.  In  18S5  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Cleveland,  internal  revenue  collector  for  the  Sixth  district, 
and  held  the  office  until  1887  when  it  was  discontinued.  The  office 
came  to  him  unsolicited  and  he  accepted  it  with  reluctance.  He  was 
appointed  in  April,  18SS,  receiver  of  the  State  National  bank  at 
Raleigh,  which  trust  he  accepted,  and  efficiently  executed.  In  his  call- 
ing Alajor  Dowd  has  achieved  a  grand  success  and  amassed  a  hand- 
some fortune,  not  through  speculation  but  as  the  legitimate  reward  of 
an  intelligent  and  assiduous  devotion  to  his  profession  added  to  of- 
fice salaries  unsought  by  him.  But  though  wealthy,  he  is  not  the  man 
to  hoard  his  resources.  He  is  progressive  and  has  invested  his 
means  largely  in  such  enterprises  as  promote  the  welfare  and  pros- 
perity of  the  community  at  large.  Though  not  a  member  of  any 
church  organization  he  is  a  generous  patron  of  religious  as  well  as 
educational  organizations  in  the  promotion  of  each  of  which  he  does 
not  spare  his  fortune  or  his  personal  efforts.  He  is  a  trustee  of 
Trinity  college  of  North  Carolina,  and  a  member  of  the  Charlotte 
chamber  of  commerce.  In  every  aspect  of  his  character,  he  is  broad, 
liberal,  enlightened  and  closely  in  touch  with  the  higher  and  better 
development  of  society. 

HON.  LEE  S.  OVERMAN, 

a  leading  lawyer  and  prominent  politician  residing  in  Salisbury,  N.C.,' 
was  born  in  that  city  January  3,  1854.  His  father,  William  Overman, 
now  deceased,  was  a  native  of  Pasquotank  county,  N.  C.  He  v/as  a 
farmer  and  merchant  and  came  to  Salisbury  from  the  eastern  part  of 
the  state  about  the  year  1838.  He  resided  in  Salisbury  for  half  a 
century,  quietly  devoted  to  his  life  business  and  died  at  the  mature 
age  of  seventy-eight  years,  enjoying  the  individual  respect  of  all  who 
knew  him.  He  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Slater,  a  native  of  Rowan 
county,  and  her  ancestors  were  among  the  distinguished  individuals 


I  go  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  North  Carolina.  Her  maternal  great-grandfather  was  Maj.  James 
Smith,  who  was  a  noted  character  in  the  Revolutionarj'  war.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  after  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  and  was  carried 
to  Charleston,  where,  with  other  prisoners,  he  died  with  small-pox. 
William  and  Mary  Overman,  the  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
had  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  Lee  S.  Overman  was  reared  in 
Salisbury  and  here  received  his  primarj'  schooling.  He  was  gradu- 
ated with  first  honors  from  North  Carolina  Trinity  college  in  1874. 
Two  years  later  that  college  conferred  upon  him  the  Master's  degree. 
For  about  two  years  after  his  graduation,  Mr.  Overman  taught  school, 
in  the  meantime  directing  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law.  In  1876 
he  further  pursued  the  study  under  the  instruction  of  J.  M.  McCorkle, 
Esq.,  of  Salisbury.  He  finally  completed  his  course  under  R.  H. 
Battle,  of  Raleigh,  was  examined  before  the  supreme  court  of  North 
Carolina,  and  duly  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1878.  In  1876  he 
took  an  active  part  as  a  democrat  in  the  political  campaign  of  that 
year,  and  when  Hon.  Z.  B.  Vance  was  elected  governor  in  1877,  Mr. 
Overman  was  appointed  private  secretary,  remaining  as  such  until  that 
distinguished  gentleman  was  elected  United  States  senator.  On  the 
election  of  Gov.  Jarvis,  the  successor  of  Gov.  Vance,  Mr.  Overman 
was  continued  in  the  office  of  private  secretary  till  in  December,  1879, 
when  he  resigned  the  position  to  take  up  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. In  January,  1880,  he  began  practice  at  Salisbury,  where  he  has 
from  the  first  secured  a  large  and  profitable  law  business,  not  second 
to  that  of  any  attorney  in  the  city.  He  holds  a  foremost  position 
among  his  professional  associates,  not  alone  in  his  own  city,  but  in 
the  state  at  large. 

In  1882  Mr.  Overman  was  elected  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of 
the  state  legislature  as  a  representative  from  Rowan  county.  The 
canvass  for  his  election  was  a  heated  one,  he  being  the  regular  demo- 
cratic candidate  against  G.  A.  Bingham,  a  prominent  candidate  of 
the  independent  democrats.  Mr.  Overman  was  elected  and  re-elected 
for  the  two  succeeding  terms  commencing  respectively  in  1884  and 
1S86.  In  1888  he  declined  a  nomination  for  a  fourth  term.  Mr. 
Overman  was  the  choice  of  the  democrats  in  1887  for  speaker  of  the 
house,  being  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  democratic  legislative  cau- 
cus for  that  office,  but  he  was  defeated  by  a  coalition  between  the 
republican  and  independent  democratic  members,  falling  only  two 
votes  short  of  an  election.  Though  beaten  for  the  speakership,  his 
distinguished  ability  gave  hin  the  next  highest  position  in  the  house, 
the  chairmanship  of  the  judiciary  committee.  During  his  legislative 
career  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  the  com- 
mittee on  education,  on  the  penitentiary  and  on  the  deaf  and  dumb 
asylum.  In  1885  he  was  elected  by  the  legislature  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  North  Carolina  state  university,  and  he  still 
continues  in  that  position.  In  January,  1889,  Mr.  Overman  was  ap- 
pointed by  Gov.  Fowle,  and  confirmed  by  the  state  senate,  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors  for  the  state  penitentiary,  which  member- 
ship he  still  retains.     Under  the  administration  of  the  board  during 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  I9I 

the  membership  of  Mr.  Overman,  the  institution  became  self-sustain- 
ing for  the  first  time  in  its  history.  Mr.  Overman  is  a  high-minded 
politician  and  a  citizen  whose  character  is  stainless.  He  is  an  able 
lavvj'cr  and  refined  and  cultured  gentleman.  He  is  a  respected  mem- 
ber of  the  order  of  the  K.  of  P.  and  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  and  his 
estimable  wife  are  leading  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Overman  married  Miss  Mary  P.  Merrimon,  of  Raleigh, 
daughter  of  Chief-Justice  A.  S.  Merrimon,  October  31,  1S7S,  and  they 
have  had  four  children,  only  two  of  whom,  both  daughters,  survive. 

COL.  HAMILTON  C.  JONES 

is  a  native  of  Rowan  county-,  \.  C;  born  in  Salisbury,  November  3, 
1837,  the  son  of  the  late  Hamilton  C.  Jones,  of  Salisbury.  Col.  Jones 
was  reared  in  Salisbury,  where,  under  Prof.  Benjamin  Summers,  he 
was  prepared  for  the  university  at  Chapel  Hill.  Entering  that  insti- 
tution, he  graduated  in  185S,  just  as  he  came  to  his  majority.  While 
at  the  university  he  studied  law,  under  the  late  Judge  Battle.  After 
his  graduation  he  entered  the  law  office  of  his  father,  then  practicing 
in  Salisbury,  where  he  further  pursued  his  law  studies.  In  1859  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion in  his  native  town.  In  politics  he  was  a  determined  whig,  hav- 
ing stumped  the  state  for  John  Bell,  for  president,  in  i860.  Mr.  Jones 
was  first  lieutenant  of  Rowan's  ritlc  guard,  which  proceeded  under 
command,  to  Fort  Johnson,  on  the  coast,  taking  possession  of  the  fort 
even  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  North  Carolina  ordinance  of  seces- 
sion. As  a  state  policy.  Col.  Jones  held,  and  always  has  held,  that 
secession  was  entirely  inexpedient,  but  when  it  came  he  accepted 
the  situation,  and  linked  his  fate  with  the  Confederate  cause.  Upon 
the  organization  of  state  troops  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Ellis  to  the 
captaincy  of  Company  K,  of  the  Fifth  regiment  of  state  troops.  Soon 
after  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  where  he  was  severely  wounded, 
in  May,  1862,  he  was  made  li(;utenant-coloneI  of  the  Fifty-seventh 
North  Carolina  regiment,  with  which  he  joined  the  army  of  northern 
Virginia,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year.  He  subsequently  participated 
in  the  battles  of  P'redericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  and  in  the  Get- 
tysburg campaign.  At  the  Rappahannock  railroad  bridge,  November 
7,  1863,  he  was  captured,  and  was  thereafter  imprisoned  in  the  old 
Capital  prison,  at  Washington,  and  subsequently  at  Johnson's  Island, 
at  Lake  Erie.  In  February,  1865,  he  was  sent  south  in  a  special  ex- 
change. He  took  command  of  his  regiment,  then  before  Petersburg, 
its  colonel,  Archibald  C.  Goodwin,  having  been  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  brigadier-general.  The  battle  of  Hare's  Plill  followed,  in  which 
an  assault  was  made  upon  Gen.  Grant's  works.  In  this  assault  Col. 
Jones  was  again  wounded  and  disabled  from  further  service.  Before 
he  had  recovered  the  war  ended. 

After  the  war  Col.  Jones  resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Salisbury, 
and  continued  there  until  .August,  1867,  when  he  removed  to  Char- 
lotte, forming  a  partnership  with  Gen.  Robert  D.  Johnston,  with  whom 


192  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

he  practiced  for  some  twenty  years.  In  1869,  Col.  Jones  was  ap- 
pointed to  till  an  unexpired  term  of  state  senatorship,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  he  was  elected  for  a  full  term  for  the  same  office.  While  he 
was  senator  the  impeachment  of  Gov.  W.  W.  Holden  come  on  and 
that  official  was  convicted  and  deposed.  In  1873,  Col.  Jones  was 
married  to  Miss  Connie,  daughter  of  Col.  William  R.  Meyers,  of 
Charlotte.  Col.  Jones  and  family  are  influential  members  of  St. 
Peter's  Episcopal  church,  of  Charlotte,  of  which  he  has  been  a  ves- 
tryman for  many  years.  In  1SS5  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Cleveland  United  States  district-attorney  for  the  western  district  of 
North  Carolina,  which  office  he  held  till  1889.  As  a  lawyer  Col.  Jones 
holds  a  distinguished  position  and  has  few  equals.  His  knowledge 
of  law  is  extensive;  nature  has  endowed  him  with  acute  legal  percep- 
tions; he  is  accurate  and  profound  in  his  exposition  of  the  law;  clear, 
pointed  and  forcible  in  his  statements,  and  whether  before  court  or 
jury  he  is  powerful  and  effective.  He  combines  the  best  elements  of 
lawyer  and  jurist,  and  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  his  profession.  As 
a  citizen.  Col.  Jones  is  of  the  progressive  type  and  is  ever  alive  to 
whatever  in  his  judgment  promotes  the  best  and  the  highest  interests 
of  the  people.  As  a  member  of  society  he  is  cultured,  genial,  high- 
minded  and  is  highly  respected  by  all  who  know  hin. 

COL.  JOHN  E.  BROWN 

is  a  leading  attorney-at-law  at  Charlotte,  and  solicitor  of  the  criminal 
court  of  Mecklenburgh  county.  Col.  Brown's  birthplace  was  Locust 
Hill,  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in  Au- 
gust, 1830,  as  the  son  of  John  E.  and  Elizabeth  C.  Brown,  both  of 
whom  were  of  good  old  Carolina  stock,  the  father  being  for  many 
years  the  leading  physician  of  his  time,  and  for  two  terms  a  member 
of  the  state  legislature.  He  was  a  brother  of  Senator  Bedford 
Brown.  The  mother  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Carters,  of  Shir- 
ley, Va.,  one  of  the  first  families  of  the  Old  Dominion.  Our  subject 
received  his  preparatory  education  at  Yancej'sville,  N.  C,  and  com- 
pleted his  education  in  1853  at  Hampden-Sydney  college,  of  Virginia, 
a  Presbyterian  institution  of  high  repute.  After  leaving  college  he 
read  law  at  Richmond  Hill,  under  the  late  Judge  Richmond  Pearson, 
at  one  time  Chief-Justice  Pearson  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1S56,  and  in  1S57  he  came  to  Charlotte,  which 
has  been  his  home  ever  since,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  four 
years  of  the  war,  he  has  been  in  most  active  practice.  He  entered 
the  Confederate  service  in  May,  1861.  He  was  commissioned  first 
lieutenant  in  Company  D.,  of  the  Seventh  North  Carolina  state 
troops,  which  was  commanded  by  Col.  Campbell.  His  first  active 
service  was  in  the  battle  of  Newbern,  in  March,  1862,  soon  after 
which  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Forty-second 
regiment,  wdiich  was  ordered  to  Virginia  in  May,  1862,  and  brigaded 
under  Gen.  Pettigrew.  In  1S63  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel 
of    his   regiment,  and   was   engaged   around    Petersburg   and   Rich- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  193 

inond,  till  May  20,  1S64,  when  at  the  battle  of  Bermuda  Hundreds  he 
was  wounded  in  the  head  by  a  gunshot.  After  a  brief  sickness  he 
returned  to  the  army  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  December  24th,  was 
ordered  to  Wilmini,rton,  and  thence  to  Fort  Fisher.  Later  he  joined 
Gen.  Johnson,  and  his  last  battle  was  that  of  Bentonville,  where  the 
regiment  surrendered.  He  held  the  rank  of  colonel  on  his  return  to 
Charlotte,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  at  which  he  has  since 
continued.  In  1872-3  and  1874,  Col.  Brown  served  in  the  lower  house 
of  the  legislature.  In  1879  he  married  Miss  Laura  P.  Morrison,  the 
daughter  of  Rev.  R.  H.  Morrison,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  leading  and  most 
popular  divines  of  North  Carolina,  of  whose  life  and  to  whose  mem- 
ory we  copy  the  following  tribute  from  a  printed  pamphlet  prepared 
and  published  by  his  admiring  fellow  citizens  and  co-workers. 

IN   MEMORIAM. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Hall  Morrison,  D.  D.,  born  in  Rocky  River  Con- 
gregation, Cabarrus  county,  September  8,  1798;  died  in  Lincoln 
county,  N.  C,  May  13,  18S9,  in  the  ninety-first  year  of  his  age.  The 
southern  church  mingles  its  sympathies  with  the  presbytery  of  Meck- 
lenburg, in  the  death  of  its  oldest  minister,  this  venerated  man  of  God. 
Society  suffers  in  the  removal  of  one  of  its  strongest  supports  and 
truest  ornaments.  The  church,  bereft  of  one  of  its  brightest  crowns, 
mourns  over  an  aching  void;  a  void  that  can  never  be  filled.  An  e.\- 
traordinary  character  has  vacated  an  extraordinary  sphere  of  useful- 
ness and  honor.  A  bright  star  whom  we  have  seen  shining  at  Christ's 
right  hand  here  below  is  now  shining  with  surpassing  splendor  with 
Christ  above.  Descended  from  a  sterling  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian 
ancestry,  he  inherited  those  marked  and  noble  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart,  which,  hallowed  by  grace,  made  him  an  honour  to  the  age  and 
a  blessing  to  the  world.  Early  called  by  the  Saviour,  in  the  morning 
of  life,  he  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  gracious  shepherd,  and  followed 
him  faithfully  to  its  close.  Communion  with  God,  meditation  upon 
the  glory  of  Christ,  the  study  of  the  .Scriptures  —  which  he  read 
through  four  times  each  year,  with  commentaries,  dwelling  upon  their 
preciousness  and  power  ^  the  perusal  of  devotional  works,  were  his 
chief  delight.  Literary  tastes  were  sanctified,  and  mind  and  heart 
found  their  highest  satisfaction  and  enjoyment  in  the  green  pastures 
of  divine  truth  and  beside  the  still  waters  of  divine  consolation. 
The  grand  doctrines  of  grace,  embodied  in  the  Calvinistic  system  of 
faith,  entered  into  and  moulded  his  christian  experience  and  made 
him  humble  and  prayerful,  cheerful  and  strong,  decided  i)ut  liberal, 
active  and  zealous,  steadfast,  immovable,  always  abounding  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  knowing  that  his  labor  was  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord.  In  his  latter  years  all  of  his  income  —  after  providing  for 
his  |)hysical  wants  —  was  devoted  to  the  gospel,  not  restricting  him- 
self to  his  own,  but  assisting  all  denominations  of  Christians.  He  left 
a  legacy  to  the  American  Bible  society,  having  made  all  his  childr<;n 
life-members,  and  was  himself  a  life-director.     His  works   do   follow 


194  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

him  and  will  continue  to  follow  him  forever!  Christians  of  every 
name  were  received  into  his  confidence  and  love,  but  none  were  left 
unaware  that  the  venerable  patriarchal  and  apostolic  Presbyterian 
church,  "the  Mother  of  us  all,"  was  the  home  of  his  heart  and  his 
chief  joy. 

Dr.  Alorrison  was  graduated  at  the  University'  of  North  Carolina, 
in  1818;  dividing  the  honor,  of  his  class  with  President  Polk,  also  of 
Presbyterian  lineage,  and  from  that  Presbyterian  section  of  the  state 
which  gave  to  the  world  the  first  declaration  of  American  independ- 
ence. May  20,  1775.  Dr.  Morrison  was  ordained  by  Concord  Presby- 
tery in  1820,  his  first  charge  being  Providence  church  in  Mecklenburg 
county.  He  was  soon  called,  thence,  to  Fayetteville.  During  his 
pastorate  there,  he  was,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1S24,  at  Vesuvius  Fur- 
nace, Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  united  in  marriage  with  a  lady  of  re- 
nowned family.  Miss  Mary  Graham,  sister  of  Gov.  William  A.  Gra- 
ham, and  daughter  of  Gen.  Joseph  Graham,  of  illustrious  Revolu- 
tionary fame  —  a  devout  Christian,  and  for  the  last  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  his  life,  ruling  elder  in  Unity  church,  Lincoln  county. 

Dr.  Morrison  remained  in  Fayetteville  from  1822  to  1827,  and 
accepted  a  call  to  the  venerable  Sugar  Creek  church,  three  miles 
from  Charlotte;  in  which  historic  town,  the  birthplace  of  Ameri- 
can independence,  a  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  by  him, 
their  membership  having  been,  previously,  in  the  mother  church. 
Sugar  Creek.  To  these  churches  he  ministered  most  accepta- 
bly. His  scholarly  attainments,  his  chaste  and  elegant  diction, 
his  dignified  mien,  his  impressive  delivery,  his  heart  on  fire  with 
the  love  of  Christ  and  the  love  of  souls,  captivated  his  hearers 
and  made  his  ministry  a  ministry  of  power.  His  was  no  non-com- 
mittal, politic,  trimming  disposition,  courting  or  valuing  popular  favor, 
winking  at,  if  not  approving  of  fashionable  folly  and  iniquity.  He 
fearlessly  denounced  worldly  conformity  in  the  church.  Christ's 
name  was  on  his  forehead,  seen  and  read  b3' all.  He  followed  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  he  went,  bearing  his  cross,  following  him  through 
evil  as  well  as  good  report,  regardless  of  the  buzz  of  dissent,  or  the 
clamor  of  opposition.  His  was  no  half-way  offering  of  himself,  but 
full  and  entire,  upon  the  altar  of  God,  and  with  an  ardor  that  never 
cooled,  and  a  zeal  that  never  wavered,  he  continued  a  faithful,  un- 
compromising witness  to  the  truth,  whether  men  would  hear,  or 
whether  they  would  forbear,  even  to  the  end.  David's  description  of 
a  citizen  of  Zion  was  applicable  to  him:  "  In  whose  eyes  a  vile  per- 
son is  contemned,  but  he  honoureth  them  that  fear  the  Lord."  "  Do 
not  I  hate  them,  oh  Lord,  that  hate  Thee?  and  am  not  I  grieved  with 
those  that  rise  up  against  Thee?  I  hate  them  with  perfect  hatred;  I 
count  them  mine  enemies." 

Deeply  impressed  bj^  the  fact  that  very  few  candidates  for  the 
ministry  came  from  the  state  universit}'  and  other  secular  institutions, 
and  realizing  the  necessity  of  a  Presbyterian  college  as  a  nurserj'  for 
the  church  and  its  ministers,  Dr.  Morrison  brought  before  Concord 
presbytery,  on  the   12th  of  March,  1835,  at  Prospect  church.  Rowan 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  195 

county,  a  resolution  for  the  establishment  within  its  bounds,  of  a 
Presbyterian  college,  where  Presbyterian  doctrines  should  be  faith- 
fully taught  and  expounded.  The  resolution  was  adopted  and  Drs. 
Morrison  and  Sparrow  were  appointed  financial  agents.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  funds  sufficient  to  start  the  college  on  the  first  of 
March,  1837.  The  three  presbyteries  in  charge  of  it,  Concord,  Mor- 
ganton  and  Bethel,  elected  L)r.  Morrison  the  first  president  of 
Davidson  college.  The  $30,000  thus  raised  were  supplemented  in 
1S55  by  a  princely  donation  from  Mr.  Maxwell  Chambers,  of  Salis- 
bury, N.  C.  Dr.  Morrison  appeared  before  the  legislature,  and  with 
difficulty,  procured  a  charter,  with  a  limit  of  $200,000,  which  was  not 
the  whole  of  Mr.  Chambers's  donation. 

Davidson  college,  thus  brought  into  being,  has  risen  to  eminence 
among  the  institutions  of  America.  Its  high  standard  commands  the 
respect  of  the  whole  country,  north  and  south,  whilst  the  moral  in- 
fluences which  surround  and  govern  it,  arc  equaled  by  few,  surpassed 
by  none.  A  high-toned  faculty  and  high-toned  students  are  regarded 
with  admiration  throughout  the  land.  The  Bible  forms  a  part  of  the 
college  curriculum;  and  the  God  of  the  Bible  has  set  his  sacred 
i)iiprimatiir  upon  this  consecrated  institution.  The  divine  spirit,  the 
fountain  of  truth,  energizes,  with  signal  force  "  the  lively  oracles" 
here  dispensed.  His  vital  breath  renders  fruitful  and  fragrant  this 
cherished  garden  of  the  Lord.  During  the  fifty-two  years  of  its  ex- 
istence, it  has  given  to  the  church  200  ministers  of  the  gospel!  Who 
is  able  to  compute  the  sum  total  of  blessing  accruing  to  the  world 
from  this  one  source  alone!  Who  is  able  to  measure  its  influence  for 
good  through  all  coming  time!  And  who  is  able  to  estimate  the  in- 
debtedness of  society,  the  state,  and  the  church,  to  its  noble  founder! 
Davidson  college  is  his  monument!  A  monument  more  lasting,  and 
grander  far,  than  stone  or  brass!  A  monument  perennial,  enduring 
through  all  ages  —  all  ages  of  time  and  the  endless  ages  of  eternity! 
Generations  yet  unborn  will  rise  up  and  bless  the  honored  name  of 
Dr.  Robert  Hall  Morrison! 

Failing  health  led  Dr.  Morrison  to  resign  this  most  important 
trust,  the  presidency  of  the  college,  and  he  retired  to  his  farm  in 
Lincoln  county.  His  delightful  home,  the  home  of  culture  and  re- 
finement, of  joy  and  happiness,  was  proverbial  for  an  overflowing 
hospitality,  which  was  dispensed  from  a  full  heart  with  a  free  hand. 

His  laljors  in  the  gospel  ministry  knew  no  intermission,  but  were 
continued  at  Unity,  Castanea,  and  Machpelah  churches.  During  the 
long  ministerial  term  of  sixty-five  years,  it  mattered  not  what  the 
weather  was,  he  was  never  known  to  fail  to  meet  an  appointment. 
In  recounting  his  mercies,  he  stated  the  remarkable  fact,  that,  though 
not  strong,  physically,  he  was  never  confined  to  his  bed  three  con- 
secutive days  in  his  long  life,  until  about  ten  days  before  the  end 
came.  He  was  constantly  expressing  his  gratitude  for  his  eyesight 
being  spared,  enabling  him  to  read  continually,  until  two  weeks  be- 
fore his  death.  When  debarred  this  privilege  by  much  suffering,  he 
declined  being  read   to,  saying:     "  Fortunately,  my   mind    is  stored 


196  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

with  very  precious  promises,  and  I  find  many  of  the  hymns  very 
sweet  prayers." 

When  the  war  broke  out,  Dr.  Morrison,  though  in  principle  a 
strong  Union  man,  cast  his  lot  with  his  people,  and  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Confederacy  with  all  his  heart  and  soul.  Three  gallant 
sons,  old  enough  for  the  service,  and  five  sons-in-law,  were  officers  in 
the  Confederate  army.  Notably  among  the  latter,  was  the  peerless 
Gen.  (Stonewall)  Jackson,  the  splendor  of  whose  military  renown 
was  even  surpassed  by  the  lustre  of  his  piety,  and  the  crowning  char- 
acter in  the  constellation  of  excellences  that  illumined  his  name  and 
invested  it  with  a  halo  of  glory,  was  that  of  the  fearless,  devoted 
man  of  God.  His  piety  was  the  basis  of  his  greatness,  the  true  secret 
of  his  militarj'  success.  He  was  the  Joshua  of  modern  history.  An 
assemblage  of  similarqualities  rendered  both  illustrious  and  immortal. 
Both  were  raised  up  by  Providence  to  illustrate  the  elevating  power 
of  religion.  In  both,  the  sentiment  of  duty  was  paramount  to  every 
other.  Both  were  characterized  by  supreme  devotion  to  God.  And 
both,  God  "set  on  high,"  because  they  "knew"  and  honored  "his 
name,"  "on  high,"  on  a  conspicuous  eminence  before  men,  the  objects 
of  a  world's  veneration  and  love;  and,  now,  again,  "on  high,"  among 
principalities  and  powers,  the  noblest  chieftains  in  the  kingdom  of 
glory! 

The  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Morrison,  Alfred,  the  Benjamin  of  the 
family,  a  gifted  youth,  on  whom  the  mantle  of  his  honored  father 
seemed  likely  to  fall  and  rest,  being  called  of  God  into  the  ministry 
of  Jesus  Christ,  proclaimed  the  glorious  gospel  with  a  fervor,  and  a 
power,  and  a  success,  that  seemed  but  an  earnest  of  still  greater 
blessings  to  the  church  from  a  long  life  of  devotion  to  his  holy  call- 
ing. Alas,  the  vanit}^  of  human  hopes  and  expectations!  The  youth- 
ful soldier  was  soon,  how  soon!  remanded  from  the  field  of  battle, 
and  called  to  wear  his  crown!  And  he  who  pens  this  tribute,  in  sad- 
ness and  sorrow,  performed  the  funeral  rites  and  committed  his  body 
to  the  tomb. 

We,  with  our  contracted  vision,  are  unable  to  comprehend,  and 
greatly  wonder  at  the  mysterious  Providence  that  cut  short  a  career 
so  full  of  promise,  and  are  greatly  saddened  by  it.  But  let  us  remem- 
ber that  that  career  is  not  ended.  It  was  not  the  meteor's  flash,  illu- 
minating for  a  moment  its  pathway  in  the  heavens,  and  then  expiring 
in  darkness,  leaving  not  a  trace  of  its  former  light  and  splendor.  No! 
he  set,  "as  sets  the  morning  star,  which  goes  down  beneath  the  dark- 
ened west,  nor  hides  obscured  behind  the  tempests  of  the  sky,  but 
melts  away  into  the  light  of  heaven!"  And  now  he  knows,  and  will 
forever  know,  even  as  he  is  known.  No  dim  or  hazy  atmosphere  ob- 
scures the  firmanent  of  glory.  He  admires  and  adores  the  deep,  deep 
Providence  which  stumbles  us.  Like  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire, 
though  it  be  dark  on  our  side,  yet  on  his  side  it  is  full  of  light.  There 
is  no  night  there.  He  has  entered  that  temple  which  the  glory  of  God 
doth  lighten,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof!  He  has  joined  the  com- 
pany before  the  throne.    And  the  blest  occupation  of  earth  is  still  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  197 

blest  occupation  of  heaven — preaching  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  son 
of  God!  Father  and  son,  now  forever  associated,  together  making 
known  "the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ"  to  the  grandest  assembly 
of  the  universe,  to  angels  and  archangels,  to  cherubim  and  seraphim, 
who  learn  "from  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God" — proclaim- 
ing to  the  admiring,  adoring  principalities  of  heaven,  the  fathomless 
wonders  of  redeeming  love,  the  unutterably  glorious  triumphs  of 
amazing  grace! 

Worthy  the  Lamb  that  died,  they  cry, 
'  To  be  exalted  tluis  '! 

'Worthy  the  Lamb,'  our  lips  reply, 
'  For  He  was  slain  for  us  !  '  " 

The  burden  of  this,  and  other  afflictions  —  having  been  previously 
bereft  of  a  beloved  wife  and  devoted  children — pressed  heavily  upon 
Dr.  Morrison.  It  pleased  his  heavenly  father  to  perfect  him,  even  as 
Christ,  the  captain  of  our  salvation,  was  made  perfect  through  much 
suffering.  But  throughout  the  long-protracted  discipline  of  trial,  he 
murmured  not,  but  meekly  drank  the  cup  that  was  given  him  to  drink, 
in  the  spirit  of  Him  who  said:  "Thj'  will,  not  mine,  be  done."  And 
under  the  culture  of  sanctified  affliction,  his  Christian  character  visibly 
mellowed  and  ripened  full}'  into  fitness  for  heaven.  Though  confined 
to  his  home  by  the  infirmities  of  age,  he  was  always  working  for  the 
Master  in  distributing  Bibles,  good  books  and  papers,  and  writing  to 
many  on  the  importance  of  preparation  for  heaven.  His  conversa- 
tion was  more  of  heaven  than  earth.  He  wrote  to  each  of  his  absent 
children  almost  weekly,  and  the  close  of  every  letter  was  almost  a 
sermon.  His  last  letter  to  a  beloved  daughter  ends  thus:  "I  have  been 
deeply  impressed  b)'  the  number  of  sudden  deaths  we  have  had.  God 
seems  to  remind  us  often  of  the  frail  tenure  by  which  we  hold  to  the 
things  of  time  and  the  privileges  of  the  gospel.  In  such  an  hour  as 
we  think  not  the  messenger  comes!  The  main  thing  is  to  have  our 
lamps  burning,  prepared  for  the  coming  of  the  bridegroom.  The 
more  we  lay  up  treasures  on  high,  the  less,  I  presume,  we  will  fear 
the  loss  of  things  below.  Among  the  most  solemn  impressions  is  the 
fact,  that  all  privileges  enjoyed  here  will  soon  be  forever  gone,  and 
we  have  no  power  to  recall  them!  Let  us  strive  for  that  kingdom 
which  knows  no  sorrow,  no  changes,  no  death."  He  delighted  in  the 
society  of  ministers,  and  loved  to  encourage  his  young  brethren  to 
persevere  in  their  glorious  work  for  the  Master.  To  a  young  minis- 
ter he  said,  recently,  with  great  animation:  "  O,  my  dear  young 
brother,  if  I  had  ten  thousand  lives  to  live,  I  would  give  them  all  to  the 
gospel!"  The  graces  of  the  Holy  Sj^irit  so  al)ounded  in  his  life  as  to 
render  his  old  age  very  peaceful  and  beautiful,  through  much  bodily 
suffering.  The  habit  of  secret  prayer  became  so  unceasing,  his  family 
often  feared  to  enter  his  room,  he  was  so  constantly  on  his  knees. 
He  would  admonish  all  not  to  faint  in  prayer,  and  with  great  humility 
would  ask  all  to  pray  for  him.  When  alone  he  prayed  much  aloud, 
and  the  burden  of  his  prayer  was,  that  all  his  descendants  might  be 
saved,  children  and  grandchildren  and  great  grandchildren  gathered 
all,  an  unbroken   family,  into  the  heavenly  kingdom. 


198  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

In  broken  utterances,  under  great  bodily  suffering,  he  gave  his 
dying  testimony:  "While  I  can,  I  wish  to  bear  my  dying  testimony  to 
the  power  and  the  blessedness  of  the  gospel,  and  to  the  preciousness 
of  the  dear  Saviour.  In  our  hours  of  ease,  precious;  in  hours  of 
trial  and  distress,  a  thousand  times  more  precious.  I  cannot  express 
in  words  freely,  what  I  mean.  O.  the  sweet  wonders  of  the  cross!" 
Marked  tokens  of  the  Divine  favor  were  accorded  to  the  dying  saint, 
as  cordials  to  sustain  his  fainting  spirit.  And  amid  the  gentle  minis- 
tries of  filial  love,  and  the  kind  offices  of  filial  devotion,  untiring,  un- 
faltering, that  ceased  not,  day  nor  night  —  "  ministering  angels  "  — 
relieving  the  tedium  of  the  sick  chamber,  soothing  the  couch  of  suf- 
fering, and  mitigating,  as  far  as  possible,  the  pains  of  dissolution,  he 
sweetly  fell  asleep. 

He  has  ".eft  to  his  descendants  the  rich  legacy  of  an  honored  name, 
a  holy  life,  an  elevated  Christian  character,  and  many  fervent  prayers 
which  have  been,  and  are  yet  to  be,  answered  in  blessings  on  their 
heads  —  a  legacy  infinitely  more  precious  than  all  the  diadems  and 
treasures  of  earth.  May  they  all,  to  the  latest  generation,  secure  by 
faith,  the  priceless  inheritance! 

He  has  gone  to  see  the  King  in  all  his  beaut3%  to  gaze  upon  that 
sacred  brow,  that  for  us  was  crowned  with  thorns,  and  to  lean  his 
head  with  adoring  confidence  and  unutterable  joy  upon  his  Saviour's 
loving  bosom. 

"  Soldier  of  Cluist,  well  done! 
Praise  be  thy  blest  enrploy, 
And  while  eternal  ages  run, 
Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy!  " 

"Who,  who  would  live  alway,  away  from  his  God, 
Away  from  yon  Heaven,  that  blissful  abode. 
Where  the  rivers  of  pleasure  flow  o'er  the  bright  plains, 
And  the  noontide  of  glory  eternally  reigns! 

Where  the  saints  of  all  ages  in  harmony  meet, 
Their  Saviour  and  brethren  transported  to  greet; 
While  the  anthems  of  rapture  unceasingly  roll, 
And  the  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  the  soul!" 


JOSEPH   HARVEY  WILSON. 

In  September,  iSro,  in  Mecklenburg  county,  the  late  Joseph  Har- 
vey Wilson  was  born.  For  many  years  he  was  one  of  the  foremost 
members  of  the  Charlotte  bar.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  John 
McKamie  Wilson,  of  Mecklenburg,  N.  C.  At  the  early  age  of  fifteen 
he  graduated  from  Washington  college,  now  Washington  &  Lee 
university,  of  Virginia.  He  began  the  study  of  law  at  Charlotte, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  late  Washington  Morrison,  and  in  1831, 
when  only  twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  be- 
gan the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at  Charlotte,  which  was  the 
theatre  to  him  of  a  long  and  successful  career,  ended  onlj'  by  his  de- 
cease, which  occurred  in  September,  18S4.  Though  comparatively 
veiy  young  at  the  outset,  he  at  once  distinguished  himself  at  the  bar. 


^ 


/ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  199 

and  his  practice  soon  becatne  extensive,  so  continuing  during  a  course 
of  practice  of  more  than  iialf  a  century.  His  ])rofound  knowledge  of 
the  law  made  him  an  eminent  jurist,  and  his  intluence  at  the  bar  was 
powerful.  Among  his  legal  brethren  he  was  an  authority,  and  his 
opinions  were  always  eagerly  sought.  For  clearness  and  perspicuity 
he  was  a  model.  He  possessed  a  strong  legal  mind,  a  natural  love 
for  the  law,  and  he  pursued  its  study  as  a  searcher  for  the  truth. 
With  such  qualifications  and  characteristics,  it  might  have  been  ex- 
pected that  a  judgeship  would  have  been  tendered  him,  and  such  was 
actually  the  case,  but  having  no  desire  to  enter  upon  a  public  career, 
he  declined  the  proffered  honor.  He  had  but  little  taste  either  for 
political  preferment,  but  was  induced  to  serve  his  county  for  several 
terms  in  the  state  senate,  of  which  honorable  body  he  was  chosen 
president.  Aside  from  this  his  life  was  more  or  less  retired  and  de- 
voted to  the  quiet  and  extensive  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which 
he  was  pre-eminently  a  leader.  Notwithstanding  his  natural  reserve 
and  love  of  quiet,  he  always  manifested  much  interest  in  the  public 
welfare  and  the  moral,  intellectual  and  material  progress  of  society'. 
He  was  a  warm  and  earnest  advocate  of  the  church,  of  liberal  educa- 
tion and  the  general  public  advancement,  b^ir  many  years  Mr.  Wil- 
son was  an  active  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he 
was  an  elder.  As  a  friend,  he  was  faithful  and  of  a  most  genial  dis- 
position, in  his  nature  he  was  gentle  and  domestic.  He  was  twice 
happily  married.  His  first  wife,  Miss  Patton,  died  leaving  him  five 
children.  Subsequently,  he  married  Miss  Phifer,  of  whom  two  child- 
ren were  born.  Mr.  VVilson  was  seventy-five  years  of  age  when  his 
death  occurred.  Such  is  a  brief  biography  of  this  able  and  learned 
lawyer  and  jurist,  who  besides  his  high  intellectual  endowments  was 
an  honored  and  esteemed  citizen.  I  lis  life  was  characterized  by  hon- 
esty, sobriety,  piety  and  usefulness  to  his  fellow  men. 

RUFUS  YANCEY  McADEN. 

The  name  of  Rufus  Yancey  McAden  represents  two  of  the  oldest 
and  most  distinguished  families  in  the  Carolinas.  The  name  of 
Yancey,  .so  prominent  throughout  the  south,  is  found  from  Mississ- 
ippi to  Virginia,  all  of  them  in  the  foremost  and  honorable  walks  of 
life.  The  name  of  Yancey  has  from  time  immemorial  been  associ- 
ated with  the  best  lawyers  of  Mississippi,  and  William  Tudor  Yancey, 
Robert  Yancey  and  Charles  Yancey  are  among  the  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  justly  celebrated  bar  of  Virginia.  Rufus  Yancey  McAden 
was  born  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  March  4,  1833.  He  was  a  son  of 
Dr.  Henry  Mc;\den,  th(;  most  prominent  physician  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Mc.lden's  paternal  great-grandfather  was  Rr.v.  Hugh  McAden,  who 
came  as  a  Presbyterian  missionary  from  Philadelphia  to  North  Car- 
olina in  the  early  days  of  the  state.  Dr.  John  Mc.\den,  his  son,  mar- 
ried Betsy  Murphy,  a  sister  of  Archibald  D.  Murphy,  the  great 
North  Carolina  orator.  Dr.  Henry  Mc.lden  married  PVanccs  Yancey, 
whose  parents  were  Bartlett  antl  .'\nne  Graves  Yancey.      The  parents 


200  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  Rufus  died  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  and  our  subject  was  adopted  into 
the  home  and  family  of  Mrs.  Bartlett  Yancey,  his  grandmother,  she 
being  a  widow,  where  he  was  brought  up  and  received  the  greater 
part  of  his  education.  He  was  graduated  at  Wake  Forest  college  in 
1853,  aged  twenty,  and  subsequently  read  law  under  Judges  Nash  and 
Bailey.  Being  admitted  to  the  bar  he  first  located  in  his  native 
county.  In  1S58  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  F.  Terry,  daughter  of  Dr. 
B.  F.  Terry,  of  Prince  Edward  county,  Va.,  and  in  the  next  year  re- 
moved to  Alamance  county,  and  located  at  Graham.  The  next  j'ear 
he  entered  politics  as  the  whig  candidate  for  the  legislature,  and  was 
defeated  by  thirteen  votes,  reducing  the  democratic  majority  some 
300.  In  1S62  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  and  successively 
re-elected,  serving  until  1867.  In  1866  he  acted  as  speaker  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  defeating  for  this  high  office  Col.  R.  H. 
Cowan,  a  distinguished  and  honored  representative  from  Wilming- 
ton. As  speaker  of  the  house  Mr.  McAden  made  an  excellent  pre- 
siding officer.  During  his  incumbency  of  the  speaker's  desk.  Gov. 
Swain,  upon  a  visit  to  that  city,  declared  he  had  not  seen  such  a 
speaker  since  the  days  of  Edward  Stanly. 

In  1867,  upon  his  retirement  from  both  politics  and  the  law,  Mr. 
McAden  began  a  career  of  business  prosperity  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  the  state.  In  that  year  he  was  made  president  of  the  First 
National  bank,  of  Charlotte,  which  position,  by  reason  of  his  former 
experience  as  president  of  the  bank  at  Graham,  he  was  eminently 
qualified  to  fill.  In  the  following  year  he  associated  himself  with 
Col.  A.  S.  Buford,  a  member  of  the  great  Kentuckj-  family  of  that 
name,  for  the  construction  of  the  air-line  railway  from  Charlotte  to 
Atlanta,  Col.  Buford  being  president  and  he  vice-president  of  the 
corporation.  He  also  organized  and  constructed  the  Spartanburg 
and  Asheville  railway,  it  being  through  his  indefatigable  efforts  that 
the  road  was  finished.  In  1881  he  turned  his  business  energies  in  the 
direction  of  manufacturing,  and  erected  in  Gaston  county  one  of  the 
largest  cotton  mills  in  the  state,  giving  employment  to  over  500  men. 
After  a  life  full  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  benefactions  to  his 
fellow-citizens,  Rufus  Yancey  McAden  died  January  29,  iSSg,  leaving 
a  wife  and  five  children  as  the  issue  of  a  happy  marriage.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  president  of  the  First  National  bank,  of 
Charlotte,  president  of  the  Spartanburg,  Union  &  Columbia  railway, 
the  Asheville  &  Spartanburg  railway,  the  Falls  of  Neuse  Manufactur- 
ing company,  and  the  McAden  cotton  mills.  Mr.  INIcAden  was  a 
strong  man  in  every  phase  of  his  character.  From  the  grandmother 
who  brought  him  up  from  poor  and  youthful  orphanage,  he  learned 
those  characteristics  of  promptness,  honesty,  truth  and  industry,  and 
through  his  great  business  career  these  attributes  ran,  sanctifying  all 
his  transactions  and  crowning  his  life  work  with  honor.  Mr.  McAden, 
though  his  life  had  been  devoted  to  his  successful  business  career, 
found  time  to  acquire  great  erudition  and  personal  culture,  so  much 
so  that  he  was  well  posted  in  the  general  field  of  polite  and  classical 
literature.     He  was  genial  in  his  nature  and  true  to  the  southern  in- 


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ce/^.^^^^^^'  i^-^^^^^rrs 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2CI 

stinct  of  chivalry  and  a  lavish  hospitality.  At  the  bar  he  was  a  force- 
ful advocate,  and  fortified  with  a  high  order  of  forensic  eloquence, 
which  quality  had  attracted  the  attention  of  most  people  of  education 
throughout  the  south. 

JAMES  WALKER  OSBORNE. 

The  legal  profession  of  North  Carolina  has  been  signalized  by  a 
number  of  distinguished  individuals,  none  of  whom  has  held  a  higher 
place  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  James  Walker  Osborne.  As  a 
lawyer,  jurist  or  private  citizen  he  was  pre-eminent.  He  was  born  at 
Salisbury,  N.  C,  December  25,  181 1,  and  died  at  Charlotte  August  10, 
iS6q.  He  came  of  an  illustrious  line,  his  great  progenitor  being 
Ale.xander  Osborne,  who  came  from  New  Jersey  to  North  Carolina 
some  years  previous  to  1755,  settling  in  Rowan  county.  He  was  a 
colonel  of  distinction  in  the  American  Revolution,  and  had  one  son 
and  several  daughters.  His  son's  name  was  Adlai  Osborne,  whose 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Agnes  McWhorter.  She  was  the  sister 
of  Rev.  Alexander  ]\Ic\Vhorter,  who  at  one  time  was  president  of 
Queen's  college  at  Charlotte.  Adlai  Osborne  was  educated  at  Prince- 
ton college,  graduating  in  176S.  In  January,  1771,  he  was  married  to 
Margaret  Lloyd.  He  studied  law  and  was  appointed  under  the  crown, 
clerk  of  the  courts  of  Rowan  county,  holding  that  office  until  1S09. 
His  decease  occurred  in  1815,  and  he  left  a  large  family  consisting  of 
both  sons  and  daughters.  One  son,  Edward  Jay  Osborne,  married 
Harriet  Walker,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C.  He  had  studied  law  at 
Wilmington  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  removing  to  Salis- 
bury established  there  his  permanent  home.  He  attained  extra- 
ordinary distinction  as  a  learned  and  able  member  of  the  legal 
profession.  He  had  three  daughters  and  one  son,  James  Walker 
Osborne,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  mother  of  Mr.  Osborne 
died  when  he  was  a  child  only  a  year  and  a  half  hid,  and  he  was 
adopted  into  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Davidson,  of  Meck- 
lenburg county,  Mrs.  Davidson  being  an  own  sister  of  his  father. 

The  intellectual  training  of  James  Walker  Osborne  began  in  early 
life.  He  was  first  placed  in  a  private  school  in  charge  of  Samuel  C. 
Caldwell,  I).  D.,  where  he  was  prepared  for  entering  the  university 
at  Chapel  Hill,  from  which  he  graduated,  in  June,  1830.  He  entered 
the  law  office  of  Hon.  William  A.  (iraham,  and  taking  up  the  study 
of  law,  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  in  1833.  In  that  year  he 
opened  up  a  law  office  in  Charlotte,  where  he  soon  became  distin- 
guished as  an  able  and  effective  lawyer,  taking  rank  with  the  most 
illustrious  members  of  the  profession.  Twice  he  was  chosen  presi- 
dential elector  at  large  for  his  state.  In  the  Clay  campaign  of  1844. 
he  was  first  presidential  elector  at  large,  and  again  he  held  the  same 
position  in  the  .S(;ymour  ami  Grant  campaign.  For  four  years  he  was 
superintendent  of  the  L'nited  States  mints,  at  Charlotte,  being  ap- 
pointed to  that  important  trust  by  President  Millard  Fillmore.  Fie 
was  called  to  the  bench  of  the  superior  court  in  185Q,  by  Gov.  Ellis, 


202  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

to  fill  a  vacanc}'  in  the  judgeship  of  that  court.  His  appointment 
was  conhrmed  by  the  general  assembl}'  in  November,  i860.  He  held 
this  position  until  1866,  when  he  was  displaced  by  the  rule  of  the  re- 
publican party,  against  whose  principles  he  was  an  active  opponent. 
He  represented  Mecklenburg  county  as  state  senator,  which  office  he 
held  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  April  5,  1842,  he  was  married  to 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Moore,  daughter  of  John  Irwin,  deceased,  of  Charlotte. 
She  was  the  widow  of  Thomas  J.  Moore,  son  of  Gen.  Thomas  Moore, 
of  South  Carolina,  who  was  a  member  of  congress  from  the  Spartan- 
burg district.  Thomas  J.  Moore  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years, 
leaving  one  son,  Dr.  Thomas  J.  Moore,  of  Richmond,  Va.  The  union 
of  James  Walker  Osborne  and  his  wife  resulted  in  the  birth  of  four 
sons,  two  of  whom  are  deceased.  The  surviving  sons  are  Francis 
Irwin  Osborne,  the  present  solicitor  of  the  Eleventh  judicial  district 
of  North  Carolina,  and  James  Walker  Osborne,  the  youngest  son, 
also  a  lawyer  by  profession  in  practice  in  New  York  city. 

Judge  OsboiMie  attained  great  eminence  in  his  profession  and  at- 
tracted the  admiration  as  well  as  secured  the  esteem  of  his  associates 
at  the  bar.  His  dignified  yet  suave  manner,  as  well  as  his  purity  of 
character  added  grace  to  the  bench,  the  man  conferring  dignity  upon 
the  office  for  which  he  possessed  such  high  qualifications.  His  name 
stands  eminent  in  the  annals  of  the  jurisprudence  of  North  Carolina. 
During  his  brilliant  career  as  a  lawyer,  he  at  one  time  became  the 
law  partner  of  Gen.  Rufus  Barringer,  of  Charlotte,  who  has  said  of 
him:  "  He  had  a  logical  and  discriminating  mind,  and  his  persistent 
search  after  truth  was  marked.  He  was  an  extraordinary  man,  and 
amid  all  the  cares  and  vexations  of  professional  life  he  always  found 
time  to  devote  to  the  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  needy." 
He  was  charitable  both  in  his  acts  and  judgments,  and  was  a  faithful 
friend  both  to  white  and  black.  As  a  legislator  he  was  liberal,  high- 
minded  and  discreet,  and  took  a  broad  and  intelligent  view  of  all  pub- 
lic questions.  He  was  sincere  in  his  convictions,  and  as  a  public 
speaker  he  was  brilliant,  forcible,  pleasing  and  eloquent.  As  a  man 
of  letters  he  was  of  the  highest  grade,  with  a  mind  abundantly  stored 
with  useful  knowledge  and  classic  learning.  Whenever  called  upon 
to  make  a  speech  in  public,  he  was  always  equal  to  the  occasion,  and 
never  failed  to  both  please  and  instruct  his  audience,  alwaj's  ac- 
quitting himself  with  honor.  In  politics  he  was  a  democrat  of  the 
states  rights  school,  perhaps  of  the  new  school,  for  originally  he  was 
not  a  democrat.  He  was  a  member  of  the  old  whig  party  with 
which  organization  he  had  long  identified  himself,  and  he  only  left  it 
because  he  thought  it  too  slow  and  conservative;  because  it  did  not 
appear  to  see  the  dangers  that  were  menacing  the  south  and  not 
prompt  in  resisting  them. 

In  the  secession  convention  of  i860.  Judge  Osborne  maintained 
that  secession  was  the  best  southern  policy.  He  was  devoted  to  the 
south,  its  customs,  habits  and  traditions,  and  fully  justified  and  ap- 
proved the  movement  for  a  separation  of  the  south  from  the  north. 
As  a  citizen  he  was  of  the  progressive  stamp,  alive  to  every  local 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  203 

interest  which  looked  to  a  development  of  the  natural  resources  of 
the  country.  He  was  a  pioneer  advocate  of  railroad  improvements, 
prompting  the  people  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  all  feasible  railroad 
projects.  He  was  temperate  in  his  habits  and  religious  in  his  frame 
of  mind.  His  character  for  honesty  and  probity  was  unimpeachable, 
and  he  was  always  quick  to  approve  the  right  and  condemn  the 
wrong.  His  language  was  always  pure  and  chaste,  showing  both 
good  breeding  and  culture.  He  was  a  zealous  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  for  man}'  years  holding  official  positions  in  that 
organization,  and  his  Christianity  was  of  the  active  and  zealous  type. 
In  every  undertaking  for  the  advancement  and  uplifting  of  society. 
Judge  Osborne  was  among  the  foremost  leaders,  and  his  learning  and 
ability,  his  fim;  taste  and  discrimination  made  him  an  effective  power 
in  that  direction.  He  was  hardly  fifty-eight  years  of  age  when  death 
put  an  end  to  his  useful  and  praiseworthy  career.  No  nobler,  purer 
spirit  ever  winged  its  flight  to  the  blissful  regions  reserved  for  the 
blessed.  No  more  loyal  heart,  no  firmer  friend,  no  more  exalted 
patriot  ever  found  a  dwelling  place  on  earth.  He  has  gone  to  his 
reward  —  to  the  recompense  of  a  pure,  unspotted  life. 

SAMUEL  CASPAR  WISTAR  TATE, 

a  leading  member  of  the  bar  at  Morganton,  N.  C,  was  born  June  23, 
1S25,  in  the  town  of  his  present  residence.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Tate,  a  native  of  Burke  county,  N.  C,  born  in  1798.  The 
father  died  January  27,  1873.  He  was  the  son  of  Hugh  Tate,  also  a 
native  of  Burke  county,  and  by.  occupation  a  farmer.  He  served  as 
sheriff  of  his  county  several  years.  The  name  of  Mr.  Tate's  mother 
before  her  marriage  to  his  father  was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Gilliland,  widow 
of  Dr.  Gilliland,  of  Bedford,  Penn.  She  died  May  10,  1857.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  in  Morganton,  and  received  his  ed- 
ucation in  the  Morganton  academy.  In  his  youth  he  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Cherokee,  now  Clay  county,  N.  C.  In  a  few  years  the 
family  returned  to  Morganton  where  he  resumed  his  studies  in  the 
academy  then  presided  over  by  G.  Zelotes  Adams.  Later  on  he  en- 
tered Washington  college  of  East  Tennessee,  where  he  remained 
about  two  years.  He  then  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
where  he  spent  six  months,  being  a  member  of  the  senior  class.  In 
these  different  institutions,  Mr.  Pate  obtained  a  good  classical  educa- 
tion. On  leaving  the  university  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  under 
Hon.  B.  S.  Gaither,  of  Morganton,  and  was  licensed  to  practice  in  the 
county  courts  August  7,  1848,  and  in  the  superior  courts  August  6, 
1849.  Mr.  Tate  entered  upon  his  professional  career  at  Murphy, 
Cherokee  county,  N.  C,  September  12,  1848,  remaining  there,  how- 
ever, only  during  one  term  of  court.  He  devoted  himself  to  his 
practice  in  Burke  and  adjoining  counties,  with  his  home  and  head- 
quarters at  Morganton,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  Prior 
to  this  event  he  served  as  solicitor  of  Haywood,  Burke  and  Caldwell 
counties. 


204  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

In  April,  1861,  Mr.  Tate  entered  the  service  of  the  Confederate 
army  as  a  volunteer  in  Company  G,  First  North  Carolina  state 
troops,  and  served  with  that  command  for  six  months  as  a  private. 
He  participated  during  the  time  in  the  battle  at  Bethel.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  of  service,  he  returned  home,  and  throughout 
the  remainder  of  the  war  he  served  the  Confederate  government  in 
the  way  of  looking  after  supplies  for  the  army  and  upon  home  guard 
duty.  In  October,  1865,  he  went  to  Marion,  N.  C,  where,  during  the 
winter  which  followed  he  taught  the  Marion  academy.  Returning 
to  Morganton  early  in  1866,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  and  has 
devoted  himself  to  it  ever  since.  He  is  now  one  of  the  ablest  law- 
yers of  the  Burke  county  bar.  Mr.  Tate  was  born  and  raised  under 
whig  influences,  but  since  the  whig  party  went  out  of  existence  he 
has  affiliated  with  the  democratic  party.  He  was  a  candidate  for  the 
state  legislature  in  1851  and  again  in  1862,  but  failed  of  an  election. 
He  has  served  one  term  as  mayor  of  Morganton  with  good  accept- 
ance. Mr.  Tate  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity.  As  a  citizen  he  holds  a  high  rank,  and  is  greatly 
respected  and  esteemed  by  his  fellow  citizens. 

DAVID  LOWRY  SWAIN, 

a  distinguished  North  Carolinian,  was  born  in  Asheville,  Buncombe 
county,  N.  C,  January  4,  1801.  He  was  of  English  descent;  his 
father,  George  Swain,  was  a  native  of  Roxboro,  Mass.  Mr.  Swain 
took  a  partial  course  in  the  North  Carolina  university,  studied  law 
under  Hon.  John  L.  Taylor,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1823, 
when  he  opened  a  law  office  at  Raleigh.  In  1824  he  was  elected  to 
the  state  legislature,  and  in  1831  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  state 
supreme  court.  He  was  elected  governor  of  North  Carolina  in  1832, 
being  the  youngest  man  ever  elected  to  that  of^ce.  He  held  the 
office  of  president  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  from  1835  till 
his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  presidents  ever  chosen 
to  that  position,  contributing  to  the  progress  and  success  of  that  in- 
stitution through  a  presidency  of  more  than  thirty  j'ears.  He  was  a 
favorite  of  President  Andrew  Johnson,  and  was  invited  by  that  func- 
tionary to  advise  and  assist  in  the  reconstruction  measures  of  the 
southern  states.  In  1841  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.  D., 
from  Princeton  college,  and  in  1842  Yale  college  conferred  upon  him 
the  same  degree.  He  was  a  facile  and  graphic  writer,  and  was  the 
author  of  several  valuable  historical  writings,  among  them,  "The 
British  Invasion  of  North  Carolina  in  1776,"  and  "The  Revolutionary 
History  of  North  Carolina." 

In  a  lengthy  eulogistic  notice  of  Gov.  Swain,  Gov.  Vance  said  of 
him:  "  His  knowledge  was  enc^'clopedic  in  its  range,  especially  in 
English  literature.  So  overwhelming  were  his  stores,  that  the  writer 
enumerates  with  grateful  pleasure,  when,  forgetting  altogether  the 
subject  on  hand,  he  would  stand  up  in  front  of  his  class,  and  in  an 
outgush  of  eloquence,  poetry,  history,  anecdote  and  humor,  wrap  us 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  205 

all  as  with  an  enchantment.  His  most  remarkable  trait  was  his 
powerful  memory,  and  the  direction  in  which  that  faculty  was  notably 
exercised  was  in  biography  and  genealog}'.  In  this  particular  he  had 
no  superior  in  America."  Gov.  .Swain  rendered  his  greatest  service 
to  the  state,  by  his  efficiency  as  the  patron  and  president  of  the  uni- 
versity. He  was  its  moving  spirit  before  the  war,  and  when  Sher- 
man's army  spread  desolation  in  its  track  Gov.  Swain  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  appointed  to  meet  Gen.  Sherman  and  ask  his  interposi- 
tion to  save  the  university  from  destruction.  Gov.  Swain  was  married, 
January  12,  1S24,  to  Eleanor,  daughter  of  William  White.  He  died 
at   Chapel  Hill,  September  3,  1S68,  leaving  his  widow  surviving  him. 


CHARLES  MANLY. 

Gov.  Charles  Manly  was  born  in  Chatham  county,  N.  C  May  13, 
1795.  He  was  fitted  for  college  by  a  distinguished  educator,  Prof. 
William  Bingham,  at  Pittsboro  academy  and  graduated  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  in  1S14,  with  first  honors.  Heengagedas 
a  private  tutor,  in  the  meantime  studying  law  with  Gen.  Robert  Will- 
iams. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S16,  and  began  practice  under 
most  encouraging  auspicies.  He  was  appointed  reading  clerk  in  the 
North  Carolina  house  of  commons,  and  as  clerk  of  the  commission  at 
Washington,  under  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  to  investigate  and  award 
claims  against  Great  Britain,  for  property  taken  by  the  British  dur- 
ing the  war  of  1S12.  In  1830  he  was  elected  chief  clerk  of  the  house 
of  commons,  which  office  he  held  for  about  eighteen  years,  with  only 
a  single  intermission.  In  1840  he  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors 
on  the  whig  ticket,  and  cast  the  vote  of  his  state  in  the  electoral  col- 
lege for  William  H.  Harrison  and  John  Tyler.  He  made  an  unsuc- 
cessful canvass  for  state  senator  in  1844,  as  the  representative  of  Wake 
county.  He  filled,  respectively,  the  offices  of  director  of  the  State 
bank,  commissioner  to  sell  the  Cherokee  land  and  collect  the  proceeds 
thereof,  and  of  treasurer  of  the  state  university. 

In  1848  Mr.  Manly  was  the  whig  candidate  for  governor,  and  made 
a  very  effective  canvass  of  the  entire  state.  He  was  elected  by  a 
large  majority,  and  administered  the  office  for  two  years  with  marked 
ability  and  success.  He  was  candidate  for  another  term,  but  was  de- 
feated by  one  of  the  strongest  democrats  in  the  state,  Hon.  David  S. 
Reid,  the  democrats  having  gained  a  decided  and  lasting  ascendency 
in  the  state.  This  was  the  close  of  Gov.  Manly's  political  career  —  a 
career  in  which  he  acted  a  most  brilliant  and  highly  creditable  part. 
He  was  married,  in  1S17,  to  Charitj',  daughter  of  William  H.Haywood, 
Sr.  He  died  at  Raleigh,  May  i,  iS7i,an  event  doubtless  hastened  by 
the  an.xieties,  the  ravages  and  the  spoliations  of  the  Civil  war.  Gov. 
Manly  was  a  most  interesting  and  brilliant  conversationalist;  as  a 
public  speaker  he  was  eloquent,  and  as  a  writer  was  master  of  a 
strong,  yet  refined  rhetoric.  He  loved  society,  and  his  home  was  the 
center  of  the  best  and  most  cultured  circle  of  intimates.     As  a  lawyer 


206  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

he  was  considerate  and  judicious,  and  urged  the  interests  of  his 
clients  with  strength  and  zeal.  In  religion  he  was  a  devoted  and  zeal- 
ous Episcopalian. 

HON.  JOHN  H.  SMALL 

is  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Small  was  born 
in  Washington,  N.  C,  on  the  gth  of  August,  1S58.  He  was  prepared 
for  college  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  finished  his  junior 
year  at  Trinity  college,  after  which  he  took  up  the  studj-  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Mr.  Charles  F.  Warren  and  Judge  William  B.  Rodman,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881,  since  that  time  having  been  engaged 
in  practice  at  Washington.  Mr.  Small  became  associated  with  the 
Hon.  George  H.  Brown  in  188S,  and  this  law  firm  existed  until  Jan- 
uary I,  iSSq.  His  political  career  was  begun  early,  as  he  was  ap- 
pointed reading  clerk  of  the  state  senate,  a  few  days  after  his 
admission  to  the  bar,  and  he  continued  in  that  office  during  the  ses- 
sion of  1881.  In  1S81,  he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  public 
instruction,  and  served  as  solicitor  of  the  inferior  court,  from  1882  to 
1885,  when  that  court  was  abolished  by  law.  He  entered  the  journal- 
istic field,  as  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Press, 
in  1883,  and  soon  after  changed  the  name  to  the  JVashiiig-ton  Gazette, 
which  greatly  prospered  under  his  able  management,  its  subscription 
list  being  trebled,  and  the  paper  greatly  enlarged  and  improved. 
At  the  time  of  his  relinquishment  of  its  editorial  management,  the 
Washington  Gazette  was  the  leading  organ  of  the  democratic  party  in  the 
county.  Mr.  Small  has  been  attorney  for  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners, since  18SS,  and  was  a  member  of  the  city  council,  from 
May,  1887,  to  May,  1890;  and  from  1889  to  1890,  he  held  the  office  of 
mayor  of  Washington.  As  a  member  of  the  committee  on  graded 
schools,  he  did  much  to  place  that  excellent  system  on  a  firm  basis, 
and  his  assistance  and  counsels  were  at  all  times  most  valuable.  He 
is  the  attorney  for  the  Jamesville  &  Washington  railroad,  and  for  the 
Roanoke  Railroad  &  Lumber  company,  and  also  the  Wilmington  & 
Weldon  railroad  company. 

In  1888,  Mr.  Small  served  as  chairman  of  the  democratic  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  First  congressional  district  of  North  Carolina. 
As  a  leading  citizen  he  has  done  much  to  stimulate  the  industrial 
growth  of  the  city  and  county,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  location  of  the  extensive  oyster  canning  establishment  of 
J.  S.  Farren  &  Co.,  at  Washington,  and  in  many  other  ways  has  con- 
tributed to  the  prosperity  of  the  community.  He  ranks  among  the 
ablest  and  most  successful  attorneys  of  the  Beaufort  bar,  and  is  held 
in  the  highest  esteem  as  a  man  of  superior  mind  and  unbending  in- 
tegrity. He  was  most  happily  married  June  11,  1890,  to  Miss  Isabella 
C.  Wharton,  a  daughter  of  Col.  R.  W.  Wharton,  a  leading  citizen  of 
Beaufort  county,  N.  C,  and  one  child  has  blessed  their  union.  May 
Belle  Small.  Mr.  Small  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Sally  A.  (Sander- 
son) Small,  natives  of  Chowan  and  Washington  counties,  N.  C,  re- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  lOJ 

spectively.  His  father  was  a  prominent  planter  of  Beaufort  county 
for  many  years,  having  settled  there  about  1835.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  a  staunch  democrat. 

WILLIAM  BLOUNT  RODMAN 

was  born  at  Washington,  Beaufort  county,  N.  C,  on  the  29th  of  June, 
1S17.  His  father's  name  was  William  Walton  Rodman,  from  Queens 
county.  New  York.  The  first  ancestor  of  the  Rodman  family,  of 
whom  they  know  anything,  was  John  Rodman,  who  was  a  Quaker, 
and  went  from  Ireland  to  Barbadoes,  where  he  died  in  1686.  He  had 
been  imprisoned  in  Ireland  for  contempt  of  court,  because  he  refused 
to  pull  off  his  hat,  and  was  afterward  turned  out  of  the  Quaker 
society,  because  he  owned  slaves.  Quakerism  could  never  have  been 
long  lived  as  a  sect.  By  its  very  constitution  it  renounced  any  army 
of  mercenary  priests  to  defend  it.  The  peculiar  garb  and  speech  of 
the  Quakers  will  soon  disappear  forever;  but  the  principle  of  George 
Fo.\rthat  every  man  is  his  own  priest,  and  that  every  man's  reason 
is  his  divine  guide  to  eternal  life,  is  the  logical  result  of  Protestant 
thought,  and  must  continue  to  live,  until  all  independence  of  thought 
shall  have  yielded  to  the  infallibility  of  a  pope.  His  children  were 
Quakers;  they  emigrated  to  Rhode  Island  and  New  Jersey,  and  their 
descendants  are  now  numerous  in  most  or  all  of  the  northern  states. 
The  parents  of  Mr.  Rodman  both  died  while  he  was  an  infant,  and 
he  and  his  two  sisters  were  taken  into  the  family  of  his  maternal 
grandfather,  John  Gray  Blount,  a  family  well  known  in  the  histories 
of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee.  His  grandfatlier  sent  him  to  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  graduated  with  the  first  hon- 
ors of  his  class,  in  1836.  He  read  law  under  Judge  Gaston,  in  New- 
bern,  and  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in  1838.  He  resided  in  the 
town  of  his  birth,  and  had  an  extensive  practice  in  that  and  the  ad- 
joining counties,  being  also  engaged  in  planting.  In  September,  1858, 
he  married  Camilla,  a  daughter  of  Wiley  Croom.  of  Greensboro,  Ala., 
and  her  death,  in  1887,  was  felt  as  the  greatest  misfortune  of  his  life. 
Mr,  Rodman  was  educated  a  democrat,  and  a  believer  in  the 
rights  of  states,  as  taught  by  Jefferson  and  Calhoun.  After  the 
breaking  out  of  the  late  Civil  war,  he  was  elected  captain  of  a  com- 
pany of  volunteers,  and  felt  bound  to  accept,  under  the  belief  that  he 
was  acting  in  defense  of  his  state,  which  had  a  right  to  his  services. 
With  his  company  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  Newbern,  in 
March,  1862.  To  show  the  fratricidal  character  of  that  war,  two  of 
the  descendants  of  their  common  ancestor,  and  bearing  the  same 
family  name,  were  engaged  in  this  battle,  as  officers  of  a  Connecticut 
regiment.  After  this  battle  and  resignation  of  Major  Hood,  quar- 
termaster of  Branch's  brigade,  Capt.  Rodman  was  promoted  to  that 
position.  He  accompanied  the  brigade  to  \'irginia.  and  was  present 
at  the  battle  of  Mechanicsville,  and  at  sundry  skirmishes.  At  this 
time  he  was  appointed  by  President  Davis,  to  be  the  presiding  judge 
of  a  military  court,  to  sit  in  Richmond,  under  the  command  of  what- 


2o8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ever  general  might  be  in  command  of  Richmond.  This  court  had 
jurisdiction  to  try  all  Confederate  soldiers  and  officers,  not  above  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general,  for  all  military  offenses.  His  associates  were 
Col.  John  M.  Patton,  of  Richmond,  who  had  commanded  the  First 
regiment  of  Virginia  volunteers,  Gen.  B.  T.  Johnson,  of  Mary- 
land, and  later  Col.  liateler,  of  Harper's  Ferry,  after  the  resignation 
of  Gen.  Johnson.  These  gentlemen  have  their  places  in  the  history 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  need  no  encomiums  here. 

Mr.  Rodman  continued  in  Richmond  and  Petersburg  until  the 
evacuation  of  those  places  by  the  Confederates,  and  accompanied  the 
retreating  army  of  Gen.  Lee  as  far  as  a  place  called  Pamphitts  sta- 
tion on  a  railroad,  where,  under  the  advice  of  Gen.  Matthew  Ransom, 
who  said  that  the  Confederate  army  must  certainly  surrender  in  a 
day  or  two,  he  left  the  army,  and  proceeded  on  foot  to  join  that  of 
Gen.  Joseph  Johnston,  which  he  found  near  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and 
which  itself  surrendered  the  next  day.  He  received  his  parole  as  an 
officer  in  Johnson's  army.  From  Greensboro,  where  his  family  had 
sought  refuge  after  the  battle  of  Newbern,  he  returned  to  his  former 
residence  in  Washington.  Here  he  found  that  he  had  lost  all  the 
property  that  he  had,  that  could  be  pillaged  or  destroyed.  Probably 
no  one  in  the  state  lost  more  largely  in  proportion  to  his  means.  His 
slaves,  about  loo  in  number,  had  been  carried  off  and  scattered,  ex- 
cept a  few,  who  came  and  insisted  on  living  under  his  care,  notwith- 
standing their  emancipation,  and  these  have  continued  to  do  so  up  to 
this  time.  His  furniture  and  household  goods  which  he  had  left  in 
the  care  of  a  lady  in  Washington,  had  been  seized  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States,  as  abandoned  property;  the  numerous  and  comforta- 
ble buildings  on  his  plantation  nearly  opposite  the  town  of  Washing- 
ton had  been  burned,  and  even  the  bricks  of  the  chimneys  to  their 
foundations  in  the  ground,  with  his  fruit  trees  and  grape  vines,  had 
been  dug  up  and  carried  off;  this  was  done,  however,  not  by  the  sol- 
diers of  the  United  States,  but  by  the  neighbors  who  remained  at 
home,  and  whom  the  northern  soldiers  contemptuously  called  "  buffa- 
loes," after  a  sort  of  cattle  that  have  no  horns.  The  United  States 
sent  soldiers  to  bring  away  the  negroes  from  his  plantation,  and  all 
his  horses,  machinery  and  farming  utensils,  and  their  proceeds,  unless 
stolen  on  their  way,  maj'  still  be  in  the  treasury  of  the  great  United 
States.  This  was  to  preserve  and  perpetuate  "  the  Union."  This 
was  the  way  In  which  the  union  between  England  and  Ireland  was 
attempted  to  be  perpetuated  by  William  and  his  successors,  with  the 
result  that  Ireland  has  been  in  rebellion  ever  since,  and  now  after 
200  years  of  conciliation,  is  ready  to  ally  itself  with  any  nation  that 
England  may  be  at  war  with.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  good  sense 
of  the  southern  people  will  permit  no  such  wound  to  fester  in  its 
heart.  Let  retribution  to  the  wrong  doer  come  at  once  and  on  him, 
not  on  his  children;  and  if  that  is  impossible,  let  the  wrong  be  for- 
gotten. 

In  1S67,  Gen.  Canby,  commandant   of  the   military  department  o 
which  North  Carolina  was   a  part,  called  a  convention  to  make  such 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  20g 

changes   in   the  constitution   of  the   state  as   would  restore   it  to  its 
place  in  the  Union.      Mr.  Rodman  was  popular  with  the  ne^jroes  who 
then  voted  for  the  first   time,  because  he  had  always  been  a  kind 
master,  and  with  the  Confederate  soldiers  and  democrats  because  he 
had  been  one  of  them,  and  his  interests  and  theirs  were  identical,  and 
although  he  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  "  buffaloes  "  he  was  elected  to 
the  convention  by  a  large  majority.     The  convention  met  in  January. 
i86S.     Several  of  its  members  were  northern  men  who  had  come  into 
the  state  during  or  after  the  war.     These  men  were  contemptuously 
called  carpet-baggers  by  the  members  of  the  party  which  then  called 
itself  democratic,  although  a  great   many  of  them  had  never  called 
themselves  such,  or  acted  uniformly  with  that  party  even   during  the 
war.     It  has  been  the  fashion  ever  since  to  describe  these  men  as  a 
set  of  unprincipled  adventurers,   intent  only   on  plunder.     Some  of 
these  deserved  to  be  so  classed,  as  did   some  who  were   natives  of 
North  Carolina.     But  the  most  prominent  northern  men  in  the  con- 
vention. Gen.  Abbott,  Col.  David  Heaton,  A.  W.  Tourgee,  D.  I.  Rich 
and  several  others,  did  their  duty  to  the  state  intelligently  and  faith- 
fully.    Such  adventurers  are  a  gain  to  the  state,  and  it  is  to  be  wished 
that  North  Carolina  had   more   such.     Of  course  their  opinions  and 
prejudices  on  many  subjects  were  different  from  ours,  and  unfortu- 
nately as  to  Judge  Tourgee,  some  of  these  prejudices  have  continued 
in  spite  of  experience   and   have  materially  impaired  the  usefulness 
of  his  undoubted  literary  talents. 

Mr.  Rodman  took  an  influential  part  in  framing  the  articles  in  the 
constitution  on   the  judiciary,  and  on  revenue   and  taxation,  being 
greatly  assisted  in  the  first  by  Tourgee  and  in  the  last  by  Heaton. 
Tourgee  is  entitled  to  whatever  credit  may  be  due  for  the  first  sec- 
tion of   the   article  on   the   judiciary    which  abolished   the   existing 
practice  and  procedure   in  civil  actions,  and  impliedly  involved  the 
adoption  of  the  New  York  on  those  subjects.     Rodman  is  responsible 
for  the  sections  in  th'e  article  on  revenue  and  taxation,  fixes  the  pro- 
portion between  the  tax  on  property  and  that  on  polls,  which,  so  far 
as  we  know,  had   not  previously  appeared  in  the  constitution  of  any 
state;  of  that  which  fixes  the  proportion  between  the  state  and  county 
taxes;  of  that  which  provides  that  no  income  tax  shall  be  levied  upon 
the  property  from  which  the  income  is  derived  shall  be  taxed;  and  of 
that  in   the  article  on  corporations  which  forbids  the  legislature  to 
charter  private  corporations  by  special  act;   but  unfortunately  follow- 
ing the  constitution  of  New  York,  we  believe,  he  added:     "Except 
when  in  its  judgment  the  objects  of  the  legislature  could  not  be  other- 
wise obtained."     The  exception  to  the  attempted  restraint,  a  better 
example   for  such   a  restraint   may  be  found  in  the  constitution  of 
Pennsylvania  since   adopted.     The   attempted   prohibition   appealed 
only  to   the  conscience  of  legislators,  and   more  than   half  of  every 
volume  of  legislative  acts  since  i86S,  is  filled  with  acts  which  are  ap- 
parently beyond  the  rightful  powers  of  the  general  assembly.     And 
so  it  has  been  with  the  section  which   forbids  municipal  corporations 
to  contract  debts  without  the  sanction  of  the  legislature.     This  it  was 
B—  14 


2IO  NORTH   CAROLINA 

thought  would  be  difficult  to  obtain.  But  alas!  it  is  always  granted 
without  inquiry. 

The  constitution  provided  for  the  appointment  of  three  commis- 
sioners to  prepare  and  report  to  the  legislature,  a  code  of  the  law  of 
North  Carolina;  Rodman,  Tourgee  and  Victor  Barringer  were  ap- 
pointed. As  the  constitution  had  abolished  the  existing  law  of 
practice  and  procedure,  and  the  administration  of  justice  in  civil  ac- 
tions was  entirely  suspended,  prompt  action  was  necessary  in  supply- 
ing another.  The  commissioners  agreed  to  adopt  the  code  of  New 
York  which  had  been  used  for  several  j'ears  in  that  and  numerous 
other  states,  with  such  alterations  as  were  necessary  to  adapt  it  to 
the  judicial  system  of  North  Carolina.  These  alterations  mostly 
fell  to  the  lot  of  INIr.  Rodman,  and  the  code  as  thus  hastily,  but  not 
inconsiderately  altered,  was  speedily  reported  to  and  adopted  by  the 
legislature  which  met  in  iS6S.  The  changes  since  made  in  it  by 
which  the  pleadings  are  made  up  in  term  time  only  and  not  in  vaca- 
tion, as  originally  provided  for,  have  delayed  the  trial  of  actions,  and 
have  not  benefited  either  parties  or  attorneys.  The  code  originally 
provided  for  the  repayment  of  his  necessary  expenses  in  attorneys' 
costs  to  the  successful  part}-.  But  that  has  been  changed  rather  acci- 
dentally than  deliberately,  and  North  Carolina  is  now  the  only 
country  in  the  world  in  which  a  litigant  party  can  recover  his  debt  or 
propert3%  only  at  his  own  expense. 

It  also  fell  mainly  to  the  share  of  Mr.  Rodman  to  draw  the  acts  on 
the  subjects  of  criminal  procedure.  Draining  low  lands,  landlord 
and  tenant,  and  marriage,  which  were  enacted  by  the  legislature  of 
1868,  and  still  i^emain  in  the  statute  book  substantially  as  drawn. 
Afterward  he  prepared  with  great  labor,  a  more  comprehensive  code 
of  penal  procedure,  which  the  legislature  neglected  to  consider.  At 
the  election  for  justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  in  1S68,  Mr. 
Rodman  was  elected  as  one  of  them  and  served  in  that  capacity 
until  his  term  expired  in  1878.  His  opinions  may  be  found  in  vol- 
umes from  sixty-three  to  seventj'-nine  inclusive,  in  the  reports  of  that 
court.  It  may  be  said  that  they  are  frequently  cited  with  respect  by 
the  succeeding  judges  of  that  court.  After  his  retirement  from  the 
bench,  he  returned  to  the  bar  and  to  the  management  of  a  large 
plantation  which  has  occupied  much  of  his  attention.  In  politics  he 
has  always  been  a  democrat,  except  when  he  voted  for  Holden  for 
governor,  and  for  Gen.  Grant  for  president;  under  the  circumstances 
which  he  considered  exceptional.  He  is  spending  the  evening  of  his 
life  with  a  famil}'  of  sons  and  daughters,  content  with  having  dis- 
charged his  duties  honestl}-  and  to  the  best  of  his  abilities. 

JOHN  C.  DAVIS, 

a  young,  self-made  and  successful  attorney-at-law,  practicing  and 
residing  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  where  he  has  lived  since  1S77,  was 
born  in  Carteret  county,  N.  C,  and  his  parents  were  Samuel  E.  and 
Jane  (Roberts)    Davis.     The  father,  who  was  a  merchant  b}'  occupa- 


NORTH  CAROLIXA.  21  I 

tion,  is  now  deceased,  while  the  mother  resides  with  her  son,  in  W  il- 
mington.  The  circumstances  of  our  subject's  youth  were  not  at  all 
promising,  the  war  ravaging  the  wealth  of  the  parents,  and  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  years,  the  boy  went  to  sea  as  a  sailor  and  re- 
mained at  sea  till  1S77,  when  he  came  to  Wilmington,  and  worked 
in  the  Wilmington  cotton  mills  as  a  weaver.  About  this  time  certain 
friends  became  interested  in  him  and  gave  him  access  to  books,  for 
which  he  soon  formed  a  love,  and  afterward  began  the  study  of  law. 
and  under  the  night  instructions  b\-  John  D.  Bellamy.  Jr.,  he  became 
enabled  to  secure  a  license  to  practice  at  the  bar  in  1SS4,  since  when 
he  has  been  in  the  active  practice  of  the  profession.  He  is  a  consis- 
tent member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  is  a  respected 
citizen.  He  has  taken  much  interest  in  church  and  Sunday-school; 
was  a  delegate  to  the  world's  Sunday-school  convention  which  met 
at  London,  Eng.,  in  iSSg.  He  thus  visited  Europe  and  became  better 
schooled  in  the  histor\'  of  the  east,  and  in  1S90  rendered  much  aid 
to  the  rector  of  the  Fifth  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
Wilmington. 

WILLIAM  A.  WRIGHT. 

There  were  few  men  in  eastern  Carolina  better  known  and  few  in 
the  state  more  highly  esteemed  and  deservedly  so,  than  William  A. 
Wright.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Joshua  G.  Wright,  and  was 
born  in  Wilmington  in  1S07.  He  was  graduated  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  when  very  j^oung  and  embraced  the  profession  of  the 
law.  He  possessed  great  powers  of  application,  was  regarded  as  a 
better  counselor  than  advocate,  and  as  a  corporation  lawyer,  as  it  is 
termed,  had  few  equals  either  at  home  or  abroad.  He  made  no  pre- 
tensions to  orator)-,  and  yet  his  efforts  before  a  jury  were  often  verj' 
effective.  For  many  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  county  court  under 
the  old  regime,  and  upon  the  death  of  his  brother.  Dr.  Thomas  H. 
Wright,  president  of  the  Bank  of  Cape  Fear,  he  was  elected  to  that 
position  and  proved  himself  an  able  financier  and  man  of  business. 
He  was  the  attorney  and  also  a  director  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon 
railroad  from  the  commencement  of  that  great  work,  and  was  in  con- 
tinued service  the  oldest  railroad  director  in  the  United  States.  He 
had  a  peculiarlj-  happy  temperament,  was  amiable  and  hospitable  to 
a  degree,  was  fond  of  a  joke  and  excelled  in  the  telling  of  one,  and 
delighted  in  social  gatherings  where  his  overflowing  humor  made 
him  the  life  of  the  occasion.  He  was  at  the  service  of  his  friends  at 
all  times  and  perhaps  no  member  of  the  profession  gave  up  so  much 
of  his  time  and  professional  advice  also,  to  others  without  any  hope 
of  compensation:  in  fact  he  never  seemed  happier  than  when  so  en- 
gaged. The  writer  recalls  numerous  occasions  when  he  has  seen  him 
so  employed,  searching  up  authorities  upon  intricate  points  of  law  and 
undergoing  an  amount  of  mental  work  that  would  tax  the  energies  of 
the  most  robust.  Of  modest  and  retiring  disposition,  he  shrank  from 
the  turmoils  of  politics,  but  in  1S65,  while  absent  from  the  city,  he  was 


212  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

elected  a  member  of  the  convention  which  met  at  Raleigh  soon  after 
the  organization  of  the  provisional  government  of  the  state  and  known 
as  the  reconstruction  convention.  He  accepted  the  position  and  his 
well-known  habits  of  industry  and  application  joined  to  his  large  ex- 
perience and  recognized  ability  gave  him  an  influence  second  to  but 
few  in  that  bod3^  numbering  as  it  did  among  its  members  such  men 
as  B.  F.  Moore,  Edwin  G.  Reade,  Nathaniel  Boyden,  Bedford  Brown 
and  others  who  might  be  mentioned.  While  he  was  conservative  by 
nature  and  opposed  to  extremes  of  every  kind,  he  had  the  courage  of 
his  convictions  and  never  hesitated  when  occasion  demanded  to  ex- 
press his  views  upon  all  questions  with  a  frankness  that  challenged 
respect  and  commanded  attention.  He  was  greatly  esteemed  and 
respected,  in  fact  was  a  popular  favorite,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  left 
behind  him  an  enemy  in  the  world.  He  died  in  May,  1S7S,  the  Nestor 
of  the  Wilmington  bar,  mourned  not  only  by  his  legal  brethren,  but 
by  the  community  at  large,  for  his  public  career  was  without  reproach 
and  his  personal  life  blameless.  Mr.  Wright  married  Eliza  Ann  Hill, 
daughter  of  William  Hill,  Esq.,  and  had  many  children,  but  they  died 
young,  his  widow  and  but  one  child,  a  son,  surviving  him. 

JUDGE  AVERY. 

"  It  was  early  in  the  year  1631  that  the  ship  Arabella  landed  its 
passengers  at  the  place  where  now  stand  Boston  and  Charleston, 
and  where  Gov.  John  Winthrop,  Sr.,  had  commenced  an  English  set- 
tlement the  year  before.  Among  the  passengers  were  Christopher 
Avery  and  his  little  son  James,  then  eleven  years  old."  James  mar- 
ried Joanna  Greenslade  and  removed  to  New  London  in  165 1,  where 
he  built  a  stone  house  which  is  still  standing  and  is  occupied  by  one 
of  the  Averys  —  the  eighth  generation  from  James.  At  the  battle  of 
Groton  Heights,  when  Benedict  Arnold,  September  5,  1781,  captured 
New  London  and  massacred  the  garrison,  "  eleven  Averys  were 
killed  in  the  fort  and  seven  wounded."  Solomon  Avery,  writing 
from  Groton  to  his  brother  Waightstill,  in  North  Carolina  in  17S3, 
said,  "  Many  Averys  have  been  killed  in  this  war.  There  have  been 
no  tories  named  Avery  in  these  parts."  Samuel,  the  seventh  son  of 
James  Avery,  was  born  in  1664,  and  in  1686  married  Susan  Palms,  a 
daughter  of  Maj.  Palms  and  granddaughter  of  Gov.  John  Winthrop, 
Jr.,  of  Massachusetts.  He  had  ten  children,  seven  being  sons.  The 
sixth  child  was  Humphrey,  who  was  born  July  4,  1699,  and  married 
Jerusha  Morgan,  by  whom  he  had  twelve  children. 

Waightstill  was  born  May  10,  1741.  He  was  prepared  for  college 
by  Samuel  Seabury,  of  Groton,  and  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1766, 
where  he  served  as  tutor  for  a  year.  He  subsequently  studied  law 
with  Lyttleton  Dennis,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Maryland,  and  came  to 
North  Carolina  in  1769.  He  kept  a  journal  from  the  day  he  entered 
North  Carolina,  for  many  3'ears,  which  has  proved  of  much  historic 
interest.  Entering  the  province  in  the  Albermarle  section,  he  pre- 
sented his  letters  of   introduction  to  Iredell  and  Hewes,  and  the  first 


A.    C.    AVERY,    Judife    Supreme    Court. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  213 

men  in  the  colony,  and  was  at  once  received  with  friendship  and  es- 
teem. He  located  near  Charlotte  and  not  far  from  Salisbury,  where 
the  western  court  was  held,  boarding  with  Hezekiah  Alexander,  and 
soon  found  in  Mecklenburg  his  college  mates  at  Princeton,  Dr.  Eph- 
riam  Brevard,  Adlai  Osborne,  and  Rev.  Hezekiah  J.  Balch.  He  was 
an  early  friend  of  liberty  and  a  promoter  of  all  patriotic  movements, 
and  soon  established  himself  as  one  of  the  most  influential  leaders  in 
his  section  of  the  province.  He  was  a  member  of  the  provincial  con- 
gress of  1775,  and  also  that  of  1776,  which  framed  the  constitution, 
and  he  was  one  of  the  committee  that  brought  that  instrument  for- 
ward. 

Upon  the  formation  of  the  state  government,  in  1777,  he  was 
chosen  attorney-general,  and  while  attending  court  at  Xewbern,  he 
met  the  young  widow,  Leah  Franks,  whom  he  married  in  1778.  As 
she  had  large  landed  interests  in  Jones  county,  in  1779,  he  settled  in 
that  county,  and  resigning  the  office  of  attorney-general,  succeeded 
Nathan  Bryan  as  colonel  of  the  Jones  county  militia  —  the  militia 
being  always  more  or  less  in  active  service.  In  1777  he  had  been  on 
a  commission  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Cherokees,  over  the  moun- 
tains, and  was  doubtless  led,  bj'  his  journey  in  the  west,  to  appreciate 
the  salubrious  climate  of  that  region.  In  17S1,  eastern  Carolina  being 
then  invaded,  he  removed  his  family  to  Swan  Pond,  a  tract  of  land 
he  had  acquired  in  Burke  county,  where  he  subsequentlj'  resided.  He 
often  represented  Burke  county  in  the  assembly  up  to  1796.  In  1801 
he  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  but  continued  to  practice  his  profession 
until  a  few  years  before  his  death  in  1821.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
cultivated  men  in  the  state,  possessed  an  extensive  library  and  main- 
tained his  knowledge  of  the  Latin  language  even  in  his  old  age.  He 
left  three  daughters  and  a  son.  Elizabeth  married  William  Lenoir, 
and  Louisa,  Thomas  Lenoir.  His  only  son  was  Isaac  Thomas  Avery, 
who  was  born  at  Swan  Pond,  September  22,  1785,  and  died  December 
31,  1864,  in  his  eightieth  year.  He  was  several  times  a  member  of 
the  legislature,  and  was  an  influential  gentleman  in  his  section  ot  the 
state. 

In  1815  he  married  Harriet, theoldestdaughterof  Col. W.W.  Erwin. 
For  more  than  thirty  years  he  was  cashier  of  the  bank  at  INIorganton, 
and  at  the  same  time  was  largely  engaged  in  agriculture  and  stock 
raising.  Xo  place  in  all  that  region  was  better  known  for  elegant 
hospitality  than  his  home  at  Swan  Pond.  Here  Col.  Avery  lived 
with  every  comfort,  surrounded  by  a  devoted  family,  and  beloved  and 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  days  were  prolonged  until 
within  the  space  of  one  year,  he  was  bereft  of  his  three  eldest  sons 
who  fell  in  defense  of  the  south.  Col.  William  Waightstill  Avery, 
the  eldest  son  was  born  May  25,  1816.  Having  gratluated  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  he  studied  law  with  Judge  Gaston 
and  soon  entered  in  public  life  as  a  states  rights  democrat.  He  often 
represented  his  county  in  the  legislature,  was  chairman  of  the  North 
Carolina  delegation  in  the  national  delegation  of  1856,  and  again  in 
i860,  and  was  a  member  of  the  provisional  congress  of  the  Confederate 


214  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

States,  where  he  rendered  efficient  public  service.  No  man  in  the 
state  commanded  higher  respect  for  his  talents,  attainments  and 
worth  than  Col.  Avery.  In  1S64  an  incursion  was  made  by  a  maurad- 
ing  party  from  Tennessee  into  Burke  county.  They  were  led  by  the 
notorious  Col.  Kirk.  Col.  Avery  hastily  gathered  together  a  body  of 
militia  and  started  in  pursuit.  In  attacking  Kirk's  force  in  a  strong 
position  in  the  mountains,  he  was  mortally  wounded  and  died  on  the 
3d  of  July,  1S64,  universally  lamented  throughout  the  borders  of  the 
state. 

Col.  Clark  Moulton  Avery  was  the  second  of  the  six  sons  of  Col. 
Isaac  T.  Aver}'.  He  was  born  October  3,  1819,  and  died  June  19, 
1864,  of  wounds  received  at  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  He  com- 
manded a  company  at  Big  Bethel,  and  rose  by  merit  to  be  colonel  of 
the  Thirty-third  regiment  North  Carolina  infantry,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  gallant  and  meritorious  officers  of  the  service.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Walton,  and  left  four  children. 
Col.  Isaac  Erwin  Avery  was  born  December  20,  182S.  He  was,  when 
the  war  broke  out,  in  partnership  with  Col.  C.  F.  Fisher  and  S.  M.  D. 
Tate,  as  contractor  for  building  portions  of  the  W.  N.  C.  railroad, 
and  proved  himself  a  most  efficient  manager  of  construction  work. 
He  raised  a  company  and  joined  Col.  Fisher's  regiment;  was 
wounded  at  Manassas  in  1861  and  at  Gaines'  Mills,  and  became 
colonel  of  the  Sixth  North  Carolina  troops.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
second  day's  fight  at  Gettysburg,  Col.  Avery  was  in  command  of 
Hoke's  brigade,  and  together  with  Hay's  brigade  attacked  the  Fed- 
eral works  on  Cemetery  hill,  and  after  an  obstinate  fight  in  which 
the  losses  were  very  heavy,  entered  the  works.  In  the  assault  Col. 
Avery  was  shot  through  the  neck  and  fell  speechless.  In  his  hand 
'was  found  a  bloody  scroll  upon  which  he  had  written,  with  a  pencil, 
despite  his  great  agony  —  "  Col.  Tate,  tell  my  father  that  I  fell  with 
my  face  to  the  enemy." 

Next  to  the  youngest  son  of  Col.  Isaac  Avery  was  Judge  Alphonso 
Calhoun  Avery,  who  was  born  September  11,  1837.  He  took  first 
honors  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  read  law  with  Chief-Justice  Pearson.  In 
May,  1861,  he  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  Company  E,  of  the 
Sixth  North  Carolina  troops,  and  with  his  brother,  Capt.  Avery,  was 
complimented  for  gallantry  at  Manassas.  In  1862  he  was  promoted 
to  a  captaincy,  and  was  later  commissioned  as  major,  and  assistant 
adjutant-general  of  D.  H.  Hill's  division,  and  in  1863  accompanied 
Gen.  Hill  to  the  western  army.  He  served  there  on  the  staff  of 
Breckinridge,  Hindman  and  Hood.  Subsequently  he  was  given  com- 
mand of  a  battalion  in  North  Carolina,  but  was  captured  by  Stone- 
man's  forces  near  Salisbury  and  was  kept  a  prisoner  until  August, 
1S65.  In  1S66  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  and  served  in  that 
the  last  legislative  body  elected  exclusively  by  the  white  people  of 
the  state.  Two  years  later  he  was  again  returned  to  the  senate,  but 
was  not  permitted  to  take  his  seat.  In  1875  he  represented  Burke  in 
the  constitutional  convention,  and  rendered  efficient  and  valuable 
service  in  that  body.     He  had  always  been  an  active  and  zealous  ad- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  215 

herent  of  the  democratic  party,  and  was  a  merhber  of  the  state  ex- 
ecutive committee.  In  1S76  he  was  a  presidential  elector,  and  in 
1878  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court  for  the  Eighth  judicial 
district. 

After  ten  years'  service  on  the  superior  court  bench,  in  which  the 
people  of  the  state  realized  the  extent  of  his  unusual  powers  and  fine 
judicial  attainments.  Judge  Avery  was  elevated  to  the  supreme  court 
bench,  where  his  talents  and  learning  and  discriminating  judgment 
have  greatly  enhanced  his  reputation  as  an  eminent  jurist.  Gener- 
ous, with  a  kindly  disposition,  and  possessing  a  fund  of  humor,  he  is 
off  the  bench  a  most  agreeable  companion.  Handsome  in  person, 
with  a  splendid  physique,  full  of  sympathy  and  personal  magnetism, 
he  is  an  ornament  to  society,  while  his  philanthrophy  and  genuine 
Christianity  and  manliness  of  carriage  endear  him  to  a  host  of  ad- 
miring friends.  On  February  27,  1861,  Judge  Avery  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Susan  W.  Morrison,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Mor- 
rison, and  a  granddaughter  of  Gen.  Joseph  Graham,  and  a  sister  of 
the  wife  of  Gen.  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  b}'  her  had  six  children,  of 
whom  four  survive,  viz.:  Isaac  Erwin  Averj%  of  Morganton; 
Susan  W.,  Alphonso  C.  and  Alfred  L.  His  wife  dying  in  March,  1886, 
Judge  Avery  married  December  31,  1888,  Miss  Sallie  Love  Thomas, 
a  daughter  of  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas,  of  Jackson  county,  by  whom  he 
has  one  son,  Lenoir  Avery. 

DR.  KARL  VON  RUCK, 

an  able  and  scholarly  physician  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  gives  his  sole  at- 
tention to  diseases  of  the  lungs  and  throat.  He  was  born  at  Constan- 
tinople, Turkey,  July  10,  1849,  his  father.  Baron  Johann  von  Ruck, 
being  at  the  time  of  his  birth  the  German  minister  at  that  place. 
Dr.  von  Ruck  was  reared  in  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  and  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Royal  gymnasium  in  .Stuttgart,  graduating  there  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  years.  He  then  completed  a  medical  course  in  the 
University  of  Tuebingen;  before  graduating,  however,  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war  had  been  inaugurated,  and  he  was  appointed  to  a  posi- 
tion as  assistant  under  Prof,  von  Bruns,  which  he  held  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  Afterward  he  resumed  his  studies  in  the  university,  and 
graduating  with  honors,  came  to  America.  Here  he  entered  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  and  completed  a 
course  in  it,  graduating  in  1878,  thereafter  spending  about  a  year 
in  the  New  York  hospitals.  Dr.  von  Ruck  now  entered  upon  his 
professional  career  at  Xorwalk,  Ohio,  where  he  continued  until  1883. 
At  that  time  Prof.  Koch  announced  the  discovery  of  the  germ  of 
tuberculosis,  and  in  order  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  nature  of  the 
discovery.  Dr.  von  Ruck  went  to  Berlin  and  spent  about  eight  months 
in  the  Hygienic  lalioratory  under  Prof.  Koch,  and  in  the  Pathological 
institute  of  Prof.  Virchow.  He  also,  before  leaving  Germany,  visited 
the  private  institutions  throughout  that  country  for  the  treatment  of 
consumption.     Returning   to   Ohio   in    1884   he    now   established    a 


2l6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

private  hospital  for  consumption,  and  encouraged  bj-  the  favorable 
results  he  obtained,  and  in  order  to  have  the  assistance  of  the  best 
climatic  condition  as  well,  he  removed  to  Asheville,  N.  C,  in  i8S8, 
where  he  established  the  Winyaw  Sanitarium  for  diseases  of  the 
lungs  and  throat.  He  has  conducted  that  institution  since,  and  it  has 
become  one  of  the  famous  sanitariums  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States,  and  is  modeled  and  conducted  upon  the  plan  of  the  leading 
private  institutions  in  Germany.  The  institution  is  supported  by  the 
leading  physicians  in  all  parts  of  the  country  who  send  their  patients 
there  for  treatment. 

Upon  the  discovery  by  Prof.  Koch,  of  Berlin,  of  the  remedy  for 
tuberculosis,  now  called  tuberculin.  Dr.  von  Ruck  hastened  to  Berlin 
and  was  the  first  of  the  army  of  physicians  to  secure  the  remedy  for 
use  in  a  private  institution.  Since  his  return,  he  has  administered  it 
to  a  large  number  of  patients  with  great  success,  enjoying  now,  after 
the  riper  reflection  of  the  profession,  the  distinction  of  being 'the  first 
physician  to  use  it  in  a  proper  manner.  Apart  from  this  remedy  which 
is  considered  only  an  aid  in  suitable  cases,  the  climatic,  dietetic,  hy- 
dropathic and  other  methods  of  treatment  are  carefully  carried  out, 
and  the  records  of  the  institution  show  now,  sixty-nine  cured  and  a 
great  number  of  permanently  arrested  and  greatly  improved  cases  of 
consumption.  Dr.  von  Ruck  is  a  member  of  the  /\merican  Climato- 
logical  association,  the  American  Medical  association,  and  a  number 
of  other  important  medical  societies,  and  the  author  of  many  impor- 
tant publications  relating  to  his  specialty.  In  the  year  past  there  were 
treated  about  lOO  patients.  The  institution,  besides  the  offices,  lab- 
oratory, parlors,  billiard  rooms,  etc.,  has  sixty-five'  guest  rooms,  and 
is  unexceptional  m  all  its  appointments.  Especial  attention  is  given 
not  only  to  thorough  disinfection  of  all  the  rooms,  but  any  article 
with  which  patients  come  in  contact  is  subjected  to  disinfection  by 
steam  before  it  is  again  used;  thus  making  residence  in  the  establish- 
ment not  only  one  of  security  and  prospect  for  recovery  for  the  in- 
valid, but  conferring  immunity  from  infection  to  the  well,  and  such  as 
seek  climate  for  eradicating  the  predisposition  to  the  disease,  or  for 
convalesence. 

DR.  JOHN  ANDERSON  WATSON, 

a  leading  physician  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  was  born  at  Clay  Hill,  York 
county,  S.  C,  December  iS,  1849.  He  is  the  son  of  Dr.  David  M. 
Watson  who  also  was  a  physician  by  profession  and  who,  in  his  day 
was  one  of  the  prominent  practitioners  of  South  Carolina.  The  lat- 
ter was  also  born  in  York  county,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  January 
24,  18 1 4.  He  was  the  son  of  David  Watson,  also  a  native  of  York 
county,  and  a  farmer  by  occupation  who  was  born  in  1772.  The  lat- 
ter was  the  son  of  Col.  Samuel  Watson,  a  revolutionary  soldier  born 
in  1731.  The  Watson  family  descended  from  an  emigrant  from  the 
northern  part  of  Ireland,  a  Scotch-Irishman  and  Presbyterian,  and 
his  faith  has  been  the   faith   of  the  many  generations   which   have 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  217 

followed  him.  Three  sons  of  David  Watson,  the  grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  were  physicians  by  profession  and  another 
son,  Rev.  S.  L.  Watson,  was  a  Presbyterian  minister  who  for  forty 
years  was  pastor  of  Bethel  church,  in  York  county,  and  one  of  the 
Highly  respected  men  of  that  section.  The  father  of  Dr.  Watson 
died  August  ii,  1855.  His  mother  was  Mary  J.  Anderson,  who  was  a 
native  of  York  county,  the  daughter  of  John  Anderson  a  planter,  and 
the  sister  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Anderson,  a  Presbyterian  divine,  who  for 
many  years  was  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Davidson  college. 
Maternally  as  well  as  paternally.  Dr.  Watson  is  of  ScotchTrish 
descent,  the  Anderson  famil}'  in  this  country  having  also  been 
founded  by  an  emigrant  from  the  northern  part  of  Ireland. 

Dr.  Watson  spent  his  early  life  in  York  county,  S.  C,  and  was 
educated  in  the  Kings  Mountain  military  academy,  of  Yorkville,  and 
in  the  South  Carolina  university.  For  a  want  of  means  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  latter  institution  one  year  before  his  graduation 
would  have  taken  place.  Shortly  after  leaving  the  university  he  be- 
came possessed  of  a  desire  to  fit  himself  for  the  practice  of  medicine. 
Fortunately  for  him,  at  this  tims,  a  kinsman,  being  aware  of  this  de- 
sire, offered  to  provide  him  with  the  necessary  funds  to  give  him  a 
medical  education.  He  availed  himself  of  this  offer,  and  though  the 
total  sum  thus  advanced  him  amounted  to  more  than  $1,600,  it  has 
been  paid  in  full  together  with  interest.  In  the  fall  of  1S70  D.r.  Wat- 
son entered  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Maryland, 
at  Baltimore.  After  taking  one  course  in  that  school,  he  became  an 
interne  in  the  university  hospital,  and  graduated  in  March,  1S72. 
After  completing  ITis  medical  education  he  became  a  resident  physi- 
cian in  the  Bay  View  hospital,  of  Baltimore,  and  held  that  position 
about  one  year,  after  which  he  returned  to  South  Carolina,  and  was 
shortly  afterward  appointed  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  the  South 
Carolina  university.  He  held  that  position  likewise  about  one  year, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  resigned  to  turn  his  whole  attention  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  Locating  at  Chester,  S.  C,  he  became 
the  partner  of  Dr.  A.  P.  Wylie,  a  prominent  practitioner  of  that  place. 
Dr.  Wylie  died  some  three  or  four  years  later,  after  which  Dr.  Wat- 
son succeeded  to  the  practice  of  the  firm,  which  was  very  large,  and 
to  which  he  devoted  himself  until  1884.  In  that  year  he  removed  to 
Asheville,  N.  C,  where  he  has  been  in  the  active  and  successful  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  ever  since,  and  of  which  city  he  is  a  leading 
physician. 

Dr.  Watson  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  establishing  the  Mission 
hospital  at  Asheville  in  iS8>  being  associated  in  that  project  with 
Drs.  S.  W.  Battle  and  the  late  Wardlaw  McGill.  Dr.  Watson  has 
been  one  of  the  attending  physicians  of  that  hospital  ever  since. 
While  he  is  a  general  practitioner,  he  has  paid  special  attention  to  the 
treatment  and  study  of  diseases  of  women,  and  he  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  most  competent  in  that  branch  of  practice  in  western 
North  Carolina.     In  view  of  his  fitness  for  the  position,  he  was  upon 


2l8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  establishment  of  the  Mission  hospital  placed  in  charge  of  the 
women's  department,  which  position  he  still  holds.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Buncombe  county  medical  society.  In  politics  he  is  a  con- 
servative democrat,  and  has  served  one  term  as  coroner  of  Buncombe 
county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Watson 
was  married  June  7,  1SS6,  to  Miss  Arabella,  the  daughter  of  James  M. 
Tebbetts,  of  Great  Falls,  N.  H.  Her  mother  was  Hannah  E.  Brack- 
ett,  a  native  of  Maine.  Dr.  Watson  has  taken  three  .post-graduate 
courses,  two  in  the  polyclinic,  and  one  in  the  University  of  New  York. 

DR.  MORAGN  LINES  NEILGON, 

an  old  and  honored  physician  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Green 
county,  Tenn.,  March  17,  1822.  He  was  the  son  of  Archibald  D. 
Neilson,  a  native  of  North  Carolina  and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  who 
died  more  than  forty  years  ago.  The  father  served  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  was  a  recruiting  officer  under  Gen.  Jackson,  at  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans.  The  latter  was  the  son  of  William  Neilson,  a  native 
of  Scotland,  who  graduated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  came 
to  America  shortly  after  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  settled  at 
Lynchburg,  \'a.,  where  he  followed  mercantile  pursuits.  He  subse- 
quently removed  to  Tennessee,  and  later  to  North  Carolina,  locating 
in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  known  as  Hot  Springs,  which  property 
he  owned  and  improved.  The  mother  of  Dr.  Neilson  was  Eliza 
Lines,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  a  niece  of  Gen.  Francis  Marion. 
She  also  died  more  than  forty  years  ago.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  reared  upon  a  farm  in  Greene  county,  Tenn*.  He  received  his 
education  in  a  country  school,  and  at  Greenville  college.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-one  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  under  Drs. 
Hale  and  Walker,  of  Greene  countj'.  In  the  fall  of  1842  he  entered  the 
Transylvania  medical  college,  of  Lexington,  and  in  it  he  attended 
one  course  of  lectures.  In  1843  he  began  the  practj^ce  of  medicine  in 
Beech  Bottoms,  Tenn.  He  was  married  in  1844,  in  Buncombe  county, 
now  Madison  county,  N.  C,  to  Laura  Henrietta  Vance,  sister  of 
United  States  Senator  Z.  B.  Vance.  In  1845  Dr.  Neilson  located  in 
Asheville,  N.  C,  where  he  has  resided  and  practiced  his  profession 
ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  two  years,  1S67  and  1868,  during 
which  he  resided  in  Spartanburg,  S.  C,  and  Tennessee.  In  the  fall 
of  1851  he  entered  the  Philadelphia  college  of  medicine,  graduating 
in  1852.  He  served  three  years  of  the  Civil  war  as  surgeon,  resign- 
ing the  position  just  before  the  close  of  the  war,  on  account  of  ill 
health.  Dr.  Neilson  is  a  general  practitioner.  He  has  practiced  his 
profession  for  nearly  a  half  century,  and  his  career  has  been  a  most 
honorable  one.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Buncombe  county  medical 
society,  and  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south.  In 
politics  he  is  a  democrat.  Dr.  Neilson  and  wife  have  two  sons  living. 
Though  nearly  seventy  years  of  age.  Dr.  Neilson  is  still  in  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  219 


DR.  JAMES  ANTHONY  BURROUGHS, 

one  of  the  rising  and  popular  young  physicians  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  is  a 
native  of  Kanawha  county.W.Va.,  and  was  born  Decembers,  1S58.  His 
parents  were  James  and  Sarah  (Ruckel)  Burroughs,  both  nativ-es  of 
Bedford  county,  Ya.  His  father  combined  farming  and  merchandis- 
ing and  was  highly  esteemed  in  the  community.  He  located  in  what 
is  now  West  \'irginia,  in  1853,  and  when  the  Civil  war  broke  out  he 
joined  the  Confederate  army  and  soon  made  himself  conspicuous  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  for  which 
he  was  rewarded  with  a  major's  commission,  holding  the  same  with 
credit  to  himself  throughout  the  sanguinary  struggle.  Dr.  J.  .A.  Bur- 
roughs began  his  education  in  the  X'irginia  schools,  afterward  enter- 
ing the  Louisville,  Ky.,  medical  college,  from  which  he  graduated 
with  distinguished  honors,  in  1SS2.  His  close  application  to  his  stud- 
ies was  something  of  a  strain  upon  his  physical  forces,  and  he  gradu- 
ated with  his  health  partially  impaired.  He  had  mastered  his  medi- 
cal course  in  much  less  time  than  is  usually  consumed  for  that  purpose, 
and  the  temporary  loss  of  health  was  the  penalty  exacted  of  him. 
But  his  indomitable  spirit  did  not  yield,  and  he  started  out  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Paucha  Springs,  very  soon  working  up 
an  extensive  and  profitable  practice.  He  soon  found,  however,  that 
the  field  at  this  place  was  too  narrow  for  the  full  developments  of  his 
powers,  and  in  1882  he  removed  to  Asheville,  which  place  promised 
to  give  his  medical  genius  full  scope  and  ample  verge.  Here  the  im- 
mediate and  continual  enlargement  of  his  business  shows  that  he 
chose  a  locality'  where  his  talents,  learning  and  natural  adaptation  to 
the  requirements  of  his  profession  are  duly  appreciated,  and  the  e.x- 
tent  of  his  professional  engagements  is  only  to  be  measured  by  his 
endurance  and  strength  to  answer  the  calls  upon  him. 

Few  practitioners  of  Mr.  Borroughs's  age  have  ever  come  so  rap- 
idly to  the  front,  or  exhibited  qualities  in  their  profession  of  a  higher 
grade.  Even  in  the  outset  of  his  career,  comparatively,  he  bids  fair 
to  soon  reach  the  front  rank  in  his  profession,  and  attain  a  reputation 
as  wide  as  the  boundaries  of  the  state.  Dr.  Borroughs  is  a  member 
of  the  state  medical  society  of  North  Carolina,  and  a  member  of  the 
Buncombe  county  medical  society.  He  is  city  phj'sician  of  Asheville, 
and  a  member  of  the  Asheville  board  of  health.  In  the  midst  of  his 
busy  practice,  and  of  his  official  duties,  he  does  not  ignore  nor  neglect 
the  material,  social,  intellectual  and  moral  improvement  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  has  cast  his  lot,  but  takes  an  active  concern  in 
this  direction.  He  has  a  property  interest  in  several  large  enter- 
prises outside  of  his  professional  circles,  but  is  an  active  agent  in  every 
direction  for  the  up-building  and  improvement  of  society.  In  De- 
cember, 1882,  Dr.  Burroughs  was  married  to  Miss  Annie  Reynolds,  a 
lady  of  wide  culture  and  fine  accomplishments,  the  daughter  of  Dr. 
John  Reynolds,  of  Asheville. 


220  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


DR.  SAMUEL  WESTRAY  BATTLE, 

a  distinguished  naval  officer  and  physician  was  born  in  Nash  county, 
N.  C.  August  4,  1854.  His  parents  were  William  S.  and  Elizabeth 
(Dancy)  Battle,  both  native  North  Carolinians.  The  father's  occupa- 
tion was  that  of  a  planter  and  manufacturer  and  he  carried  on  an  ex- 
tensive business  in  both,  being  one  of  the  largest  dealers  in  his  sec- 
tion of  the  country.  He  brought  both  energy  and  intelligence  to  the 
task  of  conducting  his  varied  enterprises  and  thereby  won  success. 
He  took  a  lively  interest  in  politics  but  never  aspired  to  office  hold- 
ing. Yet  his  strong  common  sense  and  sagacity  suggested  his  fitness 
for  public  duties  and  when  the  secession  movement  was  inaugurated, 
he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  state  convention  which  took  that  sub- 
ject into  consideration.  He  was  also  chosen  to  other  offices  in  his 
county.  Dr.  Battle,  in  his  youth,  attended  Horner's  classical  and 
mathematical  school  at  Oxford,  N.  C,  and  afterward  entered  the 
Bellevue  high  school  in  Bedford  county,  Va.  Here  he  fitted  him- 
self for  the  Virginia  state  university,  and  in  that  institution  entered 
upon  a  medical  and  classical  course,  graduating  with  honors  in  1874. 
But  he  was  not  yet  satisfied  in  his  professional  researches  and  entered 
Bellevue  hospital  and  medical  college  of  New  York,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1875.  With  this  elaborate  preparation  he  entered  the 
United  States  service  as  surgeon  in  the  naval  department,  passing 
a  rigid  competitive  examination  for  that  position.  He  fully  illustrated 
his  fitness  for  this  important  trust  by  the  signal  brilliancy  of  his  official 
career.  His  field  of  operation  was  on  the  seas  and  in  every  naval 
JDort,  and  his  services  were  of  the  highest  order  of  merit.  The}'  were 
arduous  and  extended  to  a  term  of  ten  years,  from  1875  till  1885. 
His  services  were  terminated  by  a  collision  at  sea  in  which  he  re- 
ceived a  severe  wound  in  his  left  arm  by  which  he  was  for  a  time 
practically  disabled  for  the  performance  of  surgical  operations.  He 
was  consequently  retired  from  active  naval  duty  but  without  the  loss 
of  his  rank  in  the  service. 

In  1879  he  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  United  States  hos- 
pital in  Florida,  where  he  spent  about  four  years.  In  1885  he  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  as  a  private  practitioner  in  Asheville, 
and  his  business  at  once  became  extensive  and  profitable.  Profession- 
ally, Dr.  Battle  is  a  thorough  and  progressive  student,  constantly 
abreast  of  the  times  in  medical  and  surgical  sciences.  His  general 
intelligence  and  knowledge  of  the  world,  nearly  all  parts  of  which  he 
has  personally  visited,  make  him  a  great  favorite  in  social  circles, 
where  his  suavity  of  manner  and  the  brilliancy  of  his  conversational 
powers  are  duly  appreciated.  Ever  since  the  establishment  of  the 
Asheville  city  hospital  in  1886,  Dr.  Battle  has  been  in  charge  and  his 
services  therein  are  a  public  beneficence.  He  is  very  popular  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  health  of  the  cit}'  of  Asheville,  and  is  presi- 
dent of  the  Buncombe  count}'  medical  society.  In  business  lines  he 
is  vice-president  of  the  x'\sheville   Street   Railway  company,  director 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  221 

in  the  Light  &  Power  company,  one  of  the  incorporators,  president 
and  a  director  of  the  Cosmopolitan  club,  and  vice-president  of  Ashe- 
ville  Park  &  Hotel  Co.  Dr.  Battle  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  M., 
daughter  of  Admiral  George  E.  Belknap,  of  New  Hampshire,  a  naval 
ofificer  of  the  highest  distinction.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Battle  have  three 
children,  Madelon  B.,  Samuel  W.  and  Belknap  Battle.  The  doctor 
is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

DR.  WILLIAM  D.  HILLIARD. 

a  prominent  physician  of  Asheville,  \.  C,  was  born  in  the  city  in 
which  he  now  resides,  March  ii,  1858.  He  is  the  son  of  Dr.  Will- 
iam L.  Hilliard,  a  native  of  Georgia,  and  a  phj-sician  who  practiced 
his  profession  for  more  than  forty  years  in  Asheville.  He  died  Octo- 
tober  II,  iSqo.  The  mother  of  William  D.  Hilliard  was  Margaret  E., 
daughter  of  Col.  James  R.  Love,  and  she  was  born  at  W'aynesville, 
N.  C.  She  is  still  living.  Dr.  Hilliard  was  reared  in  Asheville,  and 
was  educated  in  Col.  Stephen  Lee's  high  school,  in  which  he  obtained 
a  knowledge  of  the  classics,  in  addition  to  a  good  English  training. 
At  the  early  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine, 
under  the  preceptorship  of  his  father,  and  in  the  fall  of  1S76,  entered 
the  Jefferson  medical  college  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1878.  He  at  once  began  the  practice  of  medicine  as  the  part- 
ner of  his  father,  and  this  partnership  continued  until  1881.  He  soon 
built  up  a  lucrative  practice  which  he  resigned  in  1882,  to  accept  the 
position  of  assistant  superintendent -of  the  Western  North  Carolina 
insane  asylum,  at  Morganton,  N.  C.  He  held  that  position  three 
years,  resigning  it  in  1884.  He  then  returned  to  Asheville,  where  he 
has  since  been  in  the  active  practice  of  medicine,  and  of  which  city 
he  is  now  a  leading  physician  and  surgeon.  Dr.  Hilliard  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  North  Carolina  medical  society,  and  of  the  state  board  of 
health.  He  is  the  local  surgeon  of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  rail- 
road company,  and  the  assistant  surgeon  general  of  North  Carolina. 
Dr.  Hilliard  has  served  several  terms  ascoronerof  Buncombe  county. 
He  is  a  Mason,  a  Knights  Templar  and  a  member  of  the  L  O.  O.  F. 
lodge.  In  politics  he  is  a  democrat.  Dr.  Hilliard  was  married  in 
1884  to  Miss  Mary  V.  Duffield,  of  Norfolk,  Va.,  and  they  have  one 
child,  a  daughter. 

S.  T.  &  P.  A.    NICHOLSON. 

Sir  Malile  Nicholson  left  England  in  1748  and  .sought  a  home  in 
the  new  world,  settling  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  on  a  tract  of  land 
granted  him  by  King  George  II.  His  son,  Thomas  Wright  Nicholson, 
w-as  born  in  Halifax  county.  He  became  a  very  prominent  and  intiu- 
ential  man  in  the  community,  and  served  in  the  patriot  armj'  of  1776 
as  a  colonel.  He  was  a  large  land  owner  and  slaveholder,  and  repre- 
sented his  county  in  the  state  legislature  for  several  years.  As  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  he  did  much  toward  build- 


222  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ing  up  that  denomination  in  his  section  of  the  state,  and  was  a  man 
of  great  force  of  character  and  ability.  Temperance  Winifred  Wig- 
gins became  his  wife  and  bore  him  tlie  following  named  children: 
James;  Joseph,  deceased;  Timothy,  of  Mississippi,  a  prominent  lawyer; 
Blake  B.,  Mary,  Laura  and  Winnie.  Blake  B.  Nicholson  was  edu- 
cated at  Washington  and  Lee  university,  and  followed  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  father  and  noble  grandsire  as  a  planter.  In  1858  he  removed 
to  Mississippi,  and  there  became  a  major  in  the  Mississippi  Guards. 
He  returned  to  Halifax  county  in  1882,  and  now  resides  at  Panacea 
Springs,  Halifax  county,  N.  C.  He  is  an  active  democrat,  a  promi- 
nent Mason,  and  a  steward  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south. 
By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lucy  C.  Thorne,  nine  children  have  been 
born,  viz.:  Temperance  W.,  wife  of  E.  A.  Daniel,  of  Panacea  Springs; 
Samuel  T.,  M.  D.;  J.  T.,  of  Bath,  N.  C;  B.  B.,  Jr.,  assistant  treasurer 
of  Trinity  college;  P.  A.,  of  Washington,  N.  C;  Mary  E.,  wife  of 
Samuel  J.  Clarke,  of  Enfield,  N.  C;  William  Edward,  manager  of  the 
Bath  Lumber  Co.;  Lucilla  G.,  wife  of  James  Clarke,  of  Enfield,  N.  C, 
and  Katie,  who  resides  at  home.  Samuel  T.  Nicholson,  the  imme- 
diate subject  of  this  biographical  mention,  was  born  on  the  family 
estate  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  December  25,  1855.  He  was 
graduated  from  Fork  institute,  then  under  the  management  of  Prof. 
John  Graham,  and  began  to  study  medicine  with  Dr.  E.  T.  Taylor,  of 
Washington,  and  graduated  from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons at  Baltimore,  in  18S1.  In  the  same  year  he  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Beaufort  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  med- 
ical society,  and  for  the  past  eight  years  has  been  a  United  States 
pension  examining  surgeon.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  is  a  school  commissioner,  and  a  leading  member  of  the 
democratic  party  in  the  count3^  Dr.  Nicholson  has  been  very  active 
in  encouraging  and  instituting  new  and  important  industrial  enter- 
prises, and  was  prominently  identified  with  the  organization  of  the 
Bath  Manufacturing  company,  in  which  he  is  a  large  stockholder; 
he  was  an  organizer  of  the  Washington  Industrial  association,  and  since 
its  establishment  has  been  treasurer,  he  is  also  treasurer  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  association,  of  Washington.  In  iSgo  he  erected  the 
magnificent  hotel  at  Washington,  known  as  the  Hotel  Nicholson. 
On  the  4th  of  July,  1876,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Annie  E.  Lucas,  daugh- 
ter of  Jesse  B.  Lucas,  of  Beaufort  county,  was  solemnized,  and  has 
been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  five  children:  John  Lawrence,  Lucille 
Thorne,  Elizabeth  S.,  Annie  Plummer  and  Samuel  T.,  Jr.  Dr.  Nichol- 
son is  a  steward  and  treasurer  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south,  of  Washington,  and  is  a  leader  in  every  enterprise  promising 
the  uplifting  of  the  people.  As  a  physician  he  has  won  an  enviable 
reputation  for  skill  and  abilit}',  and  his  name  is  known  throughout 
that  portion  of  the  state. 

Plummer  A.  Nicholson,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C, 
May  25,  1865.  He  received  his  scholastic  training  in  the  Thorne 
Branch  institute,  and  later  read  medicine  with  Dr.  S.  T.  Nicholson. 
In  1888  he  received  his  diploma  from  the  College  of  Physicians  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  223 

Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  and  at  that  time  formed  a  partnership  with 
his  preceptor.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Bath  Manufacturing  compan}',  and  is  a  prominent  dem- 
ocrat. In  1SS9  he  formed  a  marriage  alliance  with  .Nliss  Estella  M. 
Hunter,  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  B.  Hunter,  of  Halifax  county.  Dr. 
Nicholson  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south, 
and  also  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  He  has  an  extended  practice,  and  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  younger  physicians  of  eastern 
North  Carolina. 

COL.  DAVID  N.  BOGART. 

Among  the  most  prominent  business  men  of  Beaufort  county, 
N.  C,  appears  the  name  of  Col.  David  N.  Bogart,  the  leading  drug- 
gist of  Washington.  Col.  Bogart  was  born  in  Washington,  in  1847, 
and  his  parents  were  Gilbert  and  Christiana  (Barden)  Bogart.  Gil- 
bert Bogart  was  a  very  prominent  man.  He  was  born  in  New  York 
in  1804,  and  came  from  New  jersey  to  North  Carolina  in  about  1840, 
he  having  graduated  from  Princeton  college.  He  was  principal  at 
different  times  of  the  academies  at  Washington,  Edenton  and  New- 
bern.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  man  of 
godly  life.  He  died  in  Washington  in  1S67.  A  whig  in  politics,  he 
served  as  collector  of  customs  at  Washington  for  two  years,  and  his 
death  occurred  while  he  was  the  incumbent  of  that  position.  As  an 
educator  he  was  able  and  active.  I-'ossessed  of  superior  mind,  he  had 
broadened  and  e.xtended  his  faculties  b}'  years  of  consistent  studj? 
and  reading.  His  wife  was  a  native  of  Beaufort  county.  She  sur- 
vived her  husband  until  1879,  and  then  joined  him  in  eternal  rest. 
To  these  parents  three  sons  and  three  daughters  were  born,  viz.: 
Annie,  William,  cashier  of  the  Greensboro  bank;  David  N.,  and  three 
others,  now  deceased.  Col.  David  N.  Bogart  is  the  youngest  of  the 
living  children.  In  1S64  he  joined  the  Confederate  arnij-,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Freeman's  North  Carolina  battalion,  regular  troops,  and  was 
captured  by  Stoneman's  forces,  April  12,  1865,  and  imprisoned  at 
Camp  Chase,  Ohio.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  he  returned  home 
and  embarked  in  the  drvig  business  at  Washington,  in  i868.  Two 
years  later  he  married  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  William  Z.  Morton, 
of  Washington,  and  their  eight  children  are  all  living.  He  served 
for  a  time  as  captain  of  the  Washington  light  infantry,  was  then 
made  major  of  the  First  North  Carolina  state  troops,  and  now  holds 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  same.  Democratic  in  politics, 
he  is  a  member  of  the  school  committee.  He  is  also  a  prominent 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F".  and  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  is  a  lead- 
ing communicant  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  is  a  deacon. 
Mrs.  Bogart  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

DR.  W.  J.  T.  MILLER 

was  born  April  12,  1805,  about  four  miles  south  of  Rutherfordton,  N.  C, 
and  died  in  Shelby,  N.  C,  December  7,  1S85.     He  was  the  youngest 


224  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

son  of  John  and  Susan  Miller,  and  his  father  and  grandfather  were 
leading  citizens  of  western  North  Carolina.  His  mother  before  her 
marriage  was  Miss  Susan  Twitty,  whose  family  was  prominent  in 
that  part  of  the  state.  Dr.  Miller  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
M.  D.  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  in  1827,  and  settled  on  his  large  plantation 
south  of  Shelby,  the  place  taking  the  name  of  I^oplar  Grove.  There 
he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  as  well  as  agriculture  and  the 
mercantile  trade,  remaining  there  until  1S52,  when  he  removed  to 
Shelby.  This  was  his  permanent  residence  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
February  7,  1833,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Fullenvvider. 
daughter  of  Jacob  Fullenwider,  of  Lincoln  county,  and  ten  children 
were  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  were  killed  in  the  southern  army. 
Mrs.  Miller  and  four  sons.  Dr.  John  F.  Miller,  of  Goldsboro;  W.  H. 
Miller,  A.  C.  Miller,  and  R.  B.  Miller,  of  Shelby;  and  two  daughters, 
Mrs.  Moore,  of  South  Carolina,  and  Mrs.  S.  G.  Brice,  of  Shelby,  sur- 
vive him.  His  sons  are  leading  men  in  their  professions  and  in  so- 
ciety, and  all  are  faithful  and  conscientious  members  of  the  church 
which  he  in  his  lifetime  loved  so  well,  and  served  so  devotedly.  Dr. 
Miller  was  possessed  of  a  clear  and  vigorous  intellect  and  great 
energy  of  character,  and  these  attributes  made  him  a  most  success- 
ful practitioner  and  business  man,  besides  being  the  mainspring  in 
all  other  enterprises  which  he  undertook  for  the  promotion  of  his 
country.  With  characteristics  which  fitted  him  for  a  wider  sphere, 
he  was  not  permitted  to  remain  in  the  private  walks  of  life.  His 
qualities  and  adaptabilities  for  public  positions  were  recognized,  and 
in  1836  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  from  Ruther- 
ford county  and  served  in  that  body  for  three  successive  terms.  He 
was  then  elected  to  the  senate  from  the  district  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Cleveland,  Rutherford  and  Polk.  In  that  body  he  served 
a  number  of  terms  and  at  various  times,  the  last  being  in  1S72  and 
1874,  when  he  represented  the  present  district  composed -of  Cleve- 
land and  Gaston  counties. 

In  i84i,with  the  aid  of  his  cousin,  Michael  Hoke,  of  Lincoln  coun- 
ty, and  J.  G.  Bynum,  of  Rutherford  county.  Dr.  Miller  succeeded  in 
passing  a  bill  for  the  formation  of  a  new  county,  from  parts  of  Ruth- 
erford and  Lincoln  counties,  and  at  his  suggestion  the  new  county 
was  called  Cleveland,  in  honor  of  the  Kings  Mountain  hero.  He 
was  the  ruling  spirit  in  the  location  of  the  county  seat,  and  he  gave  it 
the  name  of  Shelby,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  While  in  the  senate  Dr. 
Miller  was  the  leader  in  the  establishment  of  charitable  institutions. 
He  attended  the  first  railroad  meeting  held  in  the  state,  and  assisted 
in  procuring  a  charter  for  the  North  Carolina  railroad.  He  aided 
liberally,  both  with  his  valuable  influence  and  with  his  means,  in  the 
construction  of .  the  Carolina  Central  railroad.  In  1S61  the  doctor 
was  a  member  of  the  secession  convention,  and  as  a  whig,  he  was 
firmly  against  anything  which  threatened  the  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
But,  like  hundreds  of  others  of  the  greatest  men  who  held  the  same 
principles  and  the  same  convictions,  when  the  struggle  came,  he  was 
on  the  side  of  his  state.     In  1874,  after  eighteen  years  of  public  ser- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  22$ 

vice,  Dr.  Miller  declined  further  preferment,  and  from  choice,  retired 
to  private  life,  giving  himself  up  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and 
to  doing  good  in  the  community  where  he  lived.  Dr.  Miller  joined 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  1S36,  and  was  for  forty-nine  years 
a  member  of  the  church,  holding  the  position  of  steward  for  forty 
years.  He  was  more  immediately  and  constantly  identified  with  the 
interests  of  the  church  than  any  man  in  western  North  Carolina,  as 
a  member  of  the  quarterly,  district,  annual  and  general  conferences, 
and  in  all  of  these  gatherings  he  was  the  leading  genius  among 
the  laymen. 


DR  SAMUEL  J.  HINSDALE. 

One  of  the  most  highly  respected  citi/ens  of  F"ayetteville,  Cumber- 
land county',  X.  C,  is  Dr.  Samuel  ].  Hinsdale,  a  retired  business  man, 
having  for  many  years  conducted  a  large  pharmacy  at  that 
place.  Dr.  Hinsdale  is  a  native  of  Middletown,  Conn.,  where  he  was 
born  in  1817,  the  son  of  John  and  Harriet  (Johnston)  Hinsdale,  who 
were  also  natives  of  Connecticut.  The  father  was  an  extensive  mer- 
chant, and  also  carried  on  a  large  shipping  business.  He  was  well 
and  favorably  known  throughout  New  England,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1S50,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two;  his  wife  died  a  few  years 
later.  The  son,  Samuel  J.,  was  educated  in  Connecticut,  and  gradu- 
ated from  the  New  York  college  of  pharmacy,  in  1837.  He  then  went 
to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  there  embarked  in  the  drug  business,  and  after 
about  three  years,  in  1843,  removed  to  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  where  he 
has  been  an  honored  citizen  since.  In  1843,  Dr.  Hinsdale  opened'a 
drug  store  in  his  new  home,  and  continued  in  a  large  and  successful 
business  until  18S5,  when  he  retired  from  active  life.  In  i84i,he  was 
married  to  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Ichabod  Wetmore,  of  Fay- 
etteville, and  two  children  were  born  to  them,  viz.:  Col.  John  VV. 
Hinsdale,  now  a  prominent  attorney  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.  In  1S61,  the 
latter  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  as  an  aide  to  Gen.  Holmes, 
and  before  the  close  of  the  war,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel 
of  junior  reserves,  and  with  his  command,  fought  in  the  battle  of 
Bentonville.  Although  he  served  during  the  entire  war,  he  received 
no  wound,  nor  was  taken  prisoner.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Maj. 
John  Devereux,  of  Raleigh,  and  their  children  are:  Margaret,  Sam- 
uel, John,  Lizzie,  Nellie  and  Annie.  The  next  child  is  Fannie,  wife 
of  Judge  J.  C.  MacRae.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  1885, 
aged  sixty-six  years.  She  was  a  life-long  communicant  of  the  Epis- 
copal church,  and  was  a  woman  of  excellent  attainments.  In  1886, 
Dr.  Hinsdale  married  Mrs.  Mary  (VVaddill)  Broadfoot,  daughter  of 
Col.  Thomas  VVaddill,  late  of  Cumberland  county,  N.  C.  Dr.  Hins- 
dale has  been  a  vestryman  for  a  number  of  years,  and  a  warden  for 
the  past  twenty  years  in  the  Episcopal  church  at  Fayetteville,  and  is 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  throughout  the  community. 
B— i^ 


226  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


CHARLES  DUFFY,  JR.,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Onslow  county,  N.  C,  July  i8,  1S38.  His  father,  Dr. 
Charles  Duffy,  was  born  in  Ireland,  near  Dublin.  He  received  his 
professional  training  in  his  native  land,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  his  early  manhood,  locating  in  Onslow  county.  He  is  a 
resident  of  that  county  at  this  time,  having  retired  from  active  prac- 
tice owing  to  advanced  age.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical 
society,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  and  a  trustee  of  the  Dav- 
idson college.  He  married  Miss  Nancy  C.  Howse,  of  Onslow  county, 
and  twelve  children  resulted  from  the  union,  ten  of  whom  reached 
maturity:  Mrs.  A.  B.  Mosely,  Dr.  Charles,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mer- 
rill (deceased),  Lawrence  E.,  Miss  Lucy,  Francis,  M.  D.,  Mrs.  Caro- 
lina Wooten,  Rodolph,  Leinster,  M.  D.,  and  Palmetto  (deceased). 
Our  subject  was  educated  in  his  native  county  in  the  Richland  acad- 
emy, and  later  in  an  academy  in  New  York  city.  He  began  the  study 
of  medicine  with  his  father,  and  was  graduated  from  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  New  York,  in  1859,  and  began  to  prac- 
tice in  Onslow  county  in  the  same  year.  In  May,  1861,  he  joined  the 
Confederate  army  as  a  member  of  Companj'  B,  Fourteenth  North 
Carolina  volunteer  infantry,  and  in  October,  i86i,was  made  assistant 
surgeon  of  the  regiment,  and  later  was  promoted  to  surgeon  of  the 
Fifty-fourth  regiment,  from  w'hich  he  was  transferred  to  the  Forty- 
ninth,  remaining  with  the  latter  regiment  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  was  detached  to  take  charge  of  a  hospital  at  Blue  Sulphur  Springs, 
W.  Va.,  in  the  early  part  of  the  war.  Resuming  his  professional  du- 
ties in  Onslow  county,  he  remained  there  until  1S70,  when  he  removed 
to  Newbern.  Dr.  Duffy  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society, 
of  which  he  has  been  vice-president,  and  for  six  years  was  a  member 
of  the  state  examining  board.  In  1872  he  was  vice-president  of  the 
state  medical  society,  first  president  of  eastern  North  Carolina  medi- 
cal society  in  1873  and  treasurer  in  1875-6-7,  and  in  1878  was  presi- 
dent of  the  state  medical  societ}'.  From  1873  to  1S74  he  was  president 
of  the  Craven  county  medical  society,  and  from  1872  to  1878,  was  a 
member  of  the  state  board  of  examiners,  and  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  to  organize  the  state  board  of  health.  He  is  a 
prominent  member  of  La  Fayette  lodge.  No.  83,  of  which  he  was 
worshipful  master,  and  Newbern  chapter  of  the  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
and  is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  A  loyal  democrat,  he  is  now 
a  member  of  the  state  board  of  charities,  having  been  appointed  by 
Gov.  Fowle,  and  is  now  president  of  this  board.  In  1881  Dr.  Duffy 
was  married  to  Miss  S.  B.  Moore,  daughter  of  William  P.  Moore,  of 
Newbern,  and  three  children  have  been  born  to  them,  of  whom  only 
one  survives,  named  Richard  M.,  Jr. 

Dr.  Francis  Duffy,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Richland  township,  Onslow 
county,  N.  C,  June  24,  1847.  His  literary  education  was  obtained  in 
different  private  schools  and  by  private   tutors.     He  read   medicine 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  227 

with  his  father.  Dr.  Charles  Duffy,  and  graduated  from- the  University 
of  Virginia  in  1S68,  and  from  the  college  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
in  New  York  in  1875,  and  from  Bellevue  hospital  in  1873.  In  1S69 
he  located  in  Jacksonville,  N.  C,  and  opened  an  office,  but  in  1879 
removed  to  Newbern,  and  has  since  been  associated  with  his  brother, 
Dr.  Charles  Duffy,  Jr.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  medical 
association;  North  Carolina  state  medical  society,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  State  examining  board  from  1884  to  1890.  He  is  a  director  in 
the  Winston  Salem  Land  &  Investment  company,  and  also  in  the 
Building  &  Loan  association  and  of  the  Virginia  Life  Insurance  com- 
pany. As  a  physician  he  e.xcels.  His  medical  training  was  of  the  best 
and  was  made  use  of  to  the  best  advantage.  The  result  has  been 
honorable. 

RICHARD  DILLARD,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Sussex  county,  Va.,  December  i,  1822.  His  father  was 
James  Dillard.  He  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Virginia, 
and  received  his  medical  diploma  from  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. When  a  young  man  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Chowan 
county,  N.  C,  and  married  Miss  Mary  Louisa  Bevely  Cross.  He 
was  a  sound  democrat  of  the  old  school,  and  soon  became  a  leader  of 
the  party  in  his  new  home.  He  was  twice  elected  to  represent 
Chowan  and  Gates  counties  in  the  state  senate,  and  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  secession  convention  from  Chowan  county.  By  reason  of 
his  loyalty  to  his  adopted  state  during  the  war,  he  was  despoiled  of 
his  property.  After  the  war  he  located  at  Edenton,  and  by  strict  ap- 
plication to  his  profession  was  enabled  to  repair  his  losses,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  the 
county.  He  was  an  honorary  member  of  the  state  medical  society- 
During  the  war  he  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  to  Gov.  Clarke,  with 
the  rank  of  colonel,  and  ordered  to  inspect  fortifications  at  Roanoke 
Island,  and  later  was  acting  brigade-surgeon  for  Gen.  Roger  A.  Pryor. 
His  death  occurred  in  1S87,  and  his  wife's  in  1880.  The  two  children 
now  living  of  the  four  born  to  them,  are  Richard  and  Sally,  the  lat- 
ter being  the  wife  of  M.  H.  Dixon,  of  Edenton. 

Richard  Dillard,  Jr.,  read  medicine  with  his  father;  he  entered  the 
Jefferson  medical  college  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1879,  completed  the 
course  there,  and  subsequently  attended  the  New  York  Polyclinic. 
Dr.  Dillard  at  once  opened  an  office  in  Edenton,  and  has  rapidly  risen 
to  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession  in  the  state.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  state  medical  society,  and  in  1890,  was  one  of  its  vice- 
presidents.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Phi  Kappa  Sigma  fraternity, 
and  holds  the  office  of  contract  surgeon  in  the  United  States  marine 
hospital  service  at  Edenton.  Dr.  Dillard  interested  in  agriculture  in 
the  county,  and  has  real  estate  interests  in  V^irginia.  As  a  democrat 
he  is  active  and  efficient.  Major  James  Dillard.  his  grandfather,  was 
a  native  of  Sussex  county,  Virginia,  and  served  in  the  legislature  of 
the  Old  Dominion  state.     He  was  a  major  during  the  Mexican  war, 


228  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  rendered  distinguished  services.  Mrs.  Mary  L.  B.  Dillard,  tlie 
mother  of  our  subject,  was  a  direct  descendant  of  tlie  Brownrigg 
family,  of  Winfield,  N.  C,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  hon- 
ored connections  of  the  state. 

DR.  HIRAM  TARLTON  CHAPIN, 

one  of  the  rising  physicians  and  surgeons  of  Chatham  county,  was 
born  in  Wayne  county,  N.  C,  July  30,  1858.  His  parents  are  Dr.  An- 
sel B.  and  Argent  E.  (Thompson)  Chapin,  the  father  a  native  of 
Granby,  Conn.,  and  the  mother  of  Wayne  county.  The  former  was  a 
graduate  from  Jefferson  medical  college,  Philadelphia.  He  had  a 
position  on  the  Atlantic  &  North  Carolina  railroad  about  the  year 
1S55,  in  charge  of  a  force  of  hands  in  building  that  road.  Later  he 
took  charge  of  a  newspaper  in  Goldsboro  and  subsequently  at  Beau- 
fort, N.  C.  In  1859  he  moved  to  Ore  Hill,  Chatham  county,  and 
there  began  the  practice  of  his  profession,  which  he  continued  a  few 
months,  when  he  was  ordered  to  report  at  Pittsboro  in  the  service  of 
the  Confederate  States.  Before  the  day  of  departure  arrived  he 
went  to  Gov.  Vance  and  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  the  purchase 
of  land  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  and  while  there  went  to  Wash- 
ington and  applied  for  a  position  as  surgeon  in  the  United  States 
army.  He  passed  the  examination  and  was  accepted  as  an  army 
surgeon,  and  served  during  the  war  in  the  northern  army  and  for 
two  years  longer.  In  1S67  he  resigned  his  commission  and  moved  to 
Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  engaged  in  the  drug  business.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  editor  of  the  Union  Rcgiste}-,  which  position  he  filled  for 
two  years.  Attacked  by  rheumatism,  he  sold  out  in  Greensboro  in 
1870,  and  moved  to  his  old  farm  at  Ore  Hill.  Dr.  Chapin  was  as- 
sistant assessor  in  the  internal  revenue  service  from  1870  to  1872. 
He  had  the  farm  carried  on  during  this  time,  and  then  exchanged  it 
for  one  at  Hadley's  Mills  in  the  same  county,  where  he  moved  and 
engaged  in  farming  and  milling.  In  1883  he  exchanged  that  property 
for  property  in  Beaufort  county,  and  there  he  removed  and  engaged 
in  the  drug  business,  and  is  postmaster  at  that  place. 

Dr.  Chapin  was  married  in  June,  1857,  to  Miss  A.  E.  Thompson,  of 
Goldsboro,  N.  C,  and  they  have  had  three  children:  Hiram  T., 
John  W.,  a  farmer  at  Aurora,  N.  C,  and  Lillius  B.,  an  attorney  at 
Lillington,  N.  C.  During  the  war,  the  mother  and  her  three  children 
remained  in  the  Confederacy.  For  fourteen  months  she  never  heard 
from  her  husband.  He  came  home  in  1865,  but  did  not  resign  his 
commission  until  1867.  His  wife  died  in  1885,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
nine  years.  She  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Dr.  Hiram  T.  Chapin,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  educated  at  Sylvan  academy.  He  taught  school  for  one  year 
and  began  to  read  medicine  in  18S1,  opening  a  drug  store  in  Pitts- 
boro on  the  7th  of  November,  that  year.  He  attended  medical 
lectures  at  the  college  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore  dur- 
ing the  winters  of   1883  and   1884.     In  1886,  Dr.  Chapin  graduated 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  229 

from  the  Louisville  medical  college  and  began  practice  at  once,  after 
having  obtained  license  from  the  state  medical  board.  He  has  been 
practicing  here  ever  since  with  very  satisfactorj-  results.  Dr.  Chapin 
is  superintendent  of  health  for  Chatham  count}',  and  is  a  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  state  medical  society.  December  20,  1882,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Annie  M.,  daughter  of  William  F.  Foushee,who 
was  clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  Chatham  county  for  sixteen  years. 
They  have  one  child,  William  B.  Chapin.  Dr.  Chapin  is  a  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  drug  business  has  been  carried  on 
successfull)',  first  under  the  name  of  H.  T.  Chapin,  and  in  iSqo  a 
partner.  Dr.  William  E.  Headen,  was  taken  in,  and  the  firm  name 
was  changed  to  Chapin  &  Headen.  July  3,  1891,  Drs.  Chapin  & 
Headen  disposed  of  their  drug  business  to  L.  H.  Merritt,  so  as  to  de- 
vote their  whole  time  to  their  profession. 

JOSIAH  B.  DAVIS,  M.  D., 

of  Beaufort,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Carteret  county,  N.  C,  on  the  7th  of 
August,  183 1,  and  is  a  son  of  Allen  and  Mary  Jane  (Simpson)  Davis. 
Allen  Davis  is  a  native  of  the  same  county  as  his  son,  and  for  many 
years  has  been  engaged  in  agriculture  near  Beaufort.  He  has  at- 
tained the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years,  and  his  wife  is  still  liv- 
ing at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  These  parents  reared  a  family 
of  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  now  living.  They  are  Josiah  B., 
Rufus  W..  a  planter  of  Carteret  county;  Bryant  E.,  also  of  Beaufort, 
and  a  carpenter  by  trade;  Clarkej',  wife  of  William  T.  Davis,  of 
Beaufort;  and  Ruth  Jane,  wife  of  James  Longest,  of  Carteret  county. 
Dr.  Davis  obtained  but  a  limited  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  city.  He  was  determined,  however,  to  thoroughly  equip 
himself  by  diligent  study  and  reading,  and  most  of  his  education  was 
obtained  solely  by  his  own  efforts.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  en- 
gaged as  a  laborer  in  a  Beaufort  ship-yard,  and  later  taught  school 
for  three  3'ears.  He  took  up  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  1S62 
began  its  practice,  having  attended  his  first  course  of  lectures  in 
1859-60.  In  1865  he  took  a  second  course  of  lectures,  and  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  New  York  city  in  the  following  year. 
From  1862  to  1864  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at 
Beaufort,  and  for  many  years  past  has  conducted  a  large  drug  busi- 
ness, being  a  leading  druggist  of  the  city.  He  is  a  prominent  repub- 
lican, and  has  held  the  office  of  town  commissioner,  and  in  18S4  was 
appointed  United  States  pension  examining  surgeon,  a  position  he 
still  retains.  In  1865  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Sewell,  daughter  of 
Thomas  B.  Sewell,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  their  children  are:  Mary 
Jane,  wife  of  Robert  R.  Robinson,  of  Beaufort;  George,  Annie  and 
Rose,  all  residing  at  Beaufort.  Dr.  Davis  is  an  active  and  consistent 
communicant  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  he  is  a  trustee  of  the  church 
at  Beaufort.  Active  and  progressive,  he  has  made  much  of  oppor- 
tunity, and  has  come  to  be  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  his  native 
county. 


2  TO  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


NATHANIEL    ALEXANDER, 

a  prominent  physician,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  in  1756. 
His  early  education  was  at  a  school  near  his  father's  residence,  kept 
in  a  log  cabin.  He  graduated  from  Princeton  college  in  i7;6,  after 
which  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  and  carried  on  a  successful 
practice.  His  practice,  however,  was  interrupted  by  the  necessity  of 
the  country  for  soldiers  to  defend  its  liberties  from  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  British  government.  Through  the  latter  years  of  the 
Revolution,  Dr.  Alexander  rendered  effective  service  in  the  southern 
army.  When  the  war  was  over  he  returned  to  his  practice.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons  in  1797,  and  of  the  state 
senate  in  1802.  In  1803  he  was  elected  a  member  of  congress  from 
the  Mecklenburg  district  and  served  for  the  full  term  of  two  years. 
He  was  elected  governor  of  the  state  in  1805  in  which  office  he  served 
until  his  death  which  occurred  at  Salisbury,  March  8,  1808.  He  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Polk. 

E.  BURKE  HAYWOOD,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Dr.  Edmund  Burke  Haywood,  born  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  January  15, 
1825,  is  the  most  eminent  physician  who  resides  at  the  state  capital. 
When  Raleigh  was  laid  off  in  1792,  and  the  city  lots  sold  by  the  state, 
John  Haywood,  the  father  of  Dr.  Burke  Haywood,  as  the  subjfect  of 
this  sketch  is  always  called,  purchased  a  handsome  square  on  New- 
bern  avenue  and  built  thereon  a  commodious  residence.  In  that 
house  Dr.  Burke  Haywood  was  born,  and  there  he  still  resides.  His 
father,  John  Haj'wood,  was  treasurer  of  the  state  from  1787  to  1827, 
and  was  much  esteemed  for  his  high  integrity  of  character  and  es- 
timable qualities.  He  was  a  planter,  and  had  considerable  landed 
interests.  He  was  the  first  vestryman  elected  for  Christ  church, 
Raleigh.  In  his  honor  the  legislature  in  1808  established  the  county  of 
Haywood,  and  the  town  of  Haywood  is  also  called  after  him.  The 
father  of  Treasurer  Haywood  was  Col.  William  Haywood,  a  distin- 
guished personage  in  Carolina  in  the  Colonial  days.  He  filled  various 
offices,  civil  and  military,  and  was  a  patriotic  and  useful  citizen.  In 
1765  he  was  colonel  of  the  county  of  Edgecombe,  and  in  1775,  when 
the  provincial  congress  appointed  committees  of  safety,  he  was  ap- 
pointed chairman  of  the  committee  for  Edgcombe  county.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  state  congress  held  at  Halifax  in  the  spring  of  1776, 
as  well  as  that  held  in  November  of  that  year,  which  adopted  the 
constitution,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  that  framed  that 
instrument.  He  was  chosen,  in  December,  1776,  one  of  the  counsel- 
ors of  state,  provided  for  in  the  new  constitution.      He  died  in  1779. 

John  Haywood,  the  father  of  Col.  William  Haywood,  and  the 
founder  of  the  family  in  North  Carolina,  was  in  the  employment  of 
Earl  Granville,  being  his  agent,  with  Edward  Moseley,  in  laying  off 
and  selling  Granville's  lands  in  North  Carolina.     He  was  treasurer  of 


t-:i-i 


^^.^^.^^  .^.y^.^-^.^^  ^J^^  ^.4  ^r^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  23 1 

the  northern  counties  in  colonial  times.  The  famil}?  came  originally 
from  Worcestershire,  England.  Many  distinguished  men  have  sprung 
from  this  Haywood  stock,  and  in  each  generation  they  have  played 
an  important  part  in  North  Carolina.  A  first  cousin  of  Treasurer 
Haywood  was  John  Haywood,  who  was  esteemed  in  his  day  the 
strongest  legal  luminary  of  the  state.  He  was  elected  attorney-gen- 
eral in  1 791,  and  three  years  later  was  transferred  to  the  supreme 
court  bench  of  the  state.  This  post  he  held  until  he  resigned  it  in 
1S04.  Some  years  later  Judge  Haywood  was  induced  to  move  to 
Tennessee,  to  locate  certain  land  grants,  and  recover  a  large  terri- 
tory for  some  clients,  and  he  became  so  greatly  interested  in  these 
lands  that  he  permanentl}'  settled  there,  where  he  became  judge  of 
the  supreme  court.  He  was  the  author  of  a  "  Manual  of  Laws  of 
North  Carolina,"  "  Haywood's  Justice,"  "  Haywood's  Reports;"  of  a 
very  valuable  history  of  Tennessee,  and  various  other  works.  It 
was  of  him  that  Chief-Justice  Henderson  remarked  in  one  of  his  de- 
cisions, "  that  he  disparaged  neither  the  living  nor  the  dead  when  he 
said  that  an  abler  man  than  John  Haywood  never  appeared  at  the 
bar  or  sat  on  the  bench  of  North  Carolina." 

The  mother  of  Dr.  Burke  Haywood  was  Eliza  Eagles  Williams,  a 
daughter  of  John  Pugh  Williams,  who  in  April,  1776,  was  made  cap- 
tain of  the  North  Carolina  troops  in  the  Edenton  district,  and  in  No- 
vember, 1776,  commissioned  colonel  of  the  Ninth  regiment  of  the 
Continental  line.  He  served  with  distinction  during  the  war  and  was 
greatly  esteemed  for  his  sterling  worth.  His  brother,  Hon.  Benjamin 
Williams,  who  resided  in  Moore  county,  was  a  member  of  congress 
from  1793,  to  1795;  was  elected  governor  in  1799,  and  twice  thereafter 
consecutively,  and  again  in  1807.  Among  the  brothers  of  Dr.  Burke 
Haywood  were  Dr.  FabiusJ.  Haywood,  the  elder,  who  for  many  years 
was  a  leading  practitioner  at  Raleigh,  one  of  whose  daughters  inter- 
married with  the  lamented  Gov.  Daniel  G.  Fowle;  and  another 
brother  was  George  W.  Haywood,  an  eminent  attorney  and  counsel- 
or-at-law,  at  Raleigh,  who  after  the  war  removed  to  Alabama,  where 
he  died  in  1891.  A  sister,  Miss  Eliza  Eagles  Haywood,  whose  social 
accomplishments  and  intellectual  capacitj'  alike  distinguished  her, 
was  one  of  the  most  charming  of  her  sex.  Dr  Haywood's  early  edu- 
cation was  under  the  Rev  Dr.  McPheeters,  Silas  Bigelow  and  J.  M. 
Lovejoy,  who  were  successively  the  preceptors  at  the  Raleigh  acad- 
emy. He  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1843,  and  took 
first  distinction,  but  was  compelled  by  ill  health  to  leave  that  institu- 
tion before  graduating.  Among  his  classmates  were  Gen.  Johnston 
Pettigrew,  .Senator  John  Pool  and  Senator  Matthew  W.  Ransom,  and 
they  have  ever  maintained  the  college  friendship  that  existed  between 
them. 

Dr.  Haywood  studied  medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
where  he  received  his  degree  of  M.  D.  in  1849,  and  the  following  year 
he  became  a  member  of  the  medical  society  of  North  Carolina,  and 
entered  on  a  lucrative  practice  at  the  capital  of  the  state.  In  May, 
1861,  he  patriotically  abandoned  his  practice  and  joined  the  Raleigh 


232  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

light  infantry,  and  was  elected  surgeon  of  that  command.  In  May, 
1861,  he  organized,  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  the  first  military  hospital  estab- 
lished in  North  Carolina  during  the  late  war  between  the  states;  but 
the  state  authorities  had  other  duties  for  him  to  perform.  Gov.  Ellis, 
appreciating  his  fine  abilities,  sent  him  in  May,  1S61,  on  a  tour  of 
inspection  and  observation  of  the  military  hospitals  on  Morris  Island, 
S.  C.  On  the  i6th  of  May,  1861,  he  was  appointed  surgeon  of  the 
North  Carolina  state  troops,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  Fair  Grounds 
hospital.  At  the  same  time  he  was  appointed,  by  the  governor,  sur- 
geon of  the  military  post  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  with  the  assimilated  rank 
of  major.  On  the  20th  of  May,  1S61,  he  was  assigned  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  the  camp  of  instruction,  near  Raleigh,  N.  C,  as  chief  surgeon, 
with  the  assimilated  rank  of  major,  the  commission  to  date  from  May 
16,  1861.  On  the  20th  of  May,  1S61,  he  was  authorized  by  Adju- 
tant-General Hoke,  to  appoint  a  druggist,  two  assistant  surgeons  and 
two  nurses  for  the  hospital  at  the  camp  of  instruction  near  Raleigh, 
N.  C.  On  the  4th  of  June,  1861,  he  was  appointed  surgeon  of  post, 
at  Raleigh,  of  the  state  troops  of  North  Carolina.  On  the  15th  of 
July.  1861,  he  was  appointed  president  of  a  board  of  surgeons  to  ex- 
amine applicants  for  the  position  of  surgeon  to  the  North  Carolina 
troops. 

Dr.  Haywood  remained  in  the  military  service  of  North  Carolina 
as  surgeon  until  December  4,  1862,  when  he  was  appointed  by 
James  A.  Sedden,  secretary  of  war,  surgeon  in  the  Provisional  army 
in  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  rank  as  such  from  Au- 
gust I,  1862.  In  the  fights  around  Richmond  he  was  on  duty  at  Sea- 
brook's  hospital.  In  1S62  he  was  appointed  president  of  the  medical 
board  for  granting  furloughs  and  discharges  from  the  Confederate 
States  army,  for  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  in  the  same  year  was  appointed 
acting  medical  director  in  the  Confederate  States  army  for  the  de- 
partment of  North  Carolina.  When  the  war  ended  he  remained  in 
charge  of  the  wounded  Confederate  soldiers  in  Pettigrew's  hospital 
at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  faithfull}'  and  patrioticall}"  rendering  them  his  best 
service,  and  it  was  not  until  July  4,  1S65,  that  he  resumed  his  civil 
practice,  the  last  wounded  soldier  under  his  charge  being  then  dis- 
charged from  the  hospital  cured  and  able  to  return  to  his  home. 

In  June,  1866,  Dr.  Haywood  was  elected  vice-president  of  the 
medical  society  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina,  and  also  to  the  chair 
of  surgery  of  the  board  of  medical  examiners  of  North  Carolina  for 
a  term  of  six  years.  Two  years  later  he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
medical  society  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina  conferred  upon 
him  the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M.  The  following  year  upon  retir- 
ing from  the  presidency  of  the  medical  society  he  delivered  an 
address  on  the  subject  of  "The  Physician,  His  Relations  to  the  Com- 
munity and  the  Law."  This  address,  which  was  published  by  the  re- 
quest of  the  society  increased  his  reputation  and  brought  him  into 
still  greater  repute  among  the  members  of  the  medical  fraternity. 
In  it  he  portrayed  the  moral  heroism  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  physician 
who  conscientiously  performs  his  duties  to  society  and  to  the  medi- 


NORTH   CAROLINA.  233 

cal  profession.  With  great  force  and  acumen  he  urged  the  necessity 
for  habits  of  close  observation  and  he  enlarged  upon  the  importance 
of  a  more  extended  knowledge  of  medical  jurisprudence.  An  ad- 
dress so  replete  with  sound  views  and  couched  in  such  chaste  and 
elegant  language  could  not  fail  to  add  largely  to  the  fame  of  Dr. 
Haywood.  In  1870  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Raleigh 
Academy  of  Medicine,  and  the  succeeding  year  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber on  the  committee  of  publication  of  the  transactions  of  the  medi- 
cal society,  which  position  he  also  held  in  1872  and  1873.  In  1872  he 
was  elected  secretary  of  the  Raleigh  Academy  of  Medicine  and  was 
also  appointed  by  the  medical  society  a  member  of  the  board  to  ex- 
amine druggists.  In  the  same  year  he  brought  suit  in  Wake  superior 
court  to  establish  the  right  of  physicians  and  surgeons  to  extra  com- 
pensation when  summoned  to  testify  as  experts,  and  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state  on  appeal  sustained  his  contention.  In  1873  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  censors  established  by  the  medi- 
cal society  and  in  March  of  that  year  was  elected  corresponding 
member  of  the  Gynecological  society,  of  Boston,  Mass. 

In  January,  1874,  Dr.  Haywood  became  president  of  the  Raleigh 
academy  of  medicine,  and  in  October,  1875,  hs  attended  as  a  delegate 
to  the  annual  session  of  the  association  of  medical  officers  of  the  Con- 
federate army  and  navy  which  convened  in  Richmond.  Notwith- 
standing he  was  politically  opposed  to  the  party  in  power  at  the  time, 
he  was,  on  March  16,  1S66,  appointed  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  that  institution  until  1875,  when  he  was  elected  president  of 
its  board  of  directors.  He  held  continuously  that  office  until  Au- 
gust 10,  i88g,  when  he  resigned  and  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
board  of  public  charities  by  Gov.  F"owle.  He  was  delegate  from  the 
medical  society  of  the  state  to  the  American  medical  association  in 
the  years  1S69,  1S70,  1875  and  1876,  and  he  was  also  a  delegate  to  the 
international  medical  congress  held  in  Philadelphia  in  September, 
1876,  and  also  to  the  ninth  international  medical  congress  held  in 
Washington  city,  September,  1887.  In  February,  1889,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  Gov.  Fowle  as  a  delegate  on  behalf  the  state  to  attend 
the  national  quarantine  conference  held  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  in 
June  of  that  year  the  University  of  North  Carolina  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  he  being  the  first  physician  in  North  Car- 
olina upon  whom  the  university  ever  con-erred  this  degree.  In  April, 
iSqo,  he  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Fowle  a  delegate  to  the  seventeenth 
national  conference  of  charities  and  corrections  held  in  Baltimore  in 
May  of  that  year.  On  April  18,  i8qi,  he  was  appointed  by  Gov-  Holt 
a  delegate  to  the  eighteenth  national  conference  of  charities  and  cor- 
rections to  be  held  at  Indianapolis,  May  13-20,  1891. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Dr.  Haywood  in  addition  to  his  iiractice  has 
performed  much  work  in  the  line  of  his  profession.  He  has  always 
been  indefatigable  in  seeking  to  promote  the  comfort  and  welfare  of 
the  insane  and  he  has  been  influential  in  accomplishing  much  for  this 
unhappy  class  of  unfortunates.     When   in  1875  the  general  assembly 


234  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

proposed  to  utilize  the  Marine  hospital  building  at  Wilmington  as  a 
branch  asylum  for  the  colored  insane  he  urged  the  impossibility  of 
rendering  that  building  suitable  for  that  purpose,  and  that  the  general 
assembly  should  take  the  proper  steps  to  build  an  asylum  for  that 
class.  At  his  instance  a  commission  was  appointed  and  a  site  selected 
near  Goldsboro,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  that  commodi- 
ous institution  erected  near  that  town.  In  like  manner  he  urged  the 
establishment  of  the  Western  insane  asylum  at  Morganton,  where  the 
state  now  has  the  finest  and  best  appointed  institution  in  the  south. 
Dr.  Haywood's  long  connection  with  the  noble  charity  in  the  state,  and 
his  devoted  attention  for  so  many  years  to  the  unfortunate  insane  has 
eminently  qualified  him  for  the  position  of  president  of  the  board  of 
charities  having  general  supervision  and  charge  over  all  such  institu- 
tions in  North  Carolina,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  1891  he  de- 
clined a  re-election  to  this  responsible  position  continuing,  however, 
to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  board. 

In  the  course  of  his  extensive  practice,  in  which  he  has  long  been 
regarded  as  the  most  eminent  surgeon  and  practitioner,  Dr.  Hay- 
wood has  performed  successfully,  many  of  the  more  important  surgi- 
cal operations.  In  August,  1874,  he  performed  the  cajsarean  section, 
with  success.  In  the  same  year  he  operated  on  four  cases  of  stran- 
gulated inguinal  hernia,  of  which  two  were  cured.  In  1875,  he  oper- 
ated sucessfully  in  two  cases  of  lacerated  perineum.  Indeed,  it  may 
be  said  of  him,  that  he  has  performed  more  such  operations  than 
any  other  surgeon  in  North  Carolina.  In  i86y,  he  successfully  per- 
formed ligation  of  the  right  external  iliac  artery  for  traumatic  aneur- 
ism of  femoral  arterj',  the  first  operation  of  the  kind  ever  performed 
in  North  Carolina,  and  the  case  was  considered  so  important,  that  it 
was  published  in  pamphlet  form,  by  order  of  the  Raleigh  Academy 
of  Medicine  and  the  North  Carolina  medical  societ}'.  He  has  also 
removed  cancerous  tumors  of  the  mamma;,  and  he  was  the  first  to 
use  ancEsthetics  in  obstetrics  and  puerperal  convulsions  in  the  state. 
In  April,  1869,  he  assisted  Dr.  Washington  Atlee,  of  Philadelphia,  in 
performing  at  Raleigh,  an  operation  for  ovariotomy.  The  patient 
being  left  entirely  in  Dr.  Haywood's  charge,  recovered,  and  has  since 
become  the  mother  of  three  children.  He  has  operated  twice  suc- 
cessfully for  the  removal  of  submucus  fibroid  of  the  uterus.  He  has 
performed  several  other  notable  surgical  operations  among  the  most 
important  of  which  may  be  mentioned:  Aspiration  of  the  pericardium 
for  hydropsy,  pericardii,  external  esophagotomy  for  impacted  foreign 
body  low  down  in  esophagus,  amputation  of  thigh  in  its  upper  third 
for  gangrene  of  leg  and  thigh  caused  by  traumatic  femoral  aneurism, 
tracheotomy  for  foreign  body  in  bronchus. 

Dr.  Haywood's  time  has  been  so  fully  occupied  b}-  the  demands  of 
his  extensive  practice,  that  he  has  but  little  opportunity  for  author- 
ship; but  among  his  contributions  to  medical  literature  may  be  men- 
tioned: "  Report  of  an  operation  for  traumatic  aneurism  of  femoral 
artery,  cured  by  ligature;"  "Report  of  a  case  of  compound  commi- 
nuted fracture  of  middle  and  lower  thirds  of  both  bones  of  right  leg;" 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2^-, 

"Comminuted  fracture  of  right  femur;"  "  Compound  fracture  of  left 
femur,  just  above  the  condjies;"  "  Report  of  a  successful  operation 
for  traumatic  aneurism  of  the  superficial  palmar  arch;"  "A  case  of 
craniotom}-;"  "  An  operation  for  vesico  vaginal  fistula;"  "  Report  of  a 
successful  operation  for  compound  comminuted  fracture  of  cranium, 
with  extensive  depression  and  several  large  fragments  driven  into  the 
brain;"  "  Report  of  a  case  of  total  necrosis  of  diaphysis  of  the  tibia, 
periosteum  not  necessary  for  osteo-genesis; "  "Report  of  a  case  of 
membraneous  croup,  tracheotemy  successfully  performed,  and  the 
child  entirely  recovered;"  "  Report  of  a  case  of  amputation  of  the 
right  thigh  at  the  upper  third,  for  gelatinous  arthritis;"  "  Report  of 
an  operation  for  fistula  in  and  with  the  elastic  ligature." 

But  with  all  his  professional  duties,  which  he  has  so  conscien- 
tiously performed,  Dr.  Haywood  has  ever  found  time  to  discharge 
other  duties  as  well.  He  is  a  member  of  Christ  church,  Raleigh,  and 
for  twenty  years  was  an  active  member  of  the  vestry;  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  health  for  Wake  count)-,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  board  of  directors  and  physician  to  the  Peace  institute,  at  Raleigh, 
N.  C.  He  was  surgeon  to  the  Confederate  survivors  association.  In 
June,  1889,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  physicians  to  the  institution  for 
the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind,  in  which  capacity  he  still  serves  that  insti- 
tution. He  was  medical  director  for  the  North  Carolina  Life  Insur- 
ance company  at  Raleigh.  He  is  now  medical  examiner  for  Raleigh 
of  the  Mutual,  the  Equitable,  the  New  York,  the  Manhattan  and  the 
United  States  Life  Insurance  companies,  all  of  New  York,  and  also  of 
the  Life  Insurance  company  of  \'irgina,  and  the  Maryland  Life  Insur- 
ance company.  He  is  also  medical  referee  of  the  Mutual  Benefit 
Life  Insurance  company  of  Newark,  N.  J.  His  high  rank  in  his  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  is  justly  distinguished,  is  equalled  by  his  high 
social  standing.  His  spotless  character,  his  patriotic  life  work  at  the 
insane  asylum,  his  self-sacrificing  service  during  the  war  are  all  so 
many  claims  upon  the  reverence  and  esteem  of  the  public,  and  his 
great  learning  and  fine  ability  only  enhance  the  regard  in  which  he  is 
held. 

But  while  properly  appreciating  the  genuine  admiration  which  his 
friends  entertain  for  him,  Dr.  Haywood  is  modest  and  unobtrusive  to 
a  remarkable  degree,  and  he  quietly  and  unostentatiously  performs 
his  daily  task  in  his  laborious  profession.  He  is  mild  in  his  carriage, 
gentle  in  his  manner,  and  considerate  of  the  feelings  of  others.  It  is 
only  to  those  who  know  him  well  that  the  full  nobility  of  his  character 
is  evident.  He  is  a  man  of  great  decision  and  quickness  of  apprehen- 
sion, and  whether  in  his  professional  work  or  when  engaged  on  other 
subjects,  he  intuitively  seizes  on  the  strong  point  of  the  matter  and 
goes  to  the  bottom  of  it.  As  eminent  as  he  is  and  wearing  so  worthily 
the  distinction  of  being  the  first  physician  of  the  state,  he  passes 
through  life  without  the  least  assumption. 

In  November,  1S50,  Dr.  Haywood  married  Miss  Lucy  A.  Williams, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Alfred  Williams,  whose  firm  name  of  "Alfred  Will- 
iams &  Co.,"  book-sellers,  has  for  more  than   fifty  years  been  well 


236  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

known  all  over  North  Carolina.  He  has  one  daughter,  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Preston  L.  Bridgers,  of  Wilmington;  and  six  sons,  Edmund 
Burke  Haywood,  a  planter;  Alfred  Williams  Haywood  and  Ernest 
Haywood,  who  are  practicing  law  together  and  are  well  known  at- 
tornej's  throughout  the  state;  and  Dr.  Hubert  Haywood,  who  is  now 
a  partner  with  his  father  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  Edgar  Hay- 
wood, who  is  associated  with  the  book  house  of  Alfred  Williams  &  Co,, 
which  was  founded  by  his  grandfather;  and  John  Haywood,  who 
is  a  cotton  dealer  in  Alabama.  Alfred  W.  Haywood  married  Miss 
Louise  M.  Holt,  daughter  of  Gov.  Thomas  M.  Holt,  May  23,  1883. 
Dr.  Hubert  Haywood  married  Miss  Emily  R.  Benbury,  December  14, 
1881. 

JOHN  H.  CRAWFORD 

was  born  in  Wayne  county,  N.  C,  January  17,  1832.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  common  schools  in  that  county,  which  he  regu- 
larly attended  until  1S45.  When  in  his  thirteenth  year  he  suffered  the 
loss  of  his  father.  To  assist  his  mother  he  left  school  at  an  early  age 
and  went  to  Smithfield,  N.  C,  to  superintend  the  business  of  Dr. 
Alexander  Telfair.  During  the  year  1851,  when  but  nineteen  years 
old  he  was  employed  to  superintend  the  store  and  distillery  belonging 
to  Col.  John  F.  Sanders,  of  Johnston  county,  N.  C.  In  January,  1S52, 
he  married  Patience  A.  Stevens,  daughter  of  Jacob  A.  Stevens, 
of  Johnston  county,  N.  C,  and  to  them  were  born  seven  children,  of 
whom  four  now  survive:  John  W.  Crawford,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C;  Mat- 
tie  A.,  wife  of  L.  Brown,  of  Asheville,  N.  C;  Lulu,  wife  of  Rufus 
Horton,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C;  Alonzo  J.  Crawford,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.  In 
1 853, the  subject  of  this  sketch  entered  the  jewelry  business,  at  Golds- 
boro,  N.  C,  and  for  five  years  continued  it  with  success,  and  then  he 
studied  dentistry  under  L^r.  S.  A.  McDowell  for  two  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  commenced  to  practice  that  profession  at  Golds- 
boro  and  in  its  vicinity.  In  1S62,  during  the  war,  he  went  with  the 
Goldsboro  militia  to  Newbern,  and  was  in  the  battle  of  Newbern. 
After  that  battle,  being  appointed  hospital  steward,  by  the  secretary 
of  war  of  the  Confederate  States,  he  served  in  that  capacity  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  When  peace  came  Dr.  Crawford  removed  to 
Raleigh,  where  he  entered  upon  a  lucrative  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  where  he  has  since  resided,  being  one  of  the  finest  and  best 
known  dentists  in  the  state,  and  a  most  worthy  and  honorable  citizen, 
respected  by  the  entire  community.  Dr.  Crawford  belongs  to 
Hiram  lodge.  No.  40,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Seaton 
Gales  lodge.  No.  64,  I.  O  O.  F.,  and  Litchford  Encampment,  No.  26, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  valuable  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
by  his  Christian  motives  and  gentlemanly  address,  has  won  the  es- 
teem of  his  brethren,  friends  and  all  who  come  into  contact  with  him. 
John  Bemis  Crawford,  Dr.  Crawford's  father,  was  born  in  New 
York  in  1800,  and  coming  to  North  Carolina  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight,  settled  in  Raleigh.     He  afterward  moved  to  Wayne  county. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  237 

where  he  died  in  1S45.  He  was  a  man  of  superior  education,  and  by 
profession  was  a  teacher.  He  was  appointed  a  magistrate  of  Wayne 
county,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1S28 
he  married  Louisa  Talbert  Harris,  and  to  them  were  born  five  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  James  D.  Crawford,  of  Robinson  county,  N.  C; 
Sarah  (deceased),  wife  of  Nathan  Stanley  (deceased),  of  Goldsboro, 
N.  C;  John  H.  Crawford,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C;  William  W.  Crawford, 
of  Goldsboro,  N.  C;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Allen  S.  Ballinger,  of  Greene 
count}',  N.  C.  Dr.  Crawford's  grandfather,  James  Daniel  Crawford, 
was  born  near  Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  and  lived  there  all  his  life.  Archi- 
bald C.  Crawford,  Dr.  Crawford's  great-grandfather,  was  born  in 
Scotland,  but  came  to  America  and  settled  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
N.  Y.,  where  he  died  June  8,  1S06.  Dr.  Crawford's  ancestors  on  his 
mother's  side  were  from  Ireland. 


MR.  JOHN  R.  WILLIAMS, 

whose  name  has  been  for  more  than  half  a  centurj'  connected  with 
the  drug  business  in  Raleigh,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C, 
March  4,  1820.  He  received  his  education  in  the  academic  schools  of 
Franklin  and  Wake  counties.  When  just  sixteen  years  of  age  he  en- 
tered the  drug  store  of  Williams  &  Haywood,  owned  by  his  elder 
brother,  Alfred  Williams,  and  Fabius  Haywood  (now  deceased),  and 
after  eight  years'  service  as  clerk,  he  was  admitted  a  partner  under 
the  firm  name  of  Williams,  Haywood  &  Co.,  and  the  firm  so  contin- 
ued until  1855,  when  Mr.  Alfred  Williams  retired,  and  the  business 
has  since  been  continued  under  the  style  of  Williams  &  Haywood. 
Although  Dr.  Haywood  died  in  1880,  the  business  has  been  carried 
on  by  Mr.  Williams,  under  the  old  name,  as  surviving  partner.  Dur- 
ing this  long  period  Mr.  Williams  has  steadily  maintained  the  high- 
est reputation  for  intelligence  and  thoroughness  in  the  drug  business, 
and  no  house  is  better  known  or  has  enjoyed  a  wider  reputation 
throughout  central  North  Carolina  than  that  of  Williams  &  Hay- 
wood. In  1845  ^Ii"-  Williams  was  fortunately  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Ariadne  E.  Smith,  daughter  of  Benjamin  B.  Smith,  Esq., 
a  prominent  merchant  of  Raleigh,  to  whom  were  born  five  children,  of 
whom  three  now  survive,  Robert  J.  Williams,  George  H.  Williams 
and  Mary  A.  Williams.  Mr.  Williams  has  ever  been  esteemed  as 
one  of  the  most  exemplary  and  excellent  citizens  of  Raleigh.  He 
and  Mrs.  Williams  are  consistent  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  and  their  influence  has  been  promotive  of  good  works 
in  the  community.  Mr.  Williams  has  never  actively  participated  in 
public  affairs,  but  has  always  steadily  maintained  the  principles  of 
the  democratic  party.  He  has,  however,  on  several  occasions  served 
the  city  as  alderman,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  a  director  of 
the  institute  for  the  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind,  freely  giving  his  ser- 
vice to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  those  unfortunate  wards  of  the 
state. 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


DR.  W.  I.  ROYSTER. 


One  of  the  most  prominent  physicians  of  Raleigh  is  Dr.  Wisconsin  I. 
Roj'ster.  He  was  born  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  September  24,  1845,  ^^^ 
received  his  education  at  the  Lovejoy  academy,  in  that  citj-,  where  so 
manj'  distinguished  North  Carolinians  were  trained  for  their  voca- 
tions in  life.  Early  in  1862,  he  entered  the  office  of  Gen.  Richard 
Gatling,  then  adjutant-general  of  the  state,  where  he  remained,  ren- 
dering efficient  service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1865.  When 
peace  was  restored  young  Royster  chose  the  profession  of  medicine 
as  his  life  work,  and  began  to  study  the  course  under  the  learned 
Dr.  E.  Burke  Haywood.  In  September,  1866,  he  entered  the  Bellevue 
hospital  medical  college  in  New  York,  where  he  obtained  his  diploma, 
after  a  thorough  course,  in  1S6S.  He  served  for  a  year  as  interne  in 
the  Mahopac  hospital,  Putnam  county,  N.  Y.,  of  which  Dr.  Echerria 
was  principal,  and  which  was  devoted  to  the  treatment  of  nervous 
diseases.  Returning  to  Raleigh  in  the  spring  of  1869,  he  entered  at 
once  upon  the  general  practice  of  his  profession,  each  year  establish- 
ing himself  more  thoroughly  in  the  confidence  of  the  public.  Dr. 
Royster  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  and  a  leading 
member  of  the  Raleigh  academy  of  medicine.  He  is  likewise  pro- 
fessor of  the  principles  and  practice  of  medicine  in  the  Leonard 
medical  school  of  Shaw  university,  and  also  of  therapeutics  and 
materia  mcdica,  which  chair  he  has  held  since  1885.  He  is  not  only 
esteemed  as  a  physician  of  rare  excellence,  but  as  one  who  keeps 
abreast  with  the  advanced  thought  in  medical  circles.  He  is,  besides 
a  fine  conversationalist,  full  of  general  information,  genial  in  his 
manners  and  kindly  in  his  sympathies.  A  man  of  sterling  character, 
a  thorough  master  of  his  profession,  and  so  gifted  by  nature,  he  is 
greatly  esteemed  in  the  community  where  he  has  passed  his  entire 
life. 

Dr.  Royster  was  happil}'  married,  on  February  28,  1871,  to  Miss 
Mary  Wills  Finch,  daughter  of  Rev.  J.  J.  Finch,  of  Franklin  county, 
N.  C,  and  to  them  have  been  born  four  children,  of  whom  three  now 
survive:  Hubert  Ashley  Royster,  Frank  Wills  Royster,  and  James 
Finch  Royster.  Dr.  Royster  is  of  English  descent,  the  first  of  the 
name  coming  to  this  country  from  England,  about  the  year  1700,  and 
settling  in  Mecklenburg  county,  Va.,  where  Dr.  Royster's  great- 
grandfather was  born.  That  gentleman  came  to  North  Carolina, 
where  he  taught  school,  but  afterward  returned  to  Virginia,  where  he 
died,  leaving  a  son,  David  Roj'ster,  born  in  1777,  who  came  to  Raleigh 
in  1802,  and  established  himself  as  a  cabinet-maker.  He  died  in 
Raleigh  In  1865,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-eight  years.  Dr.  Roys- 
ter's father  was  James  D.  Royster.  He  was  born  in  Raleigh,  in  1807, 
and  during  the  principal  part  of  his  business  life  he  was  a  paper 
manufacturer.  He  was  married  on  February  13,  1834,  to  Mary  S. 
Ashley,  daughter  of  Daniel  Ashley,  Esq.,  of  Wake  county,  and  to 
them  were  born  nine  children,  of  whom  five  now  survive,  viz.:  \'ir- 


\l 


•r 


/iM'fr^  ,^.^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  239 

ginia  C,  wife  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Howell,  of  Yanceyville,  N.C.;  Indiana  G., 
wife  of  John  B.  Collins,  of  Raleigh,  X.  C;  Dr.  Wisconsin  I.  Royster 
and  Y.  C.  Royster,  of  Raleigh,  and  O.  M.  Royster,  of  Columbia,  S.  C. 
Mr.  James  Royster  died  at  Raleigh,  February  5,  i8qo,  at  the  age  of 
ninetj'-three  years,  and  his  wife  followed  him  to  the  grave  on  April 
6,  1S90. 

DR.  WILLIAM  HENRY  McKEE 

was  born  at  Raleigh,  X.  C,  on  the  7th  day  of  September,  1814.  His 
father,  James  .McKee,  was  a  native  of  Orange  county,  a  kind  hearted, 
generous  friend,  and  an  industrious,  useful  and  respected  citizen. 
He  moved  to  Wake  county  in  earl^^  life,  and  was  married,  in  18 10,  to 
Miss  Priscilla  Macon,  of  Franklin  county,  a  niece  of  Hon.  Xathaniel 
iSIacon.  She  was  rarely  endowed  with  estimable  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart,  which  shone  with  beautiful  lustre  among  the  trying  re- 
sponsibilities of  her  life.  Their  wedded  life  had  continued  through 
only  nine  years  when,  in  April  1819,  the  husband  and  father  was  re- 
moved by  death.  Their  union  had  been  blessed  with  four  children, 
three  daughters,  Xarcissa,  Mary  and  Priscilla,  and  one  son,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Left  thus  in  earlj'  widowhood,  without  fortune 
and  with  four  little  children  to  rear,  her  position  was  one  of  peculiar 
trial  and  responsibility,  but  with  a  true  mother's  heart  and  an  un- 
faltering trust  in  the  God  of  the  widow  and  the  Father  of  the  father- 
less, she  bore  up  bravely  under  her  sorrows,  and  faithfully  discharged 
her  duty  to  Him  and  to  them.  This  noble  Christian  mother  died  in 
1832,  leaving  the  impress  of  her  pious  example  and  the  savor  of  her 
righteous  counsels  to  adorn  the  character  and  the  lives  of  her  chil- 
dren. William  Henrj-  began  the  battle  of  life  at  an  early  age,  with- 
out other  resources  than  a  courageous  spirit,  virtuous  principles  and 
meagre  rudiments  of  education  received  at  home.  When  about  fif- 
teen years  of  age  he  obtained  employment  as  a  clerk  in  the  apothe- 
cary store  of  .Mr.  C.  D.  Lehman.  Here  he  was  assiduous,  faithful 
and  courteous  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  winning  and  retaining 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  employer.  Eager  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge  he  soon  became  a  skillful  pharmacist.  When  Mr.  Leh- 
man retired  from  business,  Messrs.  Williams  &  Haywood,  druggists 
of  this  citjs  secured  the  services  of  the  young  apothecary,  who  soon 
rose  to  partnership  in  the  firm.  While  occupying  this  position  he 
prosecuted  the  study  of  medicine.  In  1837  he  went  to  Philadelphia, 
matriculated  at  the  University  of  Philadelphia,  and  became  while 
there  a  resident  physician  of  the  alms-house.  He  graduated  in  1839, 
but  continued  to  reside  in  Philadelphia  until  the  close  of  the  year. 
Returning  to  Raleigh,  he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession 
here  in  the  year  1840,  and  soon  acquired  an  enviable  reputation  as  a 
phvsician,  not  onl}^  among  the  people  in  general  but  signally  also 
among  the  members  of  his  profession. 

In  1849  Dr.  McKee  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  state  medical  con- 
vention, and  was  one  of  the  leading  projectors  of  the  state  medical 


240 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


society.  He  was  elected  as  the  first  secretary  of  the  society,  serving 
efficiently  and  zealously  in  that  capacity  for  three  consecutive  years. 
At  the  session  of  the  society  held  at  Edenton,  in  1857,  he  was  elected 
president  and  was  re-elected  in  1858.  He  repeatedly  filled  the  hon- 
orable mission  of  representative  of  the  state  medical  society  in  the 
national  medical  association,  and  was  also  chosen  by  the  society  as  a 
member  of  the  first  board  of  medical  examiners,  under  the  act  of 
legislature  of  1859.  Deservedly  popular,  he  was  eminently  trusted 
as  a  true  and  valued  citizen,  in  positions  unconnected  with  his  pro- 
fessional walk.  He  was,  year  after  year,  an  efficient  member  of  the 
board  of  commissioners  of  this  city  and  served  for  years  as  the  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  state  institution  for  the  deaf 
and  dumb  and  the  blind,  being  also  its  physician.  He  was  an  hon- 
ored member  of  the  noble,  beneficent  fraternity,  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
was  elected  grand  master  of  their  grand  lodge  of  North  Carolina. 
Dr.  McKee  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Susan  E. 
Battle,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  March,  1842.  His  last  wife  was 
Miss  Eliza  O.  Nixon,  whom  he  married  in  November,  1854.  By  the 
former  marriage  there  were  four  children,  only  one  of  whom  sur- 
vives. Dr.  James  McKee.  By  the  last  marriage  he  left  one  daughter, 
Eliza,  who  resides  in  Raleigh.  He  was  a  devoted  son,  administered 
consolation  and  cheer  to  the  burdened  heart  of  his  afflicted  mother. 
His  affection  for  her  to  the  end  of  his  days  was  indeed  beautiful  and 
noble.  A  loving  brother,  he  reciprocated  the  offices  of  pure  sisterly 
affection  with  grateful  tenderness  and  care.  He  was  a  fond  and 
faithful  husband  and  an  affectionate  and  thoughtful  father.  As  a 
friend  he  was  generous,  honorable  and  true.  As  a  man  he  was  im- 
bued with  the  pure,  warm  spirit  of  benevolence,  dispensing  with  a 
liberal  but  modest  hand,  to  the  distresses  and  necessities  of  his  fel- 
low men.  While  ever  ready  to  respond  to  the  appeals  that  were 
made  for  charity  at  his  own  door,  he  was  magnanimously  generous 
in  ministering,  in  his  professional  labors,  to  the  indigent  and  helpless, 
from  whom  he  could  expect  no  reward  beyond  the  expression  of 
gratitude.  Truly  we  may  say  of  him  that  as  an  humble  disciple  of 
the  Great  Physician,  "he  went  about  doing  good,"  and  his  memory 
will  long  be  cherished  in  many  a  lowly  household  to  which  he  bore 
in  hours  of  sickness  and  distress  the  aid  of  his  skill  and  the  balm  of 
his  sympathy. 

Supplying  the  want  of  early  advantages  by  patient  study  and  con- 
scientious devotion  to  the  duties  of  his  profession,  he  became  the 
peer  of  its  leader  in  the  state.  His  constitution  became  enfeebled, 
but  he  continued  to  pursue  his  arduous  practice  with  occasional  inter- 
missions, his  health  the  meanwhile  gradually  but  surely  declining, 
until  the  spring  of  1874.  Though  suffering  much  he  continued  his 
wonted  labors  to  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at 
his  home  on  the  24th  of  April  in  the  midst  of  his  weeping  family  and 
sympathizing  friends.  Dr.  S.  S.  Satchwell,  a  contemporary,  said  of 
him:  "  His  virtues  were  those  which  most  adorn  human  nature  and 
mostly  ennoble  our  always  noble  profession.     True  to  friendship,  to 


^  yt^^.^^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  24I 

the  demands  and  wants  of  his  profession,  to  the  instincts  and  needs 
of  patriotism,  and  to  the  calls  of  poverty  and  the  cries  of  suffering 
humanity,  his  services  and  sacrifices  in  these  important  relations  have 
embalmed  him  in  the  lasting  admiration,  love  and  esteem  of  his 
proft'ssional  brethren  and  in  the  enduring  plaudits,  gratitude  and 
affection  of  the  public,  not  alone  of  his  native  city  and  county,  but  of 
the  entire  state.  The  instincts  of  his  benevolent  nature  to  relieve 
pain  and  distress,  his  proverbial  readiness  at  all  times  to  go,  as  he 
ever  went,  to  the  calls  of  the  poor  and  down-trodden,  as  well  as  to 
the  calls  of  the  affluent  and  prosperous,  placed  the  laurel  leaves  of 
honor  and  victor}-  upon  his  brow.  Thus  it  is  that  this  distinguished 
member  of  the  profession  and  prominent  citizen  of  the  state  stands 
enshrined  in  the  gratitude  and  affections  of  our  people,  and  that  his 
name  and  fame  will  be  a  hallowed  household  word  around  the  altars 
and  firesides  of  tens  of  thousands  of  the  poor  and  distressed,  as  well 
as  the  wealthy  families  of  North  Carolina." 

JAMES    McKEE,  M.  D., 

one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  the  city 
of  Raleigh,  January  5,  1844.  His  preliminary  schooling  was  obtained 
in  the  old  Lovejoy  school  which  was  ably  presided  over  by  J.  M. 
Lovejoy.  Later  he  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  but 
left  there  in  1S61  to  give  his  services  to  the  Confederate  army.  He 
enlisted  in  Company  D,  First  regiment  North  Carolina  volunteers, 
and  was  mustered  out  in  October,  1861,  when  he  enlisted  as  lieuten- 
ant in  1862.  Until  December,  1862,  he  acted  as  drill  master  in  the 
Raleigh  and  Morganton  camps  of  instruction,  after  which  he  went 
into  active  service.  After  the  battle  of  Kinston,  N.  C,  in  which  he 
participated,  he  was  assigned  to  the  Seventh  North  Carolina  regiment, 
then  stationed  around  Petersburg.  In  the  latter  part  of  January, 
1865,  that  regiment  was  ordered  to  North  Carolina  to  intercept  de- 
serters, and  Lieut.  McKee  accompanied  it  on  this  duty.  About  the 
1st  of  April  the  regiment  was  re-callcd  to  the  army.  In  the  mean- 
time Richmond  had  fallen  and  the  Seventh  was  detained  at  Danville, 
Va.,  by  order  of  President  Davis,  and  was  the  last  regiment  to  leave 
Danville,  following  the  train  that  carried  Davis  from  Danville  to 
Greensboro.  Lieut.  McKee  took  an  active  part  in  these  battles:  Kin- 
ston, Jones  Farm,  below  Petersburg,  and  was  on  picket  duty  around 
Petersburg  during  the  three  days'  fight.  Returning  home  from  the 
army  he  acted  as  special  messenger  for  the  National  Express  and 
Transportation  company  for  about  a  year,  and  then  entered  the  olfice 
of  his  father.  Dr.  W.  H.  McKee,  under  whose  direction  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine.  In  October,  1867,  he  entered  Bellevue  hospital 
college  in  New  York  city,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution 
March  i,  iS6q.  He  then  returned  to  Raleigh  and  l)egan  the  practice 
of  the  profession  that  he  h;ul  chosen  as  his  life  work. 

Dr.  McKee  has  won  wide  distinction  in  the  medical  world.     He 
is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  state  medical  society  of  which  he 
B — 16 


242  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

has  been  secretary;  has  served  as  president  of  the  Raleigh  medical 
academy,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  the 
American  medical  association.  As  an  alderman  of  Raleigh  and 
member  of  the  board  of  health  of  that  city,  Dr.  McKee  has  shown  an 
aptitude  for  public  work.  He  has  filled  these  offices  since  1881,  and 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Wake  county  board  of  health.  He  has  been 
a  professor  of  the  Leonard  medical  college  of  Shaw  university  from 
its  inception  to  the  present  time,  being  at  present  the  incumbent  of 
the  chair  of  obstetrics,  diseases  of  women  and  children,  and  is  also 
visiting  physician  to  the  Leonard  medical  school  hospital,  and  to  St. 
John's  guild  hospital,  and  local  surgeon  of  the  North  Carolina  division 
of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  railroad.  Dr.  McKee  was  the  first 
physician  to  instruct  the  negro  in  medical  science,  and  is  now  sur- 
rounded in  the  Leonard  medical  college  by  a  corps  of  assistants  and 
professors  that  are  not  excelled.  Dr.  McKee  was  happil}-  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Mildred  Sasser,  daughter  of  John  W.  Sasser,  of 
Wayne  county,  September  30,  1873.  Six  children  have  been  born  into 
this  cultured  home,  named  as  follows:  William  H.,  John  S.,  James  B., 
Edwin  B.,  Lewis  M.  and  Philip  S.  Dr.  McKee  is  the  son  of  William 
H.  McKee,  M.  D.,  one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  that  North 
Carolina  has  ever  produced,  and  a  sketch  of  whose  life  precedes  this 
one.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  first,  and  is  the  present, 
superintendent  of  the  board  of  health  of  Wake  county,  and  is  the 
present  president  of  the  local  board  of  health  of  Raleigh,  and  is  the 
author  of  the  present  well  devised  ordinances,  by  which  the  good 
health  of  Raleigh  is  maintained.  To  him  is  due  the  credit  of  the 
present  system  of  collecting  and  registering  the  vital  statistics  of 
Raleigh  which  cannot  be  excelled.  The  sanitary  bureau  of  Raleigh 
was  organized  by  him  and  the  organization  is  so  thorough  and 
complete  that  the  number  and  kind  of  contagious  and  infectious 
diseases  can  be  shown  at  any  time  —  a  rare  thing. 

FRANCIS  TAYLOR  FULLER,  M.  D. 

In  every  vocation  of  life  there  arise  men  who  tower  above  their 
fellows  in  force  of  character  and  intellectual  competency;  who  draw 
to  them  that  esteem  and  deference  which  mankind  yields  to  superior 
endowment;  they  are  those  who  have  lived  to  good  purpose  and  who 
will  not  soon  fade  away  from  human  consideration.  These  are  such 
as  live  devoted  to  their  life  work,  and  their  influence  for  good  will 
long  continue  to  act;  their  characteristics  are  fixed  and  ineffaceable; 
and  in  affectionate  rememberance,  such  men  will  long  live  as  men  of 
purity,  devotion,  superiority  and  worth.  To  this  class  of  men  belongs 
Francis  Taylor  Fuller,  M.  D..  whose  respected  name  introduces  this 
biographical  mention.  And  before  giving  an  outline  of  this  distin- 
guished gentleman's  career,  mention  of  his  ancestry  may  fittingly  be 
made. 

During  the  trouble  between  the  Stuarts  and  the  House  of  Hano- 
ver, Esquire  John  Taylor  and  his  wife,  the   Lady   Anne  Cradock, 


^  f.^^Mc^.  9>lJp 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  243 

moved  from  England  and  settled  in  \'irginia,  at  Bowling  Green. 
About  the  same  time  two  of  the  brothers  of  John  Taj-lor  also  came 
to  Virginia,  and  one  of  these  was  the  ancestor  of  President  Taylor 
and  of  Gen.  Richard  Taylor,  and  the  other  was  an  ancestor  of  John 
Taylor,  of  Caroline  county,  Va.,  the  author  of  a  noted  work  on 
agriculture,  and  also  an  ancestor  of  President  Madison  on  his 
mother's  side.  John  Taylor,  of  Bowling  Green,  had  four  sons;  one 
was  captain  of  a  merchant  ship  and  suffered  a  long  and  painful  im- 
prisonment by  Algerlne  pirates;  the  two  youngest  fell  in  battle  in  the 
cause  of  liberty',  one  at  the  battle  of  Cowpens,  the  other  at  Brandy- 
wine.  The  remaining  son,  Major  P>ancis  Taylor,  passed  through 
many  perils,  but  fortunately  survived  them.  He  was  a  bold  and  en- 
terprising officer,  and  possessed  a  daring  and  adventurous  spirit.  He 
was  several  times  wounded  and  once  so  seriously  about  the  hip  that 
he  walked  lame  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  twice  captured;  on  the 
first  occasion  he  was  carried  prisoner  to  Charleston,  but  managed  to 
escape,  tradition  says,  by  bribing  one  of  the  guard  with  his  mother's 
gold  watch  which  he  had  concealed  in  his  boot;  he  hastened  to  re- 
port to  Gen.  Greene,  then  in  North  Carolina,  on  whose  staff  he 
served  as  aide.  Subsequently  being  sent  by  Gen.  Greene  with  dis- 
patches to  Gen.  Washington,  he  was  captured  and  taken  to  the  house 
of  a  tory,  near  Ramseur's  Mills,  X.  C.  Again  managing  to  escape, 
he  sprang  upon  the  horse  of  a  British  colonel,  in  the  stable,  and  be- 
gan a  flight  in  which  he  was  hotly  pursued.  His  horse  being  a  fine 
one  he  distanced  all  but  two  of  the  pursuers.  As  these  approached 
him,  he  drew  from  the  holsters  the  colonel's  pistols  and  killed  one  of 
men  first,  and  finally  killed  the  horse  the  other  rode.  Making  good 
his  escape,  he  proceeded  to  the  north  and  safely  delivered  his  dis- 
patches to  Gen.  Washington. 

Major  Taylor  married  Mrs.  Pattie  Thorpe  and  settled  at  Locust 
Hill,  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  where  he  died  in  April,  iSi6,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-six  years,  honored  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  His 
wife,  widow  Thorpe,  was  a  sister  of  Gen.  Tom  Person.  The  Persons 
coming  from  England,  settled  in  Gloucester  county,  \'a.  The  name 
was  said  to  have  been  Personne,  and  Gen.  Person  pronounced  it  Per- 
sonnc,  which  was  the  origin  of  the  common  way  of  calling  it  Passon 
or  Passons.  Mrs.  Taylor  survived  the  major  and  lived  to  the  great 
age  of  ninety-eight  years.  .She  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  hus- 
band at  old  Locust  Ilill,  Franklin  county.  Among  the  children  of 
Maj.  Taylor  was  Thomas  Person  Taylor,  who  was  born  in  l'"ranklin 
county  in  1793,  and  died  in  1871,  and  whose  daughter,  Martha  A. 
Taylor,  married  James  N.  Fuller,  of  Granville  county,  and  became 
the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  .She  was  born  April  11, 
1S15.  The  father  of  James  N.  Fuller  was  William  Fuller,  Esq.,  of 
Granville  county,  and  was  of  Scotch  and  English  lineage.  He  was  a 
man  of  strong  force  of  character  and  of  influence  among  his  country- 
men, and  died  in  1840,  in  a  respected  old  age.  His  son,  James  N. 
F'uller,  was  born  Nov(Miiber  18,  1802,  in  Granville  county,  and  on 
August  29,  1833,  married  Martha  A.  Taylor,  then  just  eighteen  years 


244  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  age.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  man  of  sterling  principles  and  integ- 
rity. He  was  high-minded  in  all  his  actions,  and  generous,  hospitable 
and  kind.  He  was  a  good  neighbor  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of 
all  his  duties,  religious  as  well  as  civil  and  social.  During  the  course 
of  his  life  he  held  different  county  offices  which  he  filled  with  credit 
to  himself  and  acceptably  to  the  people.  He  died  at  the  advanced  age 
of  seventy-nine  years,  his  death  occurring  May  27,  i88r,  leaving  seven 
children  surviving  him:  Francis  T.  Fuller,  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Celestia  VV.,  John  A.,  Mrs.  Anna  Gill,  Erastus,  Emma,  and  Lucy,  the 
wife  of  James  Thompson,  Esq. 

Francis  Taylor  Fuller,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Granville,  N.  C., 
June  14,  1835.  His  early  education  was  obtained  at  the  South  Lowell 
academy  in  Orange  county,  N.  C.  In  1851  he  left  the  academy  and 
returned  to  Granville  county  where  he  taught  school  for  a  time,  and 
subsequently  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of 
Dr.  William  R.  Hicks,  of  Oxford,  and  in  1854  became  a  student  at 
the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the 
summer  of  1855  he  placed  himself  under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  Charles 
E.  Johnson,  late  of  Raleigh,  and  remained  with  him  until  his  return 
to  Philadelphia  to  re-enter  the  university,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1856.  Dr.  Robert  Hicks  was  a  classmate  of  Dr.  Fuller,  as 
was  also  Dr.  Kelly,  late  of  Granville  county,  N.  C.,  and  Dr.  Jacobs, 
late  of  Person  county.  After  his  graduation  the  young  physician 
was  requested  by  Dr.  Charles  E.  Johnson,  then  acting  superintendent 
of  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum,  which  had  been  opened  in 
February,  1S56,  to  assist  him  in  his  duties,  and  soon  after,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  board  of  directors.  Dr.  Fuller  was  elected  first  assistant 
physician,  which  position  he  has  held  ever  since.  For  twelve  years 
he  served  under  Dr.  Edward  C.  Fisher,  who  was  succeeded  in  1868 
by  Dr.  Eugene  Grissom,  who  held  the  superintendency  of  the  asylum 
until  September,  iS8g.  During  his  long  career  Dr.  Fuller  has 
evinced  wonderful  ability  in  the  care  of  the  insane.  He  brought  to 
his  work  a  mind  thoroughly  prepared  by  study  and  inclination  for 
the  profession  he  had  chosen.  The  reputation  of  his  skill  has  spread 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  state,  and  the  people  of 
North  Carolina  repose  esteem  and  confidence  in  him  to  a  marked 
degree.  Indeed,  Dr.  Fuller  is  favorably  known  among  the  eminent 
specialists  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  It  is  seldom  that  a  man 
remains  so  long  in  a  position  requiring  so  much  exertion  and  tact, 
and  it  is  still  more  unusual  for  a  physican  holding  such  a  place  to  be 
regarded  with  such  uniform  respect  and  admiration  by  officers  and 
employers  alike. 

Dr.  Fisher,  the  admirable  superintendent  of  the  institution,  in  his 
report  for  1858,  in  referring  to  his  obligations  to  those  who  have  ren- 
dered official  services,  thus  spoke  of  Dr.  Fuller:  "In  an  especial 
manner  are  those  obligations  due  to  the  assistant  physician,  Dr.  F.  T. 
Fuller,  for  his  untiring  devotion  to  duty  at  all  times.  Most  faithfully 
did  he  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  institution  in  my  absence  the  past 
and  previous  summers,  and  while  assuring  you  of  his  entire  capability 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  245 

and  efficiency  for  the  duties  of  his  office,  I  present  you  with  but  an 
imperfect  idea  of  my  appreciation  of  his  worth  as  an  officer."  In  his 
report,  November  i,  1S6S,  Dr.  Grissom,  the  accomplished  superintend- 
ent, said,  "To  the  officers  and  others  with  whom  I  have  been  con- 
nected, I  tender  my  thantcs  for  their  efficient  discharge  of  duty,  and 
to  Dr.  Francis  T.  Fuller,  assistant  physician,  I  am  under  peculiar  ob- 
ligations, for  the  skill  and  fidelity  with  which  he  executes  his  laborious 
trust."  And  again,  in  1870,  Dr.  Grissom  said  in  his  report:  "The 
assistant  physician.  Dr.  F.  T.  Fuller,  by  his  experience,  industry  and 
constant  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the  patients,  has  placed  the  insti- 
tution and  the  state  under  a  debt  of  gratitude."  Dr.  J.  G.  Ramsay, 
president  of  the  board  in  1S76,  thus  refers  to  Dr.  Fuller:  "  F.  T. 
Fuller,  M.  D.,  who  has  held  the  position  and  faithfully  performed  the 
duty  of  assistant  physician  continuously  for  the  last  twenty  years,  was 
in  like  manner  re-elected  for  the  ensuing  four  years." 

In  the  report  of  1878,  Superintendent  Grissom  said:  "It  can  be 
considered  no  invidious  distinction  to  mention  the  obligations  of  the 
institution  and  the  people  of  the  state  to  Dr.  F.  T.  Fuller  for  his  long 
and  efficient  services  to  the  unfortunate  under  our  charge."  And 
again  in  his  report  of  18S8,  he  said:  "  Dr.  F.  T.  Fuller,  our  first  as- 
sistant physician,  whose  faithful  services  in  the  institution  extend 
through  a  period  of  over  thirty  years  and  who  has  entitled  himself  to 
the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  the  state,  by  his  fidelity  and  usefulness, 
has  been  granted  a  leave  of  absence  by  order  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee to  enable  him  to  recruit  his  health.  I  hope  that  time  and  rest 
will  restore  him  to  the  position  he  has  filled  so  long,  so  faithfully  and 
so  efficiently."  Later,  Dr.  F.  Burke  Haywood,  as  president  of  the 
board,  reported:  "  It  affords  us  great  pleasure  to  inform  you  that 
Dr.  F.  T.  p-uller,  our  faithful  and  efficient  first^  assistant  physician, 
who  has  been  suffering  from  a  painful  and  serious  illness  of  eleven 
months  duration,  has  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  resume  his 
duties."  Indeed  in  nearly  every  report  from  1S56  to  iSSq,  favorable 
reference  to  Dr.  Fuller's  services  as  assistant  physician  of  the  institu- 
tion is  made.  The  Statesville  Landmark,  edited  by  the  prudent  and 
careful  Joseph  Caldwell,  said  of  him:  "The  Raleigh  Clinstian  Ad- 
vocate very  truly  says:  'There  is  not  a  more  faithful  public  officer  in 
this  or  any  other  state  than  Dr.  Fuller.  The  state  owes  him  more 
than  it  will  ever  pay  him  for  his  faithful  services  for  so  many  years. 
In  a  quiet  way,  he  has  done  a  vast  deal  for  unfortunate  humanity.' " 

The  foregoing  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  tributes  paid  his  worth. 
Indeed,  it  is  well  known  that  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum  owes 
the  greater  part  of  its  successful  management  to  the  skill  and  unre- 
mitting care  of  Dr.  Fuller.  He  has  remained  at  his  post  when  others 
failed;  his  words  of  cheer  and  hope  have  supplemented  his  medical 
skill  in  calming  and  restoring  reason  to  many  who  otherwise  might 
have  continued  hopelessly  insane.  The  patients  know  him,  and  his 
presence  exercises  a  salutary  influence  ujion  them.  The  hundreds 
who  have  been  returned  to  society  from  the  institution  have  cause  to 
feel  the  utmost  gratitude  for  his  kind  ministration  and   his  merit  and 


246  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

goodness  and  sympathetic  disposition  and  unselfish  devotion  to  his 
chartre  are  recognized  throughout  the  state.  Quietly  he  has  pursued 
his  course,  not  seeking  promotion  and  fame,  but  the  latter  has  come 
to  him  unasked,  and  promotion  he  has  had  the  privilege  to  decline. 
In  1882,  he  was  appointed  a  director  of  the  Western  North  Carolina 
insane  asylum,  and  besides  his  other  arduous  duties  he  filled  that 
position  until  18S9.  One  of  the  most  important  labors  of  his  life  was 
in  connection  with  that  institution.  He  was  greatly  interested  in  se- 
curing its  establishment,  and  he  was  influential  in  its  organization. 
Had  he  not  virtually  refused  the  advancement,  he  would  doubtless 
have  been  elected  as  the  superintendent  of  the  new  institution,  but 
he  preferred  to  retain  his  position  in  the  North  Carolina  insane  asy- 
lum, to  which  he  was  attached  by  reason  of  his  long  association  with 
it,  and  with  his  friends  in  the  city  of  Raleigh.  At  times  he  has  ad- 
ministered its  affairs,  and  always  with  credit  to  himself. 

Dr.  Fuller  has  taken  pride  in  his  profession,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Raleigh  academy  of  medicine,  of  the  state  medical  society,  and 
of  the  association  of  medical  superintendents  of  American  institu- 
tions for  the  insane,  and  of  the  Medico-Legal  society  of  New  York. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  is  a  vestry- 
man of  Christ  church,  Raleigh.  As  a  citizen  he  is  of  the  progressive 
order  and  among  men  he  is  esteemed  and  respected  for  his  moral 
and  intellectual  culture,  and  socially  he  is  pleasant,  affable  and  cour- 
teous. He  is  unostentatious  and  unassuming  in  character,  and  is  re- 
spected for  his  meekness  and  mildness  of  temperament.  Not  only 
is  he  a  man  of  kind  and  unselfish  heart,  but  especially  is  he  charitable 
in  disposition,  and  many  have  been  his  gifts  to  charity,  but  given  in  a 
quiet  and  unpretending  way. 

DR.  JOHN  D.  BELLAMY. 

This  prominent  and  very  worthy  gentleman  was  born  in  All  Saints 
Parish,  S.  C,  September  18,  1817.  His  parents  were  John  and  Eliza- 
beth Bellamy  and  his  ancestors  were  planters,  independent  gentlemen 
who  held  no  important  ofifices,  and  did  not  desire  any.  Our  subject 
was  educated  in  South  Carolina,  first  at  Marion  academy  and  finished 
at  the  celebrated  Rice  Creek  institution  which  more  than  rivaled  the 
Columbia  college  which  had  declined  considerably.  In  1835  he  re- 
moved to  Wilmington,  and  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  medicine 
under  the  supervision  and  instruction  of  the  late  Dr.  William  J.  Har- 
ris. He  entered  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1837,  and  grad- 
uated from  that  institution  in  1S3Q.  He  practiced  his  profession  with 
great  success  in  Wilmington,  for  fifteen  years  when  he  was  compelled 
to  retire  from  active  business  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  his  large 
planting  interest  in  the  county  required  his  time  and  attention.  He 
has  served  as  a  director  in  banks  and  in  railroads,  and  was  regarded 
as  a  very  conservative  and  efficient  officer.  He  married  in  1839, 
Eliza  M.  Harris,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  William  J.  Harris  and  had 
several    sons   and   daughters  and  grandchildren.     Dr.    Bellamy    has 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  247 

never  held  any  political  office  and  though  urged  time  and  again  to  do 
so  has  always  refused  to  accept  as  he  considered  a  private  station 
more  desirable  and  equally  as  honorable  for  a  gentleman  of  integrity. 
The  same  rule  of  action  in  regard  to  public  office  was  conspicuous  in 
his  ancestors,  none  of  them  would  accept  and  though  they  were  not 
highly  distinguished  in  life,  none  of  them  was  ever  dishonored.  Dr. 
Bellamy  is  now  advanced  in  years  and  lives  in  retirement.  He  is  a 
gentleman  of  education  and  culture,  with  a  naturally  strong  mind  and 
which  has  been  improved  by  study  and  observation.  He  is  greatly 
respected  in  his  community  in  which  so  many  years  of  his  life  have 
been  passed  and  justly  so,  for  during  his  long  life  he  has  been  up- 
right in  his  actions  and  has  wronged  no  man. 

DR.  WILLIAM  J.  LOVE. 

This  skillful  physician  and  most  estimable  gentleman  was  born  at 
the  village  of  South  Washington  in  New  Hanover  county,  on 
April  21,  1S34,  and  received  his  early  education  in  Wilmington.  He 
then  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  in 
1857  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  and  in  1859  that  of  A.  M. 
from  that  institution.  He  chose  the  science  of  medicine  for  a  pro- 
fession, and  pursued  his  studies  under  the  supervision  of  the  late 
Dr.  James  H.  Dickson,  of  Wilmington,  a  man  of  varied  learning  and 
one  of  the  most  accomplished  physicians  in  the  state.  In  1858  he  en- 
tered the  University  of  New  York,  but  remained  but  one  session 
when  he  removed  to  the  South  Carolina  medical  college  at  Charles- 
ton, where  he  graduated  in  1861.  Returning  to  Wilmington,  he  at 
at  once  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession.  His  abilities  were 
readily  recognized,  and  he  soon  commanded  a  large  and  lucrative 
practice,  which  has  continued  to  increase  as  his  faculties  expanded 
under  the  experience  of  maturer  years.  He  has  always  been  a  stu- 
dent devoted  to  his  profession,  and  has  kept  fully  up  with  the  prog- 
ress made  in  that  science.  His  great  forte  is  self-reliance.  Conscious 
of  his  own  capacities  he  seldom  hesitates  in  any  crisis,  but  acts 
promptly  and  with  decision,  and  his  success  is  the  best  evidence  of 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment  and  his  skill  as  a  fearless  operator. 
He  ranks  deservedly  very  high  in  his  profession;  is  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  state  medical  society,  and  of  the  New  Hanover 
medical  society  also,  in  which  latter  he  has  served  as  president  for 
three  terms.  He  has  devoted  himself  entirely  to  his  profession,  es- 
caping politics,  and  not  only  not  seeking  but  not  even  desiring  public  ^ 
office,  and  possessing  in  an  enviable  degree  the  entire  confidence  of 
all  classes  of  our  people. 

DR.  WILLIAM  J.  H.  BELLAMY 

is  the  son  of  Dr.  John  D.  and  Eliza  M.  Bellamy,  and  was  born  in  Wil- 
mington, September  16,  1844.  His  first  preceptor  was  that  thorough 
teacher  of  youth.  Prof.  George  W.  Jewctt,  who  died  but  a  few  years 


248  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ago.  Under  his  tutelage  young  Bellamy  soon  became  proficient  in  his 
studies,  and  gave  promise  of  ripe  scholarship  in  the  future,  a  promise 
which  his  after  life  has  amply  fulfilled.  In  i860  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  remained  there  until  1861,  when  he 
enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  served  one  year,  when  he  again 
entered  the  university,  remaining,  however,  one  session,  and  in  1863 
he  again  entered  the  service  as  captain  of  a  company  in  the  state 
home  guards,  which  surrendered  with  Gen.  Johnston's  army,  in  1865. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  he  began  the  study  of  medicine,  and,  upon 
careful  preparation,  entered  the  University  of  New  York,  where  he 
graduated  in  March,  1868,  and  at  once  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Wilmington.  He  has  been  very  successful,  and  ranks 
high  as  a  skillful  physician.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
medical  examiners  of  18S4  to  1890.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  state 
and  county  medical  associations,  and  has  been  since  he  began  to  prac- 
tice medicine,  and  in  the  latter  he  has  served  as  secretary  and  presi- 
dent. He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  also  state  exam- 
iner for  that  order,  and  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  being  the  oldest 
presiding  officer.  He  married,  on  November  10,  1869,  Miss  Mary  W. 
Russell,  of  Wilmington,  who  has  borne  him  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Dr.  Bellamy  is  a  rising  man  in  his  profession,  is  exceed- 
ingly attentive  to  his  duties,  and  possesses  the  entire  confidence  of 
all  who  know  him.  He  has  a  son,  Russell  Bellamy,  who  is  his  old- 
est son,  and  he  recently  received,  from  the  board  of  examiners,  a 
license  to  practice  medicine,  and  on  examination  he  received  the 
highest  record  of  the  seventy-five  students  examined.  He  is  hardly 
twenty  one  years  old.  He  will  now  graduate  at  the  New  York  city 
university,  and  then  will  take  up  his  practice. 

DR.  WILLIAM  WALTER  LANE,  A.  M.,  M.  D., 

surgeon  in  charge  of  the  City  hospital,  was  born  in  New  Hanover 
county,  near  the  city  of  Wilmington,  in  1831.  He  is  the  son  of  Levin 
and  Margaret  M.  Lane,  both  natives  of  this  county  and  state.  Levin 
Lane,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  son  of  Ezekiel 
Lane,  who  was  one  of  the  most  successful  planters  in  this  section  of 
the  state.  He,  like  his  father  before  him,  cultivated  the  soil  and 
amassed  a  large  estate,  and  had  sons  and  daughters  born  unto  him, 
Dr.  W.  W.  Lane,  whom  we  are  now  noticing,  being  the  third  son. 
His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  schools  of  Wilmington,  and 
later  at  St.  Timothy's  Hall,  Catonsville,  Md.  He  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill,  in  1S49,  and  graduated  in  1S52, 
with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  Soon  after  his  graduation,  and  following 
the  bent  of  his  inclinations  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the 
office  and  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  James  F.  McRee,  of  Wilming- 
ton, one  of  the  most  prominent  physicians  in  the  state,  with  whom  he 
remained  for  some  time.  In  the  fall  of  1S53  he  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  New  York,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  graduated  from  that 
institution  in  1855.     In  order  to  complete  his  medical  education,  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  249 

to  improve  himself  as  much  as  possible  in  the  profession,  he  spent 
the  following  year,  1856,  in  Europe,  visiting  the  hospitals  at  Paris, 
London,  Berlin  and  other  European  cities.  He  returned  to  the 
United  States  in  the  winter  of  1857,  spent  a  short  time  at  his  home 
in  Wilmington,  and  then  removed  to  the  state  of  Mississippi,  where 
for  some  years  he  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  addition  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  remained  in  Mississippi,  until  the 
year  1863,  when  he  returned  to  his  native  state,  and  enlisted  himself 
with  the  Confederate  army  as  assistant  surgeon,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  until  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Johnston,  in  April,  1S65. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Dr.  Lane  resumed  the  active  practice  of 
medicine  until  the  year  1S75,  ^vhen  he  was  appointed  surgeon  of  the 
United  States  marine  hospital,  at  Wilmington,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  for  four  years.  In  1881  he  was  very  active  in  urging  upon  the 
authorities  the  necessity  for  a  city  hospital,  and  when  principally  by 
his  exertions  it  was  established  and  organized,  he  was  appointed 
physician  and  surgeon  in  charge,  which  position  he  still  holds,  and 
discharges  the  duties,  sometimes  very  onerous  ones,  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  authorities  and  the  public  generally.  He  has 
always  been  especially  fond  of  surgery,  and  during  his  extended  prac- 
tice has  performed  many  difficult  and  delicate  operations,  which  have 
been  very  favorably  noticed  by  many  leading  members  of  the  pro- 
fession. He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society  and  of  the 
medical  society  of  the  city  of  Wilmington.  He  has  never  taken  any 
active  part  in  politics,  but  has  devoted  himself  entirely  to  his  profes- 
sional duties,  in  which  he  takes  great  delight,  and  is  a  skillful,  con- 
scientious, and  in  ever}-  respect  reliable  practitioner. 

DR.  ARMAND  JOHN  DeROSSET. 

This  gentleman,  one  of  Wilmington's  oldest  and  most  honored 
citizens,  was  born  in  that  city  October  6,  1807,  and  in  the  house  in 
which  he  now  resides.  His  parents  were  Dr.  Armand  J.  and  Catherine 
DeRosset  f«r<' Fullerton).  His  father,  like  himself,  was  a  native  of 
Wilmington,  while  his  mother  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  His 
grandfather  was  Dr.  Moses  John  DeRosset,  a  native  of  London, 
England,  born  in  1726,  and  who  graduated  with  distinction  in  one  of 
the  leading  colleges  of  that  city.  In  1760,  in  company  with  his 
brother,  Louis  H.  DeRosset,  who  had  been  appointed  a  member  of 
the  colonial  council,  he  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  on  the 
Cape  Fear  river,  near  Wilmington,  where  he  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  and  was  eminently  successful.  During  his  life  he  held 
many  important  public  positions,  and  was  mayor  of  Wilmington  dur- 
ing the  troublous  times  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  latter  capacity  he 
exhibited  great  courage,  firmness  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the 
colonies.  He  was  father  of  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  The 
son.  Dr.  Armand  J.  DeRosset,  Sr.,  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
father  and  embraced  the  medical  profession.  He  graduatecl  at  Prince- 
ton college  and  then  entered  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was 


250  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

one  of  the  first  three  graduates  of  that  institution.  He  followed  his 
profession  in  Wilmington  during  his  whole  lifetime,  which  was  a  long 
and  honorable  one,  and  died  in  the  city  where  he  was  born  in  1859, 
at  the  ripe  age  of  four  score  and  twelve  years,  leaving  behind  him  an 
unsullied  reputation  and  not  one  enemy  in  the  world.  His  son,  the 
subject  of  this  notice,  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  schools  of 
Wilmington,  and  principally  at  the  hands  of  Prof.  James  W.  Mitchell, 
an  experienced  teacher  and  of  more  than  ordinary  attainments.  As 
a  student  he  was  exceptionally  bright,  for  when  he  was  but  fourteen 
years  old  he  was  able  to  enter  the  sophomore  class  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  graduated  with  distinction  in 
1824  when  but  seventeen  years  of  age.  In  choosing  a  profession,  his 
early  inclination  was  for  that  of  arms,  but  when  he  was  about  to  en- 
ter a  military  school  he,  for  some  reason  unknown  to  the  writer  of 
this,  abandoned  this  and  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  medicine, 
spending  one  year  at  South  Carolina  medical  college  at  Charleston, 
and  completing  his  medical  education  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, graduating  in  1S28,  when  he  had  scarcely  reached  his  majority. 
He  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  connection  with  his 
father,  and  their  practice  was  large  and  lucrative,  but  the  profession 
was  distasteful  to  him  and  he  soon  tired  from  it,  preferring  a  mer- 
cantile life. 

In  1837  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  an  estimable  gentleman, 
the  late  P.  K.  Dickinson,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  lumber 
business,  which  he  continued  until  1839,  when  he  withdrew  and 
founded  the  house  of  DeRosset  &  Brown,  general  commission  mer- 
chants, of  Wilmington,  and  Brown  &  DeRossett,  of  New  York.  This 
business  was  immense,  and  was  conducted  very  successfully  until  1S61, 
when  the  opening  of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  south  com- 
pelled the  suspension  of  all  active  operations.  Upon  the  close  of  the 
war  he  resumed  his  business  with  his  sons  under  the  firm  name  of 
DeRosset  &  Company,  and  continued  until  1882,  when  he  finally 
withdrew,  and  since  that  time  has  been  engaged  in  the  general  insur- 
ance business.  He  was  first  married  in  1829  to  Miss  Eliza  Jane, 
daughter  of  the  late  William  C.  Lord,  who  bore  him  eleven  children, 
seven  sons  and  four  daughters.  One  of  these  sons  became  a  promi- 
nent physician  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  second  wife  was  Miss 
Catherine  Kennedy,  who  is  still  living.  Dr.  DeRosset  has  never  taken 
an  active  part  in  political  life  nor  sought  public  office,  but  has  held 
many  positions  of  responsibility  which  have  been  conferred  upon 
him.  He  has  been  for  years,  almost  since  its  organization,  an  active 
director  in  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  R.  R.,  and  was  sent  by  that 
company,  in  1849,  to  England  to  negotiate  its  bonds  and  purchase  rails 
for  the  use  of  that  road,  which  he  successfully  accomplished.  The 
effects  of  the  war  were  ruinous  to  the  road,  and  his  financial  ability 
was  again  put  in  requisition  to  restore  its  credit.  At  the  earnest  so- 
licitation of  the  board  of  directors  he  again  visited  Europe  in  1865 
and  1S66,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  extension  of  time  on  the 
original  bonds,  which  were  running  rapidly  to  maturity,  and  placing' 


JOSEPH    GRAHAM,    M.  D. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  25  I 

additional  securities  on  the  market,  in  which  he  was  again  successful 
and  which  is  a  monument  to  his  financial  skill.  He  has  been  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  a  consistent  member  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal church,  senior  warden  of  St.  James  parish  and  treasurer  of  the 
diocese  of  east  Carolina,  has  been  an  active,  energetic,  public-spir- 
ited citizen,  and  has  done  as  much  perhaps  as  any  one  man  to  advance 
the  interests  and  increase  the  prosperity'  of  his  native  city.  Xo  man 
is  more  respected  and  esteemed  than  he,  and  justly  so,  for  during  his 
long  and  active  business  life  his  integrity  has  never  been  questioned, 
and  his  name  is  the  synonym  for  all  that  is  honorable  and  true. 

JAMES  H.  DURHAM,  M.  D.,  D.  D.  S. 

One  of  the  most  promising  physicians  and  dentists  of  the  state  of 
North  Carolina  is  Dr.  James  H.  Durham,  of  Wilmington.  He  has 
accomplished  within  a  score  of  years  what  it  has  taken  many  men  of 
talent  a  lifetime  to  accomplish,  and  other  men  of  talent  have  never 
accomplished  at  all.  He  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  August  27,  1850. 
His  parents  were  Dawson  O.  and  Julia  (Smith)  Durham.  They 
came  from  good  old  "North  State"  stock,  and  both  are  natives 
of  North  Carolina.  Dawson  Durham,  the  father,  was  an  old-time 
southern  planter,  which  he  followed  all  his  life,  living  in  the  ease  and 
comfort  peculiar  to  that  class.  He  died,  lamented  by  a  large  circle 
of  admiring  friends,  in  iSSo-  Our  subject  received  his  preparatory 
education  in  Trinity  college,  and  completed  it  at  the  University  of 
Virginia,  where  he  took  the  full  collegiate  and  medical  course,  which 
he  completed  in  1872.  He  then  attended  two  years  for  the  sake  of 
the  experiences  to  be  gained  thereby,  at  Bellevue  hospital.  New  York 
city,  and  immediately  when  completing  his  course  there  he  went  to 
Philadelphia,  and  attended  the  Philadelphia  dental  college,  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  in  1875,  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  S. 
In  1S73  the  young  physician  and  dental  surgeon,  commenced  to  prac- 
tice his  profession  in  Wilmington,  where  he  has  continued  his  work 
with  great  success  ever  since.  Dr.  Durham  was  married,  in  1882,  to 
Nellie  Alston, of  Durham  county.  Twochildren  have  blessed  this  happy 
union,  one  son  and  one  daughter.  Dr.  Durham  is  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Arch  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  has  built  up  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice,  of  which  many  older  men  might  well  be  proud. 
He  is  president  of  the  state  dental  society,  and  a  member  of  the 
state  medical  examining  board,  in  which  last  capacity  he  is  serving 
his  third  term. 

JOSEPH  GRAHAM,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Newbern,  N.  C,  April  15,  1837.  He  was  reared,  not 
in  the  city  of  his  birth,  but  at  Hillsborough,  N.  C,  the  birthplace 
of  his  parents.  His  early  days  were  spent  at  the  Caldwell  insti- 
tute at  Hillsborough.  When  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
his  parents  removed  to  Washington,  D.  C,    his  father   holding  an 


252  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

official  position  in  tliat  city,  under  the  Federal  government.  Young- 
Graham  was  then  placed,  for  the  two  years  during  which  his  father 
remained  in  office,  in  the  classical  and  mathematical  academy  at 
Georgetown,  under  the  instruction  of  the  distinguished  Prof.  Abbott. 
In  1853  he  entered  the  North  Carolina  university  at  Chapel  Hill, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  June,  1857.  For  three  months  thereafter 
he  studied  medicine  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Edmund  Strudwick, 
at  Hillsborough.  In  the  fall  of  1857  he  entered  Jefferson  medical  col- 
lege, of  Philadelphia,  where,  after  completing  a  thorough  course,  he 
graduated  in  the  spring  of  1S59.  The  following  summer  and  fall 
were  spent  in  the  hospitals  of  Philadelphia.  Returning  to  Hillsbor- 
ough in  October,  Dr.  Graham  was  united  in  marriage,  on  the  26th 
day  of  that  month,  with  Miss  Elizabeth,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the 
late  Thomas  Blount  Hill.  They  have  had  five  children,  three  sons 
and  two  daughters,  the  latter  and  only  one  son  now  surviving.  The 
surviving  son  is  Dr.  William  A.  Graham,  who  is  a  partner  with  his 
father  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  In  January,  i860,  Dr.  Joseph  Gra- 
ham moved  to  Charlotte,  N.  C,  and  there  locating,  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  pursuing  that  practice  until  his  state  passed  the  ordi- 
nance of  secession  in  May,  1861.  He  then  aided  in  raising  a  company 
of  light  artillery,  known  as  Brem's  battery,  but  subsequentl}'  as  Gra- 
ham's North  Carolina  batter3\  With  this  company  he  entered  the 
Confederate  service  with  the  rank  of  first-lieutenant,  and  upon  the 
resignation  of  Capt.  Brem,  early  in  the  war.  Dr.  Graham  was  pro- 
moted to  the  captaincy  of  the  company.  This  rank  he  held  until  in 
Januar}',  1864,  when  desiring  to  return  to  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, he  was  commissioned  as  surgeon  of  a  North  Carolina  regi- 
ment, remaining  as  such  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Returning  home  from  the  field  of  battle.  Dr.  Graham  found  him- 
self at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  in  a  financial  sense,  the  result  of  war's 
ravages,  and  he  was  thus  compelled  with  thousands  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens, to  begin  in  his  business  life  anew.  He  decided  to  return  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Gaston  county,  where  he  removed  his 
family,  and  where  he  continued  to  reside  and  practice  up  to  the 
spring  of  1869.  He  then  returned  to  Charlotte,  where  a  year  later, 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  Dr.  Johnston  B.  Jones,  with 
whom  he  continued  until  the  death  of  Dr.  Jones,  in  March,  1889. 
Since  that  date  a  son  of  Dr.  Jones  and  his  own  son.  Dr.  William  A. 
Graham,  have  been  his  partners.  Dr.  Graham  is  in  the  foremost 
rank  of  medical  practitioners  in  North  Carolina,  and  his  practice  has 
been  signalized  by  a  large  degree  of  success.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Southern  Surgical  and  Gynecological  society,  of  the  Charlotte 
academy  of  medicine,  and  e.x-member  of  the  North  Carolina  board 
of  examiners.  He  is  an  ex-president  of  the  North  Carolina  state 
medical  society,  besides  holding  so  conspicuous  a  rank  in  his  profes- 
sion. Dr.  Graham  is  a  representative  citizen,  and  enjoys  a  high  social 
standing.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Charlotte  chamber  of  commerce, 
and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council.  Dr.  Graham  is  a 
gentleman   of   the   highest    respectability,    is   honored  by  his  fellow 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  253 

citizens  throughout  the  state,  and  comes  of  an  excellent  ancestry,  as 
is  noted  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

GEORGE  W.  GRAHAM,  M.  D., 

born  in  Hillsborough,  Orange  county,  N.  C,  August  iq,  1S47,  is  the 
sixth  son  of  the  late  Hon.  William  A.  Graham,  whose  biography  ap- 
pears in  these  pages.  At  an  early  age  he  developed  those  qualities 
of  cool  judgment,  kindness  of  heart  and  strength  of  mind,  together 
with  most  strict  habits,  so  essential  to  the  success  of  a  good  physician, 
and  having  completed  his  academical  preparation  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  state,  entered -and  was  graduated  from  the  state  univer- 
sity in  1868.  In  1869  he  spent  a  year  in  the  celebrated  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  afterward  graduatecl  in 
medicine  with  high  honors  from  the  University  of  New  York  city. 
He  located  immediately  after  his  graduation  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  where 
in  the  face  of  some  of  the  most  eminent  specialists  in  contagious  and 
infectious  diseases,  he  remained  for  two  years,  enjoying  in  the  mean- 
v/hile  a  large  and  most  lucrative  practice.  Subequently  he  completed 
in  the  Manhattan  hospital  of  New  York  city,  a  special  course  in 
ophthalmology  and  otology,  and  then  returned  to  Raleigh,  N.  C., 
where  he  remained  for  seven  years  in  the  active  practice  as  an  eye 
and  ear  specialist.  In  1873,  Dr.  Graham  was  married  to  Miss  Sally  S. 
Shaver,  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  who  survived  fourteen  years  of  her  married 
life,  she  having  died  in  1887,  leaving  three  children.  In  1S80  he  re- 
turned to  Charlotte,  where  he  permanently  settled  and  where  he  has 
since  become  widely  known  as  a  skillful  operator  in  his  specialty.  Dr. 
Graham  was  married  the  second  time  in  Charlotte,  to  Miss  Alice  L. 
Alexandra,  of  that  city,  with  whom  he  has  lived  most  happily  ever 
since.  In  his  profession  he  ranks  among  the  foremost  men  of  his 
state.  He  holds  a  membership  in  the  state  medical  association  and 
the  Charlotte  academy  of  medicine,  is  president  of  the  Scotch-Irish 
society  of  North  Carolina,  and  also  president  of  the  Charlotte  literary 
and  library  association.  Dr.  Graham  is  a  devout  lover  of  literature, 
in  which  he  is  thoroughly  versed,  and  is  considered  an  authority  upon 
literary  questions. 

J.  WELLINGTON  BYERS,  M.  D., 

of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  is  a  physician  by  profession,  and  a  writer  upon 
medical  and  allied  sciences,  of  considerable  reputation.  He  was 
born  on  the  8th  day  of  May,  1859,  at  Parkersburg,  then  Virginia,  now 
West  \'irginia.  His  parents  were  Wellington  Byers  and  Mary  E. 
Byers,  ncc  Peers,  and  both  were  natives  of  \'irginia,  and  of  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry.  They  had  established  a  home  at  Parkersburg,  for 
only  a  few  3'ears  when  the  Civil  war  broke  out;  and  being  of  strong 
southern  proclivities  and  sympathy,  were  forced  for  refuge  from 
Parkersburg,  and  settling  at  Charlottesville,  Va.,  the  birthplace  and 
former  home  of  young  Byers'  father,  his  parents  continued  to  reside 


254  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

here  till  1S70,  in  which  year  the  family  moved  to  Atlanta,  Ga.  In 
1876  young  Byers  left  Atlanta  and  entered  the  freshman  class  of  the 
North  Georgia  college,  a  branch  of  the  state  university,  at  Dahlonega. 
Here,  for  several  terms,  he  pursued  a  scientific,  classical  and  literary 
course,  achieving  distinction  in  metaphysics  and  bellesletters;  he  was 
esteemed  to  be  one  of  the  most  profound  and  proficient  students  in 
mental  philosopy  and  rhetoric  the  institution  had  ever  sent  forth; 
and  in  his  subsequent  pursuits  and  achievements  have  been  mani- 
fest this  character  of  mind  and  learning.  It  was  during  his  col- 
lege days  at  Dahlonega  that  he  first  gave  promise  of  prominence 
in  literature,  and  first  began  to  e.xercise  his  tendencies  as  a 
writer,  his  first  work  being  editorial  writing  for  the  college  paper,  so 
often  the  first  avenue  presented  for  the  future  distinction  of  literary 
workers.  The  publisher  of  the  local  newspaper  at  Dahlonega,  being 
favorably  impressed  with  his  ability  as  a  writer,  invited  him  to  be- 
come a  contributor  to  his  journal,  known  as  the  Dahlonega,  Signal, 
and  accepting  the  invitation,  his  work  upon  this  journal  soon  iDrought 
it  into  notice  as  the  best  and  most  communicative  paper  the  town 
had  ever  had. 

However,  young  B3'ers  soon  left  college,  and  also  severed  his  con- 
nection with  this  newspaper,  but  continued  to  write  for  various  news- 
papers and  periodicals,  producing  a  number  of  miscellaneous  articles 
upon  politics  and  literature,  and  as  early  as  1879,  at  the  age  of  twenty 
he  wrote  an  able  review  of  the  early  English  drama,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  New  York  Clipper.  In  1S80  he  returned  to  Charlottes- 
ville, Va.,  his  purpose  being  to  enter  the  University  of  Virginia.  He 
spent  several  months  under  the  tutelage  of  Rev.  E.  Woods,  of  the 
Pantops  school,  reviewing  mathematics  and  classics,  that  he  might  be 
fresh  in  these  studies  upon  entering  the  university  for  which  he  was 
well  prepared,  but  financial  contingencies  necessitated  a  change  of 
his  plans,  and  he  was  forced  to  relinquish  his  purpose  of  entering  the 
university,  and  returning  to  his  home  at  Atlanta,  he  began  prepara- 
tions for  the  study  of  medicine.  In  the  fall  of  18S0,  he  entered  the 
Atlanta  medical  college,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  with 
distinction  in  February,  1882,  as  fifth  in  a  class  of  fifty-three.  At  once 
he  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at  Atlanta,  under  most 
promising  prospects.  Being  solicited  to  locate  in  Charlotte,  N.  C, 
Dr.  Byers  removed  in  18S3,  to  that  city,  where  he  has  since  continued 
to  reside.  Three  years  later,  1886,  he  chose  a  wife,  wedding  Miss 
Catherine  L.  Leary,  an  accomplished  lady,  and  a  daughter  of  the 
late  William  A.  Leary,  a  noted  book  publisher  of  Philadelphia,  Penn. 

Dr.  Byers  has  taken  post-graduate  courses  in  northern  schools,  and 
has  established  an  e.Kcellent  reputation  for  skill,  ability,  learning  and 
culture  as  a  phj'sician  and  surgeon.  As  a  writer,  especially  upon 
medical  and  allied  sciences,  he  has  attained  to  a  prominence  second 
to  that  of  no  other  young  man  in  the  south;  and  although  a  young 
man,  and  of  hardly  a  decade  of  years  experience  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession, his  career  has  been  brilliant  and  successful,  and  he  gives 
great  promise  of  eminence  in  his  chosen  profession.     He  is  author 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  255 

of  several  standard  articles  in  medical  and  correlative  sciences,  some 
of  which  have  appeared  in  standard  medical  works,  such  as,  "  Woods' 
Reference  Handbook"  and  "  Keating's  Cyclopedia."  In  both  of  these 
he  is  author  of  the  chapters  upon  "  Influence  of  Race  and  Nationality 
upon  Disease;"  also,  those  upon  the  "General  Principles  of  the  Pre- 
vention of  Disease,"  "  Diseases  and  Injuries  of  the  Shoulder  Blade." 
In  the  department  of  ethnological  medicine,  Dr.  Byers  is  regarded  as 
a  foremost  authority  in  this  country,  and  his  opinions  and  conclusions 
are  accepted  as  most  complete  and  thorough  among  those  of  investi- 
gators of  these  questions.  Por  several  years  he  has  been  a  regular 
contributor  to  various  medical  and  scientific  journals;  and  he  is  a 
member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Southej'n  Alcdical  Record,  pub- 
lished at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  is  also  an  associate  editor  of  the  Cli»ia- 
tologist,  a  journal  of  high  character,  devoted  to  hygiene  and  climate, 
published  at  Philadelphia,  Penn.  In  his  writings,  Dr.  Byers,  stj-le  is 
scholarly,  graceful  and  philosophical.  His  language  is  chaste  and 
classical,  and  his  productions  bear  evidence  of  a  student,  and  of  a  man 
of  experience  and  scientific  research.  In  habit  he  is  seclusive  rather 
than  demonstrative.  In  scientific  research  he  is  thorough,  methodical, 
systematical  and  original;  rather  inventive,  and  possessed  of  a  strik- 
ing capacity  for  original  discovery  in  scientific  medicine.  He  has,  in 
the  New  York  Medical  Record,  February  14,  1891,  set  claim  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  germicidal  action  of  the  blood,  in  connection  with  the 
germ  theory  of  disease,  an  important  and  highly  interesting  question 
to  all  physiological  and  pathological  investigators.  Dr.  Byers  is  a 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  state  medical  society,  and  an  honorary' 
member  of  several  literary  and  other  medical  societies. 

JOHNSTON  BLAKELEY  JONES,  M.  D., 

an  eminent  physician  and  a  man  of  remarkable  intellectual  and  so- 
cial culture,  was  born  in  Chatham  county,  N.  C,  September  12,  1814, 
at  "  Rock  Rest,"  the  residence  of  his  father.  He  died  in  Charlotte, 
N.  C,  March  i,  iSSg.  His  father,  Edward  Jones,  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, and  a  lineal  descendant  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  as  may  be  seen  in  a 
note  appended  by  Bishop  Heber  to  his  life  of  Jeremy  Ta^'lor.  Mr. 
Jones  came  to  North  Carolina  when  quite  a  young  man,  and  soon  at- 
tained great  eminence  at  the  l)ar,  being  for  over  thirty  years  solicitor- 
general  of  the  state.  Pie  married  Mary  K.,  daughter  of  Peter  Mol- 
let,  of  Fayetteville,  by  whom  he  was  the  father  of  a  numerous  family. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  youngest  child  of  the  above  marriage, 
was  prepared  for  college  at  the  old  Episcopal  school  in  Raleigh,  un- 
der that  eminent  scholar,  biljliographer  and  educator,  Mr.  Joseph  G. 
Cogswell,  a  notable  name  in  the  literary  history  of  America.  Mr. 
Cogswell  was  a  man  .specially  qualified  to  e.xert  a  stimulating  and  re- 
fining influence  upon  the  inquisitive  and  discriminating  mind  of  his 
pujjil,  and  Dr.  Jones  probably  owed  to  him  much  of  that  literary 
taste  and  general  intellectual  culture  for  which  he  was  remarkable. 
From  the  school  in  Raleigh  he  proceeded  to  the  University  of  North 


256  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill,  where  he  remained  several  years,  but  did 
not  take  a  degree.  We  next  find  him  beginning  the  study  of  medi- 
cine in  the  medical  college  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  but  his  health  being 
delicate,  he  was  advised  to  try  a  residence  in  Europe.  He  therefore 
went  to  Paris,  and  continued  his  professional  studies  under  the  in- 
struction of  the  eminent  professors  who  then  taught  the  science  and 
practice  of  medicine  in  that  city.  After  two  years  thus  spent  in  Paris, 
and  a  visit  of  six  months  to  friends  and  kinsfolk  in  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land, he  returned  to  America  and  took  his  degree  in  medicine  in  the 
Charleston  college  where  he  had  begun  his  course.  He  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  in  1841,  and 
there  remained  in  the  successful  pursuit  of  its  honorable  rewards  un- 
til the  breaking  up  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  in  1868,  in 
consequence  of  the  political  troubles  of  that  period.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Charlotte,  and  in  this  new  field  continued  the  active  and 
beneficent  exercise  of  his  profession  until  disabled  by  the  infirmity  of 
age,  in  June,  1886.  A  little  less  than  three  years  of  retirement  and 
rest  brought  him  peacefully  to  the  end.  In  187 1  he  had  formed  a 
co-partnership  in  practice  with  his  friend  Dr.  Joseph  Graham,  and  in 
1S83,  a  third  partner  was  added  in  the  person  of  his  son.  Dr.  Sim- 
mons B.  Jones. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  professional  life.  Dr.  Jones  took  a  high 
stand  in  the  estimate  of  the  public,  and  of  his  brethren.  To  that 
faithfulness,  unselfishness  and  unwearied  diligence  in  the  service  of 
humanity,  which  is  the  common  honor  of  the  profession,  he  added  a 
special  intelligence,  patience  and  sympathy,  which  made  his  services 
as  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  his  patients  as  his  skill  made  them  use- 
ful to  their  necessities.  His  scientific  attainments  are  believed  to  have 
been  surpassed  by  none  of  his  contemporaries  in  this  state.  Among 
them  it  seemed  to  be  recognized  and  acknowledged  that  as  a  general 
practitioner  he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  profession.  His  reputation 
was  probably  more  widely  extended  over  the  state  than  that  of  any 
physician  of  his  time.  He  carried  into  the  performance  of  his  daily 
duties  the  spirit  of  a  student  and  a  humanitarian;  he  had  nothing  of 
the  commercial  instinct,  and  could  not  make  the  most  extensive  prac- 
tice the  source  of  a  large  income.  With  him  the  fee  was  still  the 
Jwnorari iLmhy  \v\\\<z\\  gratitude  expressed  its  recognition  of  benevolence 
and  skill.  Not  only  were  his  services  ready  at  the  call  of  the  poor- 
est, but  he  did  not  exact  from  affluence  the  due  reward  of  his  time 
and  labor  spent  in  its  behalf.  After  nearly  fifty  years  of  full  practice, 
he  died  a  poor  man,  so  far  as  worldly  goods  go,  but  rich  in  the  re- 
spect and  gratitude  of  those  who  had  known  his  kindness,  and  who 
had  experienced  his  beneficence.  He  was  one  of  the  prime  movers 
in  the  organization  of  the  North  Carolina  medical  society,  and  always 
took  a  deep  interest  in  its  welfare. 

Dr.  Jones  was  not  more  respected  for  his  attainments  in  science 
and  for  his  skill  as  a  physician  than  he  was  esteemed  for  his  mag- 
nanimity, sincerity,  and  sweetness  of  disposition.  Outside  of  his  pro- 
fessional learning  his  information  was  e.xtensive  and  accurate,  and  his 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  257 

mind  was  acute,  vigorous  and  original.  He  possessed  powers  of 
analysis  and  generalization  in  a  remarkable  degree.  But  a  subtle 
and  inquisitive  intellect  was  balanced  by  a  heart  singularly  retentive 
of  youthful  affection  and  loyal  to  early  convictions.  Few  men  have 
been  so  generally  beloved,  because  few  men  have  been  so  uniformly 
kind,  interesting,  agreeable  and  true,  in  social  intercourse.  After  a 
partial  paralysis  had  rendered  him  almost  helpless,  he  was  none  the 
less  an  eagerlj'  welcomed  guest,  whom  it  was  a  pleasure  and  an  honor 
to  entertain  and  to  serve. 

It  is  a  small  matter,  perhaps,  but  necessary  to  the  perfect  picture 
of  the  man,  to  add  that  from  his  youth  he  was  remarkable  for  phys- 
ical beauty  which  seemed  but  the  expression  in  outward  form  of  the 
luminous  mind  within.  He  is  said  to  have  been  known  in  Paris  dur- 
ing his  student  days,  as  "  the  handsome  American."  Dr.  Jones  married, 
October  21,  1841,  Mary  Ann  Stuart,  daughter  of  Gabriel  Stuart,  of 
Halifax  county,  and  granddaughter  of  Dr.  Simmons  j.  Baker.  Their 
eldest  son,  Edward  S.  Jones,  lost  his  life  in  the  war  between  the 
states,  their  eldest  daughter  also  died  before  them;  two  sons  and  two 
daughters  survived  their  father:  Johnston  B.  Jones,  Jr.,  Dr.  Sim- 
mons B.  Jones,  Mrs.  Lucien  H.  Walker  and  Miss  Carolina  D.  Jones. 

DR.    JOHN    H.    McADEN, 

president  of  the  Merchants  &  Farmers'  bank  of  Charlotte,  N.  C, 
and  also  one  of  the  leading  and  public-spirited  citizens,  was  born  in 
Caswell  county,  March  13,  1S35.  He  received  a  liberal  English  edu- 
cation at  Wake  Forest  college  and  the  university  at  Chapel  Hill.  He 
studied  medicine  under  Dr.  A.  G.  Yancey,  at  Yanceyville,  Caswell 
county,  and  in  1857  graduated  from  Jefferson  medical  college  of  Phil- 
adelphia. He  practiced  medicine  in  Caswell  county  from  the  year  of 
his  graduation  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  at  which  time  he 
was  appointed  surgeon  of  the  Thirteenth  North  Carolina  regiment, 
and  subsequently  made  senior  surgeon  of  Gen.  A.  M.  Scales'  brigade. 
In  this  capacity  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  surrendering 
with  Lee's  army  at  Appomatox.  Soon  after  the  war  Dr.  McAden 
located  in  Charlotte  and  embarked  in  the  drug  business,  which  is  still 
continued  in  his  interest.  In  1875  ^^  was  elected  president  of  the 
Merchants  &  Farmers'  National  bank,  of  Charlotte,  and  has  since 
continued  a  successful  administrator  of  the  affairs  of  that  institution. 
Dr.  McAden  has  for  some  time  been  interested  in  several  industrial 
enterprises,  and  at  present  is  the  president  of  two  cotton  works, 
namely,  the  McAden  Cotton  mills,  of  Gaston  county,  and  the  Falls  of 
Neuse  Cotton  mills,  of  Alamance  county;  he  is  ex-president  of  the 
Charlotte  chamber  of  commerce,  of  which  he  is  a  charter  member. 
As  a  business  man  Dr.  McAden  ranks  far  above  the  ordinary  class. 
He  is  careful,  judicious,  far-seeing  and  intelligent,  and  has  been  con- 
tinuously identified  with  the  business  world  since  the  close  of  the  war, 
not  confining  his  whole  attention  to  the  medical  profession. 

In  187 1  he  was  united  in   marriage  with   Miss  Sallie,  daughter  of 
H—  17 


258  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Mr.  Joel  H.  Jenkins,  a  merchant  of  Salisbury,  N.  C.  They  have 
seven  children.  Dr.  McAden  is  a  Knight  Templar  of  high  order  in 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  been  eminent  commander  of  the 
Knights  Templar,  of  Charlotte.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  intellect,  a  clear 
thinker,  and  is  endowed  with  an  extraordinary  memory.  He  is  a 
lover  of  literature,  and  is  well  versed  in  the  biographical  and  historic 
lore  of  North  Carolina,  in  which  he  takes  great  interest.  Dr.  Mc- 
Aden comes  of  conspicuous  parentage.  His  father,  Dr.  Henry  Mc- 
Aden, was  the  son  of  Dr.  John  McAden,  both  of  whom  were  among 
the  most  eminent  physicians  in  the  state.  Dr.  John  McAden,  the 
grandfather,  was  a  son  of  Rev.  Hugh  McAden  (sometimes  spelled 
"McCadden")  who  was  the  hrst  missionary  to  settle  in  the  state. 
Dr.  McAden,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  a  great-grand- 
son of  this  venerable  man.  His  mother  was  Frances  Yancey,  daugh- 
ter of  Bartlett  and  Annie  (Graves)  Yancey,  of  Caswell  county. 
When  a  small  boy  Dr.  McAden  was  left  an  orphan  and  was  placed  in 
the  care  of  his  maternal  grandmother,  Mrs.  Bartlett  Yancey,  then  a 
widow,  who  received  and  educated  him,  and  to  her  sterling  qualities 
and  her  moral  and  religious  training  does  he  largely  owe  the  excel- 
lence and  integrity  of  his  character. 

R.  J.  BREVARD,  M.  D., 

is  at  the  present  writing,  mayor  of  the  city  of  Charlotte,  N.  C.  His 
birthplace  was  Tallahasse,  Fla.,  and  the  date  of  his  birth  was  Decem- 
ber 5,  1848.  He  is  the  son  of  Theodore  W.  and  Caroline  (Mays) 
Brevard,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina  and 
the  latter  of  South  Carolina.  The  father  was  a  lawyer  of  eminence; 
he  was  the  son  of  Alexander  Brevard,  son  of  the  Hon.  Ephraim  Bre- 
vard, a  citizen  of  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C.  Dr.  Brevard  was 
educated  at  Davidson  college.  North  Carolina,  at  which  institution  he 
received  a  liberal  English  education.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine 
in  1866  at  Lincolnton,  N.  C,  under  the  instruction  of  his  brother, 
Ephraim  Brevard,  M.  D.,  during  the  war  surgeon  of  the  Fifth  Vir- 
ginia regiment  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  brigade,  and  who  was  killed  in 
1 87 1,  by  a  fall  from  his  horse.  He  was  a  promising  physician,  possessing 
ability  of  a  high  order.  In  February,  1872,  Dr.  Brevard  graduated 
from  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  New  York  city, 
with  high  honors,  having  been  appointed  the  valedictorian  of  a  class 
of  120  graduates.  His  was  the  only  instance  in  the  history  of  the 
university  in  which  a  southern  student  had  received  that  high  dis- 
tinction. Immediately  after  his  graduating  he  located  at  Lincolnton, 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  January,  1SS2,  he  located 
in  Charlotte  where  he  has  ever  since  continued  to  practice.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  state  medical  association,  and  is  one  of  the  leading 
progressive  members  of  the  medical  fraternity.  His  politics  are 
democratic  and  he  is  a  Master  Mason. 

During  his  residence  in   Lincolnton  Dr.  Brevard  served  as  mayor 
of  that  town  with  much   credit  to   himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  259 

the  citizens.  Since  removing  to  Cliarlotte  he  has  served  several 
times  as  a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  was  elected  maj-or  in  May, 
1 89 1.  In  December,  iSSi,  Dr.  Brevard  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Stoney,  an  accomplished  lady  of  a  distinguished  South  Carolina 
family.  Dr.  Brevard  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  material 
progress  of  Charlotte  and  is  a  leading  member  of  the  chamber  of 
commerce  of  that  citj'.  He  has  wielded  a  powerful  influence  in  his 
political  party  and  during  iSS6  and  1888  was  president  of  the  Char- 
lotte democratic  club.  Socially  he  is  a  great  favorite  and  suave  and 
affable  in  his  manner.  He  is  a  man  of  forceful  will-power,  a  char- 
acteristic subordinated  by  a  wise  and  generous  discretion. 


D.  O'DONOUGHUE,  M.  D., 

whose  name  introduces  the  following  biography,  is  a  native  of  Ireland, 
being  born  in  that  country  December  8,  1841.  He  received  a  thor- 
ough education  in  the  national  schools  of  Ireland,  in  which  schools  he 
was  a  ijiost  successful  teacher  during  a  period  of  ten  years,  afterward 
entering  Trinity  college,  Dublin,  and  in  this  college  and  its  normal 
training  school  he  completed  a  thorough  classical  and  scientific  educa- 
tion, becoming  proficient  in  natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  higher 
mathematics  and  other  sciences,  thus  gaining  a  rare  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  sciences.  Thinking  the  United  States  would  afford 
a  better  opportunity  for  the  application  of  such  a  scientific  education, 
accordingly,  in  1871,  he  emigrated  to  this  country,  landing  in  New 
York  city  in  April  of  this  year,  and  the  third  of  the  following  May 
arrived  in  Washington,  D.  C.  He  was  now  penniless,  but  having,  in 
Washington  city,  a  sister  and  an  uncle,  he  for  a  time,  made  his  home 
with  these  relatives,  and  soon  he  was  to  gain  a  position.  May 
26,  187 1,  he  secured  in  the  Saint  Elizabeth  government  insane  asylum, 
at  Washington,  a  position  as  an  attendant,  and  in  this  position  earned 
his  first  money  in  this  country.  In  the  following  September,  1871,  he 
and  six  others  were  examined  for  positions  in  the  signal  service  de- 
partment of  the  United  States  government,  which  department  had 
been  established  only  the  year  before.  Of  the  seven  applicants  who 
were  examined,  only  he  and  two  others  were  successful,  he  standing 
first.  September  13th,  he  gave  up  his  position  in  the  asylum  and  was 
made  sergeant  in  the  signal  service.  Five  weeks  later  he  had  re- 
ceived full  instructions,  and  in  November  was  sent  to  Mobile,  Ala., 
to  take  charge  of  the  signal  station  there;  of  this  station  he  remained 
in  charge  till  in  September,  1876.  Being  aided  by  an  assistant,  he  had 
more  or  less  leisure  time,  and  becoming  acquainted  with  leading  phy- 
sicians of  Mobile,  who  foresaw  that  in  the  medical  profession  he 
would  be  pre-eminently  successful,  he  was,  at  their  instance,  induced 
to  take  up  the  study  of  medicine.  Accordingly,  he  began  to  utilize 
his  leisure  time  from  his  office  by  attending  the  Alabama  medical  col- 
lege at  Mobile,  which  college  he  entercil  in  1872,  and  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1874,  with  honors,  in  a  class  of  thirty-three  graduates 


26o  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

receiving  the  degree  of  M.  D.  Tlien,  with  Dr.  J.  T.  Gihnore,  the 
renowned  surgeon  of  Alabama,  Dr.  O'Donoughue  continued  to  prac- 
tice till  in  September,  1S76,  and  in  the  meantime  continued  to  dis- 
charge his  official  work  in  charge  of  the  signal  station. 

In  September,  1876,  he  was  called  to  Washington,  where  he  was 
made  clerk  in  the  signal  service  department,  remaining  as  such  till  in 
October  of  1878.  During  the  time  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  in 
the  Columbian  university  and  attending  the  hospitals  of  Washington. 
October  3,  1878,  he  was  ordered  by  signal  service  to  Charlotte,  N.  C, 
to  establish  a  signal  station,  in  charge  of  which  he  remained  till  Feb- 
ruary, 1S86,  at  which  date  he  was  called  to  Washington,  for  promo- 
tion in  the  signal  service.  While  at  Charlotte  he  had,  after  1879, 
continued  a  general  practice  in  medicine,  in  connection  with  continu- 
ing to  discharge  his  work  in  charge  of  the  signal  station.  Having 
here  established  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  and  having  accumu- 
lated property  here,  and  desiring  besides  to  settle  in  life  at  Charlotte, 
where  he  might  devote  his  entire  attention  to  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, he  resigned  from  the  signal  service  April,  1886,  and  located  perma- 
nently at  Charlotte,  where  he  has  since  been  actively  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  He  ranks  among  the  foremost  physicians 
of  Charlotte,  and  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  state  medical 
association,  and  is  secretary  of  the  Charlotte  academy  of  medicine. 
Although  he  does  a  general  practice,  he  gives  special  attention  to 
gynecology  and  private  diseases.  The  doctor  has  twice  been  happily 
married.  In  June  1873,  while  at  Mobile,  he  married  Miss  Margaret 
Bookie,  of  that  city.  She  died  at  Washington,  in  August,  1878.  In 
October  of  1883,  he  married  for  a  second  wife,  Mrs.  Agnes  Sullivan, 
of  Washington,  D.  C.  She  died  at  Charlotte,  in  April  of  1889.  Dr. 
D.  O'Donoughue  is  a  character  of  more  than  ordinary  interest,  and 
has  led  an  eventful  life.  Educated  in  his  native  land,  Ireland,  he 
taught  in  its  national  schools,  attaining  distinction  as  an  educator, 
and  then  emigrating  to  the  United  States  without  money  and  posi- 
tion he  began  the  struggle  of  life  under  adverse  circumstances.  His 
determined  will,  noble  ambition  and  character,  together  with  a  super- 
ior intellect  and  education  fittingly  applied  in  all  his  undertakings, 
his  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  success,  and  now  he  ranks  among 
the  most  respected  citizens  and  representative  physicians. 


HENRY  TULL,  M.  D. 

The  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Henry  TuU,  who  was 
a  native  of  New  England.  In  early  manhood  Henry  Tull  settled  in 
Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  and  there  amassed  a  large  fortune.  He  was 
the  largest  land-owner  and  slaveholder  in  the  county,  having  about 
400  slaves.  He  was  prominent  in  public  affairs  and  a  leader  in  po- 
litical circles,  and  was  a  man  of  splendid  education.  His  son,  John, 
was  born  in  Lenoir  county  September  19,  1S32.  He  was  given  an  ex- 
cellent academic  training,  and  has  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  261 

as  an  agriculturist,  and  before  the  Civil  war,  had  become  even  more 
prosperous  than  his  father  before  him,  who  was  so  successful.  Before 
the  war  he  was  a  leading  member  of  the  whig  party,  but  after  the 
disruption  of  that  political  party,  became  a  staunch  democrat.  For 
several  years  he  has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  of  the 
county,  and  is  a  promineat  member  of  the  farmers'  alliance  of  Lenoir 
county,  and  is  a  Knight  of  Honor.  His  marriage  to  Cynthia  A.  Dunn 
resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  children.  The  mother  died  in  1S60.  Mr. 
Tull  was  again  married,  INIiss  \\  innie  R.  Jackson  becoming  his  wife. 
Rowena,  Hettie  S.,  John  L.,  Edward  S.,  F"rank  R.,  Isaac  M.,  Katie 
and  Reed,  are  the  children  of  this  second  union,  and  Henry  Tull,  M.  D., 
and  Cynthia,  of  the  first.  Henry  Tull,  M.  D.,  the  principal  of  this 
biographical  mention,  and  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  the  state, 
was  born  on  his  father's  estate  in  Lenoir  county,  on  the  4th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1855.  Having  completed  a  thorough  academic  course  in  the 
Kinston  schools,  and  later  at  Bingham  military  institute,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  with  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant.  In  1881  there  was 
erected  at  Kinston  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Gov.  Caswell,  first 
governor  of  North  Carolina,  and  this  occasion  was  under  militarj' 
honors.  Ur.  Tull  was  then  captain  of  Kinston  RiHes,  Company  K, 
First  regiment,  N.  C.  S.  G.,  which  company,  with  others,  participated. 
Dr.  Tull  so  won  the  admiration  of  the  guards  on  this  occasion,  by  his 
participation  in  the  ceremonies,  and  by  rendering  skillful  professional 
aid  to  certain  members  of  the  Raleigh  light  infantry  who,  under  the 
oppressive  heat  of  the  day,  were  stricken;  that  this  infantry  passed 
resolutions  of  respect  and  thanks  to  Dr.  Tull,  presenting  him  with  a 
token  in  a  handsome  gold-headed  ebony  cane.  He  entered  Harvard 
medical  school,  and  in  1876  was  graduated  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  since  that  time  has  been 
engaged  in  active  and  successful  practice  at  Kinston. 

Dr.  Tull  is  an  honored  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  and 
is  a  Knight  of  Honor.  In  1881-2  he  was  chairman  of  the  democratic 
executive  committee  of  Lenoir  county,  and  for  several  years  was 
county  physician.  He  has  been  earnestly  interested  in  the  industrial 
grov/th  of  Kinston  and  the  vicinity,  and  was  a  prime  mover  in  the 
organization  of  the  Orion  Knitting  Mill  company,  and  in  1886  erected 
a  fine  hotel  building  in  Kinston,  known  as  the  "Hotel  Tull."  His 
marriage  to  Miss  Myrtie  Wooten,  daughter  of  W.T.  and  Klizabeth  J. 
Wooten,  was  solemnized  in  1882,  and  two  children,  Bettie  and  Lottie, 
have  blessed  the  union.  W.  T.  Wooten  was  a  captain  in  the  Con- 
federate service,  and  was  killed  while  fighting  for  the  cause  he  loved. 
He  iills  an  honored  soldier's  grave.  Henry  Tull,  M.  D.,  is  a  man  of 
great  ability  and  learning  in  his  profession.  He  has  rapidly  risen  to 
the  front  ranks  of  his  profession  in  the  state;  the  same  force  of  char- 
acter which  made  him  the  careful,  painstaking  student,  has  won  for 
him  an  honored  reputation.  Such  inv.n  are  not  kept  waiting  for 
weary  years  before  success  comes.  As  a  citizen  he  is  public-spirited 
and  progressive,  and  is  esteemed  as  a  man  of  unbending  integrity. 


262  NORTH    CAROLINA 


DR.   JAMES    M.   HODGES 

was  born  near  La  Grange,  Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  February  14,  1862. 
He  is  the  son  of  Simon  E.  and  Persis  S.  (Harper)  Hodges,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Lenoir  county.  The  name  of  Dr.  Hodges' 
grandfather  was  James  E.  Hodges,  who  was  a  native  of  Greene  county, 
N.  C.,  and  of  English  lineage.  He  was  a  planter  of  much  promi- 
nence and  respectability.  His  son,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  followed  the  occupation  of  his  father  in  Lenoir  county,  of 
which  he  was  a  leading  and  prominent  citizen.  Simon  Hodges'  po- 
litical views  were  democratic,  and  in  his  religious  faith  he  adhered  to 
the  Church  of  the  Disciples.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Miss 
Nancy  Turnage,  of  Pitt  county,  and  they  had  three  children,  whose 
respective  names  were  Edward  M.,  of  Kinston,  N.  C;  George  L.,  a 
farmer  of  Lenoir  county,  was  register  of  deeds  for  six  years,  and  Ad- 
dieG.,wifeof  Edward  Mosely,  of  Lenoir  county.  His  second  marriage 
resulted  in  the  birth  of  James  M.,  F'.  R.,  Paul  A.,  Robert  G.,  and 
Lillie  P.  Hodges. 

Dr.  Hodges  was  educated  at  Chapel  Hill  university,  and  after- 
ward studied  medicine  under  the  able  instruction  of  Dr.  J.  D.  .Spicer, 
of  Goldsboro.  He  attended  Bellevue  hospital,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  March,  1883.  After  his  graduation  Dr.  Hodges  began  his 
professional  career  at  La  Grange,  where  he  has  established  an  exten- 
sive and  successful  practice.  His  reputation  as  a  physician  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  field  of  his  immediate  practice,  but  he  Is  favorably  known 
throughout  the  state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  In  political  faith  he 
adheres  to  the  democratic  party,  and  in  religion  he  subscribes  to  the 
creed  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south.  In  1884  Dr.  Hodges 
was  married  to  Miss  Emma  E.,  daughter  of  James  H.  Eields,  of  La 
Grange,  and  this  union  has  been  blessed  with  two  children,  Cyrus  W. 
and  Harry  M.  Hodges. 


JOHN  A.  POLLOCK,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Onslow  county,  N.  C,  November  i,  1844,  the  son  of 
W.  A.  J.  Pollock,  who  is  also  a  native  of  Onslow  county.  The  father 
was  educated  in  Wilmington,  N.  C,  under  Dr.  Freeman,  and  later  in 
New  York  city  under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  Beach.  For  over  fifty 
years  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Onslow  and 
Lenoir  counties,  and  is  now  retired  and  living  in  Kinston,  having 
won  a  reputation  as  a  most  skillful  and  intelligent  physician.  He 
married  Miss  Olivia  B.  Humphrey,  daughter  of  Lott  Humphrey-,  of 
Onslow  county,  who  was  an  extensive  planter  and  a  noted  public 
man,  having  served  in  the  legislature  for  many  years.  In  1850  Mrs. 
Pollock  died,  leaving  three  children,  Andrew,  an  eminent  physician 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  263 

of  Florida.  He  served  as  president  of  the  yellow  fever  commission 
during  the  course  of  that  terrible  epidemic  recently  in  Florida.  As 
captain  of  Company  H,  Fifty-fifth  North  Carolina  regiment,  he 
fought  for  the  cause  of  the  southland  during  the  greater  portion  of 
the  Civil  war.  Dr.  Pollock  is  an  e.x-member  of  the  Florida  legislature. 
John  A.,  and  Virginia,  wife  of  James  G.  Co.x,  of  Kinston,  being  the 
other  children.  The  father  was  again  married,  Miss  Annie  Loftin 
becoming  his  wife.  By  this  marriage  two  children  were  born,  viz.: 
William  D.  and  Sarah.  The  Pollock  connection  is  of  Scotch  descent, 
William  Pollock,  the  great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  having  come 
from  Scotland  to  America  in  early  times.  He  settled  in  Onslow 
county,  N.  C,  and  fought  in  the  patriot  army  of  the  Revolution. 
He  became  a  leading  man  in  the  county,  and  served  as  a  justice  of 
the  peace  for  several  years,  and  also  as  county  surveyor  for  some- 
time. John  Pollock,  his  son,  was  also  born  in  Onslow  county,  and 
became  an  extensive  planter.  His  brother,  Elijah,  served  through 
the  war  of  1812.  John  Pollock  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  sur- 
veyor of  the  county,  and  was  a  staunch  democrat.  Of  his  four  chil- 
dren, all  are  dead  with  the  exception  of  W.  A.  J.  Pollock,  M.  D.  One 
son  settled  in  New  York,  one  in  Georgia,  and  another,  John,  was  a 
leading  politician,  and  for  several  years  was  a  member  of  the  state 
senate  from  Onslow  county.  During  the  Mexican  war  he  volun- 
teered in  the  United  States  army,  and  was  made  colonel  of  militia  in 
after  years. 

We  will  now  write  more  particularly  of  John  A.  Pollock,  M.  D. 
Mr.  Pollock  lived  in  his  native  count}'  until  1850,  when  he  removed 
to  Lenoir  county.  His  education  was  received  at  the  Kinston 
academy,  and  in  January,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Fifty- 
fifth  North  Carolina  regiment,  but  soon  after  was  transferred  to  the 
Third  North  Carolina  cavalry,  and  served  in  that  regiment  with  dis- 
tinction until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  returned  home  and  stud- 
ied medicine  under  the  direction  of  his  father  and  Dr.  William  H. 
Moore.  Entering  the  University  of  New  York,  he  was  gr  iduated. 
therefrom  with  the  class  of  1886,  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  and  has 
since  practiced  at  Kinston.  From  1865  until  1874  he  was  interested 
in  the  drug  business  at  Kinston.  Dr.  Pollock  is  a  member  of  the 
state  medical  society,  and  he  is  also  prominently  identified  with  the 
Lenoir  county  medical  society,  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the 
LO.  O.  F.,  and  is  past  noble  grand  and  regent  of  the  Royal  Arcanum. 
As  medical  examiner  of  Lenoir  county  he  rendered  the  highest  de- 
gree of  satisfaction.  Always  a  staunch  democrat,  he  was  offered  the 
nomination  for  state  senator,  but  declined  and  nominated  Col.  Whit- 
field. Dr.  Pollock  was  chairman  of  the  Kinston  graded  school  board 
and  president  of  the  Kinston  collegiate  institute.  In  1867  he  married 
Miss  Agnes  P.  Jones,  a  daughter  of  William  C.  Jones,  of  this  county, 
and  thr(;e  children  have  blessed  the  union,  viz.:  Mozelle,  Raymond 
and  Emily.  The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Baptist  church,  of 
which  he  is  a  trustee. 


264  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


HENRY  OTIS  HYATT,  M.  D., 

who  is  one  of  the  best  known  and  skilled  physicians  in  the  state  of 
North  Carolina,  resides  at  Kinston,  where  he  has  led  a  most  active 
life,  busy  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
was  born  May  5,  1848,  at  Tarboro,  Edgecombe  county,  N.  C.  His 
parents  were  Jesse  B.  and  Margaret  A.  (Shirley)  Hyatt,  of  English 
lineage  and  of  families  which  for  three  generations  lived  in  Edge- 
combe county  where  they  became  well  and  favorably  known.  The 
progenitors  of  these  families  were  for  the  greater  part  planters,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  Dr.  Hyatt  being  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  wealthy  slave-holders  in  his  county.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  intellectual  powers  and  a  mathematician  of  some  note,  his 
descendants  inheriting  much  of  his  ability  in  this  science.  Jesse  B. 
Hyatt  was  a  farmer  by  vocation,  though  he  did  some  merchandising. 
He  was  twice  married,  Dr.  H.  O.  Hyatt  being  the  only  child  by  his 
first  wife,  while  the  second  marriage  gave  issue  to  several  children. 
The  father  died  but  a  few  years  ago,  the  mother  of  Dr.  Hyatt  depart- 
ing this  life  when  he  was  an  infant.  She  was  a  woman  of  vigorous 
intellect  of  stout,  yet  symmetrical  figure,  and  in  these  particulars  it 
may  be  said  that  her  son  bears  strong  resemblance.  She  was  noted 
as  being  a  beautiful  and  most  excellent  woman,  and  though  she  could 
not  live  to  foster  her  son,  nature  gave  to  him  her  individuality.  He 
was  reared  in  the  town  of  Tarboro,  where  he  received  a  thorough 
education  in  a  male  academy,  advancing  beyond  the  common 
branches  into  the  higher  sciences  and  into  the  study  of  Greek  and 
Latin.  When  ready  for  college  he  began  to  answer  a  call,  drafting 
seventeen-year  old  youths  into  the  Confederate  service,  but  before 
enlisting  the  great  civil  conflict  was  closed,  and  though  he  had  in- 
herited wealth  from  his  mother's  estate,  consisting  of  many  slaves, 
the  result  of  the  war  reduced  him  to  a  condition  little  better  than 
poverty. 

Further  education  was  no  longer  attempted,  and  realizing  the  im- 
portance of  having  a  trade,  Mr.  Hyatt  set  about  to  prepare  for  a- 
livelihood.  Being  of  a  mechanical  turn  of  mind  he  resolved  to  apply 
for  an  apprenticeship  as  a  blacksmith.  Upon  going  to  a  certain 
blacksmith  (an  Englishman)  of  Tarboro,  the  smith,  thinking  the 
youth  once  of  wealth,  was  making  light,  indignantly  refused  his  offer 
and  so  passing  further  along  the  street,  he  entered  the  ofifice  of  Dr. 
N.  J.  Pittman  and  asked  to  be  accepted  as  a  student  in  medicine. 
Dr.  Pittman,  after  a  thorough  examination,  became  the  preceptor  of 
Mr.  Hyatt  and  two  years  later  he  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  March,  1S6S.  Returning  to  Tarboro,  Dr.  Hyatt 
received  on  the  5th  of  May  following,  an  appointment  as  acting'as- 
sistant  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  and  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Hatteras  on  quarantine  duty.  A  few  months  later,  being  able  to 
purchase  a  horse  and  drugs,  he  located  at  Falkland,  Pitt  county,  N.  C, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  265 

and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Two  jears  later  he  re- 
moved to  Greenville  where  he  remained  for  two  years  and  on  the 
1st  of  januar3^  1S72,  he  located  at  Kinston,  N.  C,  where  he  has  ever 
since  resided  and  continued  an  active  and  extensive  practitioner.  He 
has  ever  been  a  hard  student  in  his  profession,  and  has  made  much 
scientific  investigation.  While  his  practice  has  been  general,  in 
surgery  and  chronic  diseases  he  has  become  the  peer  of  any  physician 
in  the  state,  and  his  work  has  been  attended  with  marked  skill  and 
success.  In  1872,  at  Kinston  he  performed  successfully,  asperating 
the  stomach  through  the  abdominal  wall  in  a  case  of  laudanum  poison- 
ing. This  was  the  first  operation  of  the  kind  ever  performed  and  it 
was  reported  in  the  London  Medical  Times  and  Gazette,  and  was 
translated  and  published  in  all  the  medical  journals  of  the  day.  He 
has  performed  a  number  of  successful  ovariaotomy  operations  and 
devised  a  method  for  replacing  the  lacerations  produced  by  child- 
birth. To  g3'necology,  or  diseases  of  women,  he  has  given  special 
study  and  attention,  and  in  this  kind  of  work  stands  at  the  head  of 
his  profession  in  the  state.  In  18S3  Dr.  Hyatt  operated  for  stone  in 
the  bladder,  improving  the  method  of  cutting  through  the  lower  part 
of  the  abdomen,  which  method  is  now  used  hy  the  more  advanced 
surgeons  of  the  day.  He  has  reported  many  cases  of  importance  and 
has  written  several  highly  prized  articles  on  medical  subjects. 

Among  Dr.  Hj'att's  contributions  to  medical  literature  may  be 
mentioned:  Incised  wounds  of  knee  joint;  physiology  of  spinal  cord; 
a  ready  method  of  arresting  hemorrhage  after  child-birth;  hot  water 
in  urine  therapeutics;  milk  diet  in  albuminuria  of  pregnancy;  elec- 
tricity in  treatment  of  fibroid  tumors  of  the  womb;  a  new  operation 
for  lacertious  of  pirineum;  the  anatom}'  of  valvo  vaginal  orifice; 
plaster  of  Paris  as  a  surgical  dressing;  high  operation  for  stone  in  the 
bladder;  the  physiology  of  conception;  treatment  of  gin  saw  wounds 
and  many  others.  These  articles  have  appeared  in  t\\^  A^orth  Caro- 
lina Medical  "Joitrnal,  the  Virginia  Medical  Monthly,  the  .hiierican 
Journal  of  Obstetiics.  Philadelphia  Medical  I Fo rid,  and  The  Obstetrical 
Jonrnal,  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  For/  some  time  past  Dr. 
Hyatt  has  given  special  attention  to  the  diseases  of  the  eye  and  in 
iSqi  spent  several  months  in  Will's  eye  hospital,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
has  performed  various  operations  upon  the  e3^e.  He  is  the  founder 
and  editor  of  the  Herald  of  Health,  published  at  Kinston  and  at  this 
place  he  also  conducts  a  sanitarium  known  as  the  "  Waverly."  Dr. 
Hyatt  is  a  leading  citizen  as  well  as  physician  and  is  a  man  of  most 
happy  domestic  relations.  In  1S76  Miss  Sybil  Miller  became  his  wife 
and  their  home  has  been  blessed  with  the  birth  of  two  daughters  and 
a  son.  Dr.  Hyatt  is  not  connected  with  any  religious  denomination 
and  takes  very  little  interest  in  any  matters  that  are  not  connected 
directly  with  his  profession.  As  he  grows  older,  the  more  devoted 
he  has  become  to  his  chosen  calling  and  instead  of  getting  careless 
in  his  work,  the  greater  amount  of  pains  he  takes  with  cases.  Like 
all  men  with  scientific  minds,  he  has  developed  a  passion  for 
accuracy. 


266  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


DR.  JACOB  M.  HADLEY, 

a  noted  physician  of  La  Grange,  was  born  in  Chatliam  county,  N.  C, 
November  30.  1835.  His  fatlier  was  William  Penn  Hadley,  and  his 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Hannah  McPherson,  the  former  a  native 
of  Chatham  county,  and  the  latter  of  Alamance  county,  N.  C.  Dr. 
Hadley's  great-grandfather,  Joshua  Hadley,  was  the  first  of  the 
family  to  settle  in  Chatham  county.  He  was  a  quaker  of  English  de- 
scent, and  moved  to  Chatham  county,  from  South  Hadley,  Mass. 
His  children  were  Simon,  who  married  Miss  Thompson,  and  moved 
from  Chatham  county,  to  Hendricks  county,  Ind.;  John  and  William 
moved  to  Todd's  Fork,  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  in  1800;  Thomas 
moved  to  Morgan  county,  Ind.;  Jonathan  was  a  surveyor,  and  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Long,  of  Alamance  county.  He  died  in  that  county  and 
his  family  moved  to  Parke  county,  Ind.  Jerry  moved  to  Plainfield, 
Ind.;  Jacob  lived  and  died  at  Hadley's  Mills,  on  Terrill's  creek;  he 
first  married  a  Miss  Chambers,  of  Orange  county;  afterward  a  Miss 
Pickett,  of  Chatham  county,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons  and  five 
daughters;  Joshua  married  Rebecca  Hinshaw,  and  moved  to  Hen- 
dricks county,  about  1S3S;  Joseph  married  Miss  Hinshaw,  of  Chat- 
ham county,  and  moved  to  the  state  of  Iowa  about  1844.  The 
eldest  daughter  married  Hugh  Woody,  of  Chatham  county.  The 
second  daughter  married  Jerry  Pickett,  of  Alamance  county; 
the  third  daughter  married  Jesse  Dixon,  of  Alamance  county. 
Jacob  Hadley,  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Hadley,  was  a  promi- 
nent farmer  and  a  mill  owner.  He  established  the  present  Had- 
ley's Mills,  and  the  postoffice  was  named  for  him.  William  P. 
Hadley,  Dr.  Hadley's  father,  was  born  May  29,  1810.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  that  period,  and  has  always  been  engaged  in 
farming  and  milling,  in  Chatham  county,  where  he  now  resides  in  his 
eighty-second  year.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  many  years,  and  in 
1864  was  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature.  He  was 
formerly  a  whig  in  politics,  but  after  the  war  joined  the  democratic 
part}'.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Fayetteville  bank  and  is  a  promi- 
nent and  influential  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church.  He 
is  a  large  land  owner,  and  owns  one  of  the  finest  flouring  mills  in 
Chatham  county,  his  ownership  dating  back  more  than  thirty  years. 
He  has  reared  ten  children  whose  names  are  as  follows:  Jacob  M., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  William  C,  who  died  November  11,  1880, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Second  North  Carolina  cavalry,  with  the 
rank  of  second  lieutenant.  He  served  through  the  war,  and  was 
severely  wounded  at  Brandy  Station;  Sarah  A.,  wife  of  Van  R.  May, 
of  Wayne  county;  Oliver  Newton,  a  member  of  Company  C,  Twenty- 
sixth  North  Carolina  infantry,  died  of  typhoid  pneumonia,  at  More- 
head  City,  in  1861;  Phceba  A.,  of  Chatham  county;  Annie  C,  wife  of 
Romulus  Eubanks,  of  Chatham  county;  John  W.,  a  member  of  the 
Second  North  Carolina  cavalry,  killecl  in  battle  at  Stephensburg,  Va.; 
James  A.,  of  Beston,  Wayne  county,  a  merchant  and  farmer;  Frank- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  267 

lin  M.,  of  Siler  Citj',    Chatham   county,   tanner   and   merchant,  and 
Martha,  deceased. 

Dr.  Jacob  M.  Hadley  began  his  education  at  the  New  Garden 
school  and  finished  at  Trinity  college,  after  which  he  engaged  in 
teaching  and  studying  medicine  under  Dr.  Alfred  Lindley,  of  Chat- 
ham county.  He  graduated  from  the  University  of  I'ennsylvania  in 
March,  i860,  and  practiced  in  Craven  county  till  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war.  In  1S61  he  volunteered  in  Col.  Clark's  regiment,  of  Xew- 
bern,  after  the  fall  of  which  he  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  and 
had  charge  of  the  hospital  at  Raleigh,  with  Surgeons  James  P.  Bryan 
and  E.  Burke  Haywood.  In  the  fall  of  1S62  he  was  appointed 
surgeon  of  the  Fourth  North  Carolina  state  infantry  in  Lee's  army  of 
northern  V^irginia,  and  served  in  that  capacit}'  until  the  close  of  the 
war  and  was  paroled  from  Appomatox,  on  April  g,  1865.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  at  Martinsburg,  Va.  After  three  months  duty  in  the 
lines,  was  complimented  and  paroled  by  Gen.  Andrew  T.  McRey- 
nolds,  commander  of  the  post.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  Dr.  Had- 
ley resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Oakes,  Orange  county, 
but  in  February,  1867,  removed  to  La  Grange,  where  he  has  ever 
since  been  in  active  practice.  Dr.  Hadley  stands  high  in  his  profes- 
sion and  has  the  reputation  of  a  skilled  and  successful  practitioner. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  was  a  representative  to  the 
Virginia  medical  convention  and  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  Amer- 
ican medical  association  at  its  meeting  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in  May, 
1891.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  Lenoir  medical  association  and 
has  served  as  president  of  that  society.  He  is  secretary  of  the  county 
board  of  health.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  and  of  the 
Patrons  of  Husbandry.  Dr.  Hadley  is  the  owner  of  2,000  acres  of 
farm  land  and  is  an  extensive  real  estate  owner  in  La  Grange.  Sep- 
tember 4,  1S60,  he  married  Miss  Lizzie  E.  Kirkpatrick,  of  Orange 
county,  N.  C,  and  they  have  had  three  children  whose  names  were 
William  Newton,  now  deceased;  Lillie  H.,  deceased,  also,  and 
George  B.  W.  Hadley,  A.  B.,  principal  of  La  Grange  collegiate  insti- 
tute. Dr.  Hadley  is  a  trustee  of  and  a  prominent  member  in  the 
Methodist  Protestant  church  of  La  Grange,  and  has  been  a  repre- 
sentative to  several  annual  conferences  and  to  every  session  of  gen- 
eral conference  since  1877. 

HUGH  M.  McDonald, 

druggist,  of  La  Grange,  was  born  in  Moore  county,  N.  C,  May  7, 
1840.  His  parents,  Daniel  and  Mary  McDonald,  were  natives  of  Scot- 
land, and  came  to  .'\merica  while  children,  with  their  respective  par- 
ents, and  settled  upon  Cape  Fear  river.  Here  after  reaching  their 
maturity  they  were  married,  and  afterward  moved  to  IMoore  county. 
Daniel  McDonald  was  a  tailor  by  occupation,  which  trade  he  followed 
until  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1S68.  His  wife  died  in  1S65.  They 
were  both  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  Mr.  McDonald  hold- 


268  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ing  the  office  of  elder.  They  reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  four 
of  whom  still  survive.  Their  respective  names  were:  Alexander  D., 
a  practicing  physician  of  Wilmington,  N.  C;  Angus  P.,  who  died  in 
iS6i;  Christina  J.,  deceased;  .Sarah  \.,  now  Mrs.  Jones,  of  Moore 
county;  Hugh  M.;  Catherine  J.,  wife  of  Duncan  Thompson,  of  Rich- 
mond, N.  C,  and  Mary  Alice,  deceased.  Hugh  M.  McDonald  was 
reared  in  Moore  county.  He  attended  the  common  schools,  after- 
ward graduating  in  pharmacy  at  Bluff  Falls,  Md.  In  1861  he  joined 
the  Confederate  army,  enlisting  in  Company  C,  of  the  Thirty-fifth 
North  Carolina  infantry.  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  orderly 
sergeant,  and  served  until  June  17,  1864.  He  was  then  taken  prisoner 
at  Five  Forks,  Va.,  and  confined  in  prison  at  Elmira,  N.  Y.  He  par- 
ticipated in  the  battles  of  Richmond,  Fredericksburg,  Malvern  Hill, 
the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  and  several  less  important  engage- 
ments. After  the  war  was  over  he  located  in  Wilmington,  N.C.,  where 
he  read  medicine  with  his  brother,  devoting  his  attention  largely  to 
pharmacy.  In  1870  he  engaged  in  the  drug  house  at  Wilmington  as 
a  clerk  for  one  year.  He  came  to  La  Grange  in  1873,  and  estal)lished 
his  present  business  as  a  druggist,  where  he  has  ever  since  conducted 
the  only  drug  store  in  the  town.  Mr.  McDonald  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  of  the  Knights  of  Pj'thias,  and  of  the  Knights  of 
Honor.  In  political  faith  he  is  a  democrat.  In  1880  Mr.  McDonald 
was  married  to  Miss  Hattie  N.  Hall,  the  daughter  of  Albert  C.  Hall, 
of  Pindar  county,  N.  C,  and  they  have  one  child,  Alexander  Milton 
McDonald.  Mr.  McDonald  is  an  active  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  in  which  he  is  an  elder,  and  when  the  present  church  edifice 
was  built,  he  rendered  efficient  aid  both  in  material  means  and  in  en- 
couragement by  his  wise  counsel. 

JAMES  GRAHAM  RAMSAY,  M.  D., 

a  prominent  physician  of  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Iredell 
county,  March  i,  1S23,  the  son  of  Col.  David  Ramsay,  who  was  also 
a  native  of  Iredell  county.  Col.  Ramsay  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent, 
and  the  progenitors  of  the  family  in  North  Carolina  came  direct  from 
Pennsylvania,  but  originally  from  Scotland.  They  settled  in  Iredell 
county,  and  their  descendants  are  to  be  found  throughout  the  coun- 
try; many  of  them,  like  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  have  become  highly 
distinguished.  His  father  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  and  sub- 
stantial farmer,  and  an  honored  citizen  of  Iredell  county,  in  which  he 
lived  and  died.  Col.  Ramsay  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being 
Miss  Graham,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  dead 
except  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  second  wife  was  the  mother 
of  three  children,  of  whom  only  one,  a  daughter,  now  survives.  Dr. 
James  G.  Ramsay,  was  reared  and  passed  his  earlier  days  upon  his 
father's  farm,  availing  himself  of  what  educational  privileges  were 
within  his  reach.  He  graduated  from  Davidson  college  in  1841,  and 
subsequently  taught  school  for  a  short  time.  In  1848.  he  graduated 
from  the  Jefferson  medical  college   of  Philadelphia.     When  he  first 


.j«('f!^TS''^SS?^. 


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^-£^^^k^-^C    C^^^Uy^ 


NOKTH  CAROLINA.  269 

entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  located  in  Rowan 
county,  about  sixteen  miles  west  of  Salisbury.  H  ere  he  has  continued 
a  long,  active  and  successful  practice  of  medicine,  rising  to  the  fore- 
most rank  of  his  profession.  He  has  been  an  active  member  of  both 
the  North  Carolina  and  Rowan  county  medical  associations,  and  is 
regarded  among  his  professional  associates,  as  one  of  the  most  learned 
and  skillful  of  their  number.  Throughout  his  entire  career,  he  has 
been  a  close  and  constant  student,  and  his  researches  have  extended 
far  outside  the  domain  of  medical  science.  In  politics  he  was  an  ad- 
herent of  the  whig  principles,  as  held  by  Henrj'  Clay,  Daniel  Web- 
ster and  other  great  lights  of  that  once  powerful  party. 

In  1846  Dr.  Ramsay  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  Rowan 
and  Davie  counties,  and  so  ably  and  faithfully  did  he  represent  that 
district  that  he  was  re-elected  for  several  terms.  When  the  great 
civil  struggle  cast  its  ominous  shadow  before,  he  was  an  ardent 
"peace  man  "  and  stubbornly  opposed  all  measures  looking  toward  a 
dissolution  of  the  union  by  force  of  arms.  When  the  actual  conflict 
came,  however,  he  cast  his  lot  with  the  people  of  his  own  section,  and 
was  an  earnest  participant  in  the  great  struggle  against  the  Federal 
government.  He  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the  Confed- 
erate congress  and  took  part  in  the  deliberations  of  its  second  ses- 
sion. Since  the  close  of  the  war  Dr.  Ramsay  has  been  identified  po- 
litically with  the  republican  party.  He  was  chosen  a  presidential 
elector  upon  the  Grant  ticket  in  1872,  was  again  a  candidate  for 
elector  on  the  ticket  in  1880,  but  was  defeated  as  was  the  whole  re- 
publican ticket  of  that  year  in  his  section.  In  every  political  cam- 
paign since  the  war  he  has  taken  an  active  part  as  a  republican,  and  is 
one  of  the  ablest  and  most  effective  public  speakers  and  campaigners 
in  his  party.  In  1846  Dr.  Ramsay  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Sarah  Foster,  a  native  of  Davie  county,  and  a  worthy  and  highly  re- 
spected lady.  The  marriage  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  daugh- 
ters and  six  sons,  named  as  follows:  Margaret  F.,  Florence  May, 
who  died  in  infancy;  David  A.,  deceased;  James  H.,  Edgar  B.,  Will- 
iam G.,  who  died  a  few  years  ago  while  superintending  a  gold  mine 
in  Africa;  Robert  L.  and  Claudius  C.  Dr.  Ramsay  and  his  wife 
have  long  been  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  which  he  has 
been  a  ruling  elder  many  years.  In  the  Masonic  fraternity  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree.  Dr.  Ramsay's  life  has  not  only 
been  a  useful  but  an  eventful  one.  Not  alone  in  his  profession  has 
he  proved  himself  of  great  use  to  his  fellow  men;  his  upright,  intel- 
ligent, conservative  and  consistent  course  as  a  citizen,  both  in  public 
and  in  private  life,  has  made  him  a  worthy  example  for  the  emulation 
of  all  who  have  been  cognizant  of  his  spotless  career,  and  the  intelli- 
gence and  integrity  which  have  been  his  distinguishing  character- 
istics. 

JOSEPH  JOHN  SUMMERELL,  M.  D., 

was  born  in   Halifax  county,  N.  C,  November  i,  1819.     His  father, 
John  Summerell,  was  a  X'irginian  by  birth,  and  was  married  to  Mary 


270  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Perry,  a  native  of  Halifax  county,  N.  C.  He  was  a  successful  farmer, 
and  accumulated  a  considerable  estate,  and  was  able  to  afford  his 
children  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education.  Of  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Perry  there  were  born  four  children,  only  two  of  whom  lived  to 
maturity.  The  eldest,  Mary  A.  E.  Summerell,  married  Capt.  E.  N. 
Peterson,  and  now  lives  in  Weldon,  N.  C.  Joseph  John,  three  years 
younger  than  his  sister,  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1842,  and  studying  medicine,  was  graduated  as  a  physician 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1844.  Soon  after  receiving 
his  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine,  he  settled  in  Salisbury,  N.  C,  where 
he  has  continued  ever  since  in  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  has  confined  himself  strictly  to  his  calling,  and  never  sought  public 
office.  His  fellow-citizens,  however,  for  many  years,  secured  his  ser- 
vices as  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  Rowan  count}',  and  for  two  years  he 
was  chairman  of  the  county  court.  For  over  thirty  years  he  has  also 
been  superintendent  of  public  health  for  Rowan  county,  and  physician 
for  the  county  home  for  the  aged  and  infirm.  In  this  office  he  has 
been  able  to  do  much  for  the  health  of  the  county  and  town,  for  the 
relief  of  prisoners,  and  for  the  comfort  of  the  unfortunate  and  des- 
titute. In  1855  Dr.  Summerell  became  a  member  of  the  state  medical 
society,  and  in  1862  was  elected  president  of  that  learned  body.  He 
still  continues  a  member,  and  is  interested  in  all  their  labors  for  the 
relief  of  the  suffering. 

In  1S44  Dr.  Summerell  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen  H.,  daughter  of 
Elisha  Mitchell,  D.  D.,  professor  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
Seven  children,  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  blessed  this  marriage. 
Of  these,  two  sons  and  two  daughters  still  survive.  The  eldest  son, 
the  Rev.  J.  N.  H.  Summerell,  is  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  the  be- 
loved pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Tarboro,  N.C.  The  other 
son,  Elisha  Mitchell  Summerell,  M.  D.,  is  a  practicing  physician  in 
Rowan  county,  N.  C.  The  eldest  daughter,  Mrs.  Anna  Maria  Colt, 
resides  with  her  father  in  Salisbury;  and  the  youngest  daughter, 
Mrs.  Gertrude  Hope  Chamberlain,  is  the  wife  of  Prof.  J.  R.  Chamber- 
lain, of  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  college,  at  Raleigh,  N.  C. 
Dr.  Summerell  became  a  member  of  the  Salisbury  Presbyterian 
church  In  1847,  was  ordained  a  deacon  in  1852,  and  a  ruling  elder  In 
1866,  and  has  continued  to  serve  his  church  in  the  latter  office  to  the 
present.  He  has  represented  his  church  in  presbyter}',  in  synod  and 
in  the  general  assembly,  with  fidelity.  His  life  has  been  characterized 
by  the  faithful  performance  of  all  known  duties,  and  his  intercourse 
with  the  people  has  been  marked  by  remarkable  candor  and  cour- 
age. In  every  relation  of  life  he  had  the  confidence  of  his  fellow 
citizens.  He  has  had  a  long  and  laborious  life  of  nearly  fifty  years 
In  his  profession  In  the  same  community,  and  during  all  that  time  has 
enjoyed  the  respect  of  his  profession  and  the  affection  of  patients 
and  cherished  friends.  Now  in  his  seventy-third  year  he  is  still  able 
to  do  a  reasonable  amount  of  professional  work,  and  Is  seen  almost 
dally  on  the  streets  of  Salisbury,  going  his  accustomed  rounds,  and 
finds  his  chief  earthly  pleasure  in  relieving  the  sick  and  suffering. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2>  1 


DR.  JULIUS  ANDREW  CALDWELL, 

of  Salisbury,  N.  C,  is  a  son  of  Judge  D.  F.  Caldwell,  a  sketch  of  whom 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Dr.  Caldwell  was  born  at 
Salisbury,  February  Q,  1830.  He  graduated  from  the  North  Carolina 
universit)'  in  June,  1S50,  and  soon  after  began  the  study  of  medicine 
in  his  native  city,  under  the  instruction  of  the  late  Ur.  M.  Whitehead, 
who  acted  as  his  preceptor.  He  likewise  attended  the  medical  col- 
lege at  Charleston  for  one  term,  and  then  entered  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia,  and  graduated  from  the  medical  de- 
partment of  that  institution  in  1S54.  In  the  same  year  he  located  at 
Lincolnton,  N.  C,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  re- 
mained there  four  years  and  then,  in  1858,  removed  to  Salisbury, 
where  he  has  ever  since  remained.  Dr.  Caldwell  is  a  kind,  unobtrus- 
ive gentleman,  modest  and  retiring,  but  a  most  excellent  and  pains- 
taking practitioner.  He  gives  most  of  his  time  to  his  profession,  and 
takes  a  lively  interest  in  public  affairs,  though  he  has  never  sought 
office.  As  a  physician  his  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  success. 
He  enjoj's  the  profound  respect,  not  only  of  his  professional  brethren, 
but  of  the  community  which  is  the  field  of  his  practice.  In  the  pro- 
fessional ranks  he  is  among  the  foremost,  and  as  a  citizen  he  is  uni- 
versally honored  and  esteemed.  In  August,  1868,  Dr.  Caldwell  and 
Miss  Fannie  M.  Miller  were  united  in  marriage,  and  the  fruit  of  this 
happy  union  has  been  the  birth  of  three  sons  and  three  daughters, 
but  they  have  been  called  to  mourn  the  death  of  one  son  and  one 
daughter.  Dr.  Caldwell  and  his  famil}'  are  members  of  the  Episco- 
pal church,  and  in  the  society  circles  and  among  the  leading  families 
of  Salisbury  they  enjoy  a  high  social  standing. 

JOHN  HEARTWELL  TUCKER. 

John  H.  Tucker,  M.  D.,  is  a  native  of  Virginia.  He  was  born  in 
Brunswick  county.  October  27,  1842.  A  sound  foundation  for  his  ed- 
ucation was  laid  in  Hanover  academy,  and  at  William  and  Mary  col- 
lege and  the  Virginia  military  institute.  He  left  the  last  named 
institution  in  June,  1861,  to  enlist  in  Company  I,  Third  Virginia  cav- 
alry, as  a  private.  After  a  faithful  service  of  twelve  months  he  re- 
ceived his  honorable  discharge  on  account  of  physical  disability,  and 
then  resumed  the  study  of  medicine,  having  carried  on  a  course  in 
that  science  in  addition  to  the  regular  collegiate  course  prior  to  his 
enlistment.  In  the  spring  of  1864  he  was  graduated  from  the  Vir- 
ginia medical  college,  and  immediately  re-entered  the  Confederate 
service  as  assistant  surgeon,  being  assigned  to  the  Chimborazo  hos- 
pital at  Richmond.  In  .September,  1864,  he  was  commissioned  as- 
sistant surgeon  of  the  Confederate  navy,  and  was  assigned  for  duty 
to  the  gunboat  "  Pee  Dee,"  then  stationed  near  Georgetown,  S.  C.  He 
served  until  the  fall  of  Charleston,  and  was  then  sent  to  the  Marine 
hospital    at  Drury's  Bluff,  where  he  was  captured  in  the  spring  of 


272  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

1865,  and  was  subsequently  paroled  at  Richmond,  \'a.  Beside  many 
skirmishes  and  engagements  of  minor  importance  Dr.  Tucker  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  Williamsburg,  West  Point  and  Seven  Pines. 
After  the  close  of  hostilities  he  removed  to  Okolona,  Miss.,  and  was 
there  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  and  also  in 
planting  for  seven  years,  five  years  of  which  time  he  was  associated 
with  Dr.  John  S.  Cain,  now  of  Nashville,  Tenn.  In  1S74  Dr.  Tucker 
changed  his  residence  to  Henderson,  N.  C,  and  has  since  made  that 
his  home.  Since  coming  to  Henderson  he  has  won  distinction  as  a 
skilled  physician,  and  as  a  business  man  of  much  ability  and  foresight. 
He  has  risen  to  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession  in  the  state,  and  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  also  of  the  American 
medical  association  and  of  the  state  board  of  health,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  the  president  of  the  Vance  county  health  board.  He  has 
been  active  in  furthering  the  best  interests  of  North  Carolina,  and  is 
a  director  and  vice-president  of  the  proposed  Atlantic,  Henderson  & 
Virginia  railroad  company.  He  is  a  Mason  and  Knights  Templar, 
and  a  consistent  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

In  1872,  Dr.  Tucker  was  very  happily  married  to  Miss  Willie  Ruf- 
fin  Hill,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  John  Hill,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C, 
and  eight  children  have  been  born  into  their  home,  named:  Eliza  C, 
John  H.  Jr.,  Edward  B.,  Willie  Julia,  Fannie  J.,  Maria  and  two  others 
now  deceased.  Edward  B.  Tucker,  the  father  of  the  principal  of 
this  mention,  was  also  a  Virginian,  having  been  born  in  Bruns- 
wick county  in  181 2.  He  was  an  extensive  planter  and  owned  large 
landed  interests  in  Mississippi  and  Virginia.  He  was  a  magistrate 
and  a  member  of  the  county  court  of  his  native  county  for  many 
years.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza  Cummin,  daughter  of  James 
Cummin,  of  Armagh,  Ireland,  was  solemnized  in  1S36  and  resulted  In 
the  birth  of  eleven  children,  only  four  of  whom  reached  maturity; 
they  are:  John  H.,  William  C,  and  Thomas  Goode,  of  Brunswick 
county,  Va.;  and  Maria  Tucker.  The  latter  (now  deceased)  was  the 
wife  of  the  late  Dr.  John  A.  Field,  of  Brunswick  county,  Va.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  in  1885,  his  wife  having  preceded  him 
to  rest  in  1876.  Edward  B.  Tucker  was  the  son  of  Col.  John  Tucker. 
He  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1774,  and  was  a  man  of  wide  influence.  An 
extensive  planter,  he  was  a  politician  of  abilit3',  having  served  several 
terms  as  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  and  for  many  years  was  high 
sheriff  of  Brunswick  county.  His  demise  occurred  in  1842.  The 
American  branch  of  this  family  descended  from  Capt.  Joseph  Tucker, 
of  the  British  army.  He  settled  in  Bermuda,  but  later  came  to  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  descended  from  the  Tudor  branch  of  the  Tucker 
famil}',  who  were  originally  from  England.  The  maternal  ancestors 
of  our  subject  were  from  Armagh,  Ireland.  They  were  of  noble 
blood  and  had  wealth  and  influence.  The  maternal  grand-ancestors 
of  Dr.  Tucker  were  the  Virginia  Goodes.  The  Goode  family  has 
an  honorable  history.  It  originally  settled  in  Chesterfield  county, 
Va.,  and  many  of  its  members  were  prominent  in  public  affairs  in  the 
proud  old  state.     William  O.  Goode  was  for  eighteen  years  a  mem- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2/3 

ber  of  congress  from  \'irginia,  prior  to  the  Civil  war,  and  the  Hon. 
John  Goocie  and  Col.  Thomas  F.  Goode  are  distinguished  living  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Virginia  famil}'. 

DR.  FLETCHER  R.  HARRIS, 

one  of  the   most  eminent   and  successful   physicians  of   Henderson, 
N.  C,  is  a  native  of  Granville  county,   N.  C,  where  he  was  born  on 
the  28th  of  September,  1859.     In    1881    he  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  \'irginia,  and  in  the   fall  of   that  year  entered  the  col- 
lege of  physicians  and  surgeons  of   New  York  city,  and  subsequently 
attended  the  Post  Graduate  school  in  that  city.     In  1883  he  returned 
to  Henderson,   and   commenced  the   practice  of  his  profession.     Dr. 
Harris  is  a  member  of  the  American  medical  association,  the  North 
Carolina  state  medical  society,  and  also  of  the  Vance  county  board 
of   health.     In  1884  he  was  happily  married  to  iMiss  Cary,  daughter 
of  Jesse  H.  Page,  of  Slatesville,  N.  C,  and  two  children  are  the^  off- 
spring of  their  union,  namely:     Agnes  Reese  Harris  and  Jessie  Har- 
ris.    Dr.  Harris  is  the  son  of   Benjamin    F".  Harris,  a  native  of  Gran- 
ville  county,   having  first  seen  the  light  there  in   1806.     He  was  a 
prominent  planter  and  merchant   during  his  active  career,  having  re- 
moved from  Granville   county,  to  Oxford,  N.  C,  in  his  later  life.     In 
184S,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ann  E.  Rogers,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Rogers,  of  Granville  county,  and   five   children  were  born  to 
them  George  B.  Harris,  a  resident  of   Henderson,  N.  C.;   Samuel  R. 
Harris,   also  of  Henderson;  Benjamin  F.  Harris,  died  in  1876  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years;  Fletcher  R.  Harris,  and  A.  J.  Harris,  of  Hender- 
son.    The  family   is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most   highly  esteemed  in 
the  state. 

D.  MALLOY  PRINCE,  M.  D., 

one  of  the  leading  physicians  and  surgeons  of  North  Carolina,  was 
born  in  Marlborough  county,  S.  C,  in  1848.  His  parents  were  L.  B. 
and  Mary  (McEachin)  Prince,  the  former  a  native  of  .South  Carolina, 
and  the  latter  of  North  Carolina.  L.  B.'  Prince  was  a  planter  in  early 
manhood,  and  later  in  life  devoted  himself  to  teaching.  He  was  a 
son  of  Lawrence  and  Charlotte  Benton  Prince.  The  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Col.  Benton,  who  figured  so  prominently  as  a  patriot 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  later  as  a  congressman  from 
South  Carolina.  Charles  Prince,  the  great-grandfather  of  D.  Malloy 
Prince,  was  a  captain  in  the  British  army  prior  to  the  war  for  Amer- 
ican independence.  Lawrence  died  at  the  age  of  si.\ty-five  years,  and 
his  wife  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  Of  their  eleven  children  but  four 
now  survive.  Our  immediate  subject,  D.  Malloy  Prince,  M.  D.,  was 
engaged  in  obtaining  an  education  in  the  schools  of  Cheraw  and 
Sumter  until  his  fifteenth  year,  when  he  enlisted  in  a  regiment  of 
boys  under  Col.  Harington  in  1863,  thereby  offering  his  services  to 
the  Confederate  government.  This  regiment  served  with  valor  in 
B— 18 


274  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

numerous  skirmishes  and  small  engagements,  but  took  part  in  no 
large  battle.  After  the  close  of  the  war  Dr.  Prince  resumed  his 
studies,  and  subsequently  took  up  the  medical  science  under  the 
tutelage  of  Dr.  Cornelius  Kollock,  of  Cheraw,  and  later  attended  the 
Charleston  medical  college,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated, 
the  first  honors  of  the  class  being  equally  divided  between  himself 
and  two  classmates.  After  graduation  he  began  practice  in  Cheraw, 
and  about  a  year  later  removed  to  Laurel  Hill,  N.  C,  where  he  be- 
came associated  with  Dr.  Patterson.  After  several  years'  residence 
in  that  place,  Dr.  Prince  took  up  his  abode  at  Laurenburg,  and  there 
formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Dixon,  and  this  firm  still  exists.  Dr. 
Prince  has  completed  a  course  of  study  in  the  medical  department  of 
Johns  Hopkins  university,  and  is  an  arcient  student  of  medicine,  per- 
haps having  no  superior  as  a  surgeon  in  this  portion  of  the  state.  He 
is  an  honorary  member  of  the  South  Carolina  medical  association. 


PETER    W.    STANSILL,    M.    D. 

Probably  one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  Richmond  county, 
N.  C,  ever  produced  was  Peter  W.  Stansill,  M.  D.  Born  on  the  2Qth 
of  August,  1812,  his  useful  career  was  prolonged  until  April  16,  iSgo, 
when  he  passed  from  this  world,  firmly  trusting  in  his  Redeemer's 
power  to  save.  Dr.  Stansill  was  one  of  nine  children  born  to  Peter 
and  Sallie  (Jones)  Stansill.  The  father  removed  to  Rockingham  from 
Northampton.  N-  C,  in  ijgo,  and  settled  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by 
the  Richmond  hotel.  These  parents  were  intelligent  and  respected 
people,  but  did  not  possess  means  suf^cient  to  give  their  children  edu- 
cational advantages.  Their  son  Peter  was  ambitious,  however,  and 
in  early  boyhood  determined  to  acquire  a  thorough  education.  He 
was  apprenticed  to  a  blacksmith,  and  while  working  at  his  trade  de- 
voted himself  to  persistent  study.  Having  decided  to  fit  himself  for 
the  medical  profession,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  began  reading 
under  Dr.  C.  C.  Covington,  although  still  obliged  to  remain  at  the 
anvil  to  earn  his  living.  Under  the  most  discouraging  surroundings 
he  pursued  most  faithfully  his  scientific  research,  and  after  several 
years  succeeded  in  borrowing  sufficient  money  from  his  friend,  Mr. 
James  P.  Leak,  to  defray  his  expenses  while  attending  a  course  of 
lectures  at  the  Charleston  medical  college.  After  completing  the 
course  he  returned  to  Rockingham,  where  he  practiced  for  a  year  or 
two,  after  which  Anson  county  became  his  home;  but  after  a  residence 
there  of  two  years,  he,  in  1S46,  returned  to  Charleston  and  took  a 
more  advanced  medical  course.  Subsequently  Dr.  Stansill  settled 
once  more  in  Rockingham,  and  it  was  in  the  latter  place  that  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent.  In  1847  he  married  Miss  Eliza 
Ellerbe  McQueen,  of  Chesterfield,  S.  C.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
the  Ellerbes,  of  South  Carolina,  who  came  from  England  in  1766,  and 
furnished  several  patriot  soldiers  in  the  Revolution.  Six  children 
blessed  this  marriage,  viz.:  John,  Cecilia,  Anna,  Cora,  Ida  and  Willie. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  275 

When  Dr.  Stansill  entered  upon  his  professional  career,  the  treat- 
ment of  t^'phoid  fever  was  such  that  but  few  contracting  the  disease 
recovered.  The  ardent  young  physician  saw  that  something  was 
wrong  and  determined  to  remedy  the  defect  of  science.  Devoting 
his  clear,  disciplined  mind  to  the  subject,  he  was  successful  in  discov- 
ering an  entirely  new  treatment  which  proved  so  beneficial  that  his 
name  was  soon  given  widespread  prominence  throughout  the  state. 
Rapidly  the  man  rose  to  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession,  and  his 
personality  was  such  that  not  only  the  people  at  large  respected  his 
decisions,  but  also  his  brethren  in  medicine.  It  was  but  natural  that 
a  man  possessed  of  such  a  mind  and  heart  as  he  should  early  own  his 
allegiance  to  God,  and  assume  his  share  of  the  burden  of  elevating 
the  world  to  the  standard  set  by  the  Saviour.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  his  after  life  was 
noted  for  its  piety  and  uprightness.  His  death  was  a  public  calamit}', 
and  he  was  mourned  in  the  rich  man's  house  as  well  as  in  the  habita- 
tion of  the  poor.  None  may  know  until  the  final  day  how  pure  was 
his  life,  how  manj'  destitute  and  fallen  he  raised,  and  what  comfort 
his  ministrations  brought  to  the  bed  of  the  dying.  He  felt  that  his 
calling  was  not  only  to  restore  physical  health,  but  also  to  bind  up 
the  bleeding  heart,  and  direct  the  famished  soul  to  its  God  and 
Maker.  I  lis  memory  lives  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  loved  him  and 
the  influence  of  his  life  cast  on  the  side  of  right  can  never  be  lost. 
In  politics  he  was  a  democrat,  and  during  the  struggle  between  north 
and  south,  he  upheld  the  cause  of  his  people,  because  he  thought  it 
right.  Too  old  to  bear  the  brunt  of  battle,  he  assisted  as  well  as  he 
could  by  his  counsels  and  support.  His  son  and  successor  is  John 
McQueen  Stansill,  M.  D.,  who  was  born  in  Rockingham,  Richmond 
county,  N.  C,  June  30,  1849.  His  preparatory  education  was  obtained 
in  the  Rockingham  academy,  and  later  in  the  University  of  Maryland, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1872.  He  then  took  special  courses  of 
study  in  Baltimore  and  New  York  medical  colleges,  after  which  he 
returned  to  Rockingham  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Rockingham  medical  association,  and  also  of 
the  state  association,  and  for  several  years  has  been  superintendent  of 
health  board  of  the  county.  February  23,  18S2,  Miss  Willie  B.  Baldwin, 
daughter  of  T.  R.  and  Minnie  (LeGrand)  Baldwin,  of  Richmond 
county,  became  his  wife,  and  three  children,  named  Minnie  L.,  Eliza, 
and  Cora  C,  have  been  born  to  them.  Both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Stansill 
are  communicants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  is 
a  trustee  and  steward.  As  a  physician  he  is  able  and  progressive,  and 
has  met  with  marked  success. 

A.  W.  HAMER,  M.  D., 

a  leading  physician  of  Richmond  county,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Marl- 
borough county,  S.  C,  December  29,  1834.  Alfred  and  Martha  (Wal- 
lace) Hamer,  his  parents,  were  natives  of  -South  and  North  Carolina, 
respectively.     The  father  was  a  prominent  planter,  and  was  a  man  of 


276  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

influence  and  ability;  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church.  He  died  in  1S55,  aged  forty-nine  j'ears.  His  widow  still 
survives  him  with  powers  of  mind  and  body  remarkably  well  pre- 
served, having  attained  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Of  the  fourteen 
children  born  to  these  parents,  eleven  reached  maturity,  and  five  are 
still  living.  The  son,  A.  W.  Hamer,  the  principal  of  this  mention, 
was  educated  in  private  schools  in  Marlborough  county,  S.  C,  and  be- 
gan the  stud}'  of  medicine  under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  W.  D.  Wallace, 
of  Bennettsville,  and  subsequentl}'  attending  the  course  of  lectures 
at  the  Charleston  medical  college,  he  was  graduated  from  that 
famous  institution  with  the  class  of  1858.  Locating  in  Rockingham, 
he  at  once  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  chosen  profession, 
and  continued  at  Rockingham  with  marked  success  until  the  seces- 
sion of  the  state,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Twenty-third  reg- 
iment volunteer  infantry.,  and  served  as  a  private  until  the  following 
September,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  physi- 
cal disability,  and  returned  home.  In  1862  he  went  to  Richmond, 
Va.,  where  he  received  the  appointment  of  acting  assistant-surgeon 
in  Hospital  20,  at  Richmond,  and  retained  that  office  until  1863,  when 
the  hospital  was  closed.  Returning  to  South  Carolina,  he  resumed 
his  practice,  and  remained  in  Marlborough  until  January,  1881,  when 
he  removed  to  Laurinburg,  N.  C.  Dr.  Hamer  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  state  medical  association,  and  also  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, being  a  past  master  of  his  lodge,  and  is  a  member  of  the  K.  of  P., 
having  held  the  office  of  first  district  deputy  grand  chancellor  of 
Laurinburg;  the  K.  of  H.,  and  the  K.  &  L.  of  H.  In  1S64  Dr. 
Hamer  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Douglass,  of  Marlborough  county, 
S.  C,  the  daughter  of  Duncan  Douglass,  her  mother  being  Sarah 
(McLaurin)  Douglass,  a  sister  of  Duncan  McLaurin,  for  whom  the 
city  of  Laurinburg  was  named.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hamer  are  the  parents 
of  these  children:  Sallie  D.,  wife  of  Peter  Mcintosh;  Mattie,  Kate  and 
Douglas,  who  is  a  member  of  the  junior  class  in  the  state  universit}', 
and  Wallace,  deceased  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  in  1888.  Mrs.  Hamer 
is  a  communicant  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  while  her  husband  and 
children  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south. 

DR.  EDWARD  P.  SNIPES, 

one  of  the  leading  physicians  and  surgeons  of  Moore  county,  also  a 
druggist  and  pharmacist,  was  born  in  Chatham  county,  N.  C,  July  26, 
1853.  He  is  the  son  of  B.  F.  and  T.  B.  Snipes,  the  maiden  name  of 
his  mother  being  Norwood.  Both  parents  are  natives  of  North  Car- 
olina, the  former  being  a  farmer  and  merchant  of  Snipesville.  He 
served  as  county  commissioner  some  years  since  for  one  term,  but 
takes  little  interest  in  politics,  giving  his  undivided  attention  to  busi- 
ness. He  is  quite  an  extensive  farmer  for  that  part  of  the  country 
and  is  a  prominent  and  ofiicial  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  though  quiet  and  reserved  in  his  disposition  is  widely 
and  favorably  known  throughout  the  county.     He  is  respected  as  a 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  277 

high-minded  and  an  honorable  business  man,  and  a  good  citizen  in 
the  best  sense  of  the  term.  He  was  born  in  iSio,  and  saw  much  of 
pioneer  Hfe  in  the  south.  His  wife,  who  is  still  living,  was  born  in 
1818,  and  she  too  is  a  life-long  and  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Her  parents  were  natives  of  Virginia,  coming  to 
North  Carolina  in  an  early  day.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
fifth  born  in  a  family  of  six  children,  whose  names  are  G.  B.,  a  farmer 
residing  in  Chatham  county;  James,  who  enlisted  in  1S63  and  took 
part  in  several  of  the  most  sanguinary  battles  of  the  Civil  war.  He 
was  a  lieutenant  in  his  company,  and  was  mortally  wounded  in  the 
last  Manassas  battle,  receiving  a  gun  shot  wound  in  the  hip.  He 
was  left  at  a  spring  in  charge  of  J.  J.  Norwood,  a  cousin.  The  army 
was  on  the  retreat.  Neither  of  these  individuals  have  ever  since 
been  heard  from,  though  the  father  of  young  Snipes  went  to  the  bat- 
tle-ground and  searched  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  spring  for  three 
weeks.  His  age  was  seventeen  years.  Sarah,  wife  of  A.  W.  Nor- 
wood, residing  on  a  farm  in  Chatham  county;  Josephine,  wife  of  J.  J. 
Hackney;  Dr.  Edward  P.,  and  Nora,  wife  of  James  Norwood,  a 
farmer  of  Chatham  county. 

Dr.  Snipes  was  educated  at  Hugh's  academ}',  and  read  medicine 
under  Dr.  William  P.  Mallet  of  Chapel  Hill.  He  attended  medical 
lectures  at  Vanderbilt  university,  graduating  therefrom  in  1890.  He 
is  also  a  graduate  of  the  same  university  in  the  class  of  iSgi.  Dr. 
Snipes  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  1879,  at  Snipesville.  As  a 
practitioner  he  has  met  with  great  success,  and  bids  fair  to  take  a 
foremost  position  among  his  professional  associates  in  the  county. 
He  has  kept  a  drug  store  in  connection  with  his  practice  for  the  past 
eight  years  at  Jonesboro.  He  went  to  that  place  in  1880,  and  has 
resided  there  since.  Dr.  Snipes  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
state  medical  society,  and  the  medical  examiner  for  several  insurance 
companies.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Jonesboro  cotton  mills  and  is 
business  manager  of  the  Jonesboro  Leader.  He  has  been  town  com- 
missioner for  several  terms  and  is  chairman  of  the  board  of  health 
for  the  town  of  Jonesboro.  In  all  the  enterprises  which  promise  the 
prosperity  and  advancement  for  his  town  Dr.  Snipes  takes  a  fore- 
most rank.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  is  past 
grand  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  organiza- 
tion he  is  delegate  to  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state.  In  the  com- 
munity where  he  resides,  he  enjoys  universal  respect  and  esteem. 

HON.  THOMAS  P.  BRASWELL, 

of  Battleboro,  Nash  county,  N.  C  was  born  in  Edgecombe  county, 
N.  C,  in  the  year  183.^,  and  is  now  fifty-seven  years  old.  He  did  not 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  collegiate  education,  having  acquired  what 
he  possesses  by  teaching  himself  while  working  upon  the  farm,  which 
he  did  until  twenty-one  years  of  age;  then  he  was  elected  district 
constable,  and  served  his  people  in  this  capacity  as  well  as  that  of 
deputy  sheriff  a  few  years.     During  the  late  war  he  was  a  regimental 


2/8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

militia  officer,  railroad  contractor  and  supply  agent.  Mr.  Brasvvell 
moved  to  Nash  county  in  1866,  and  has  since  been  extensively  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  is  one  of  the  most  successful  and  prosperous 
farmers  in  his  state.  He  is  a  large  land-owner  and  operates  several 
large  farms,  is  extensively  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  and 
the  first  in  erecting  a  warehouse  for  the  sale  of  leaf  tobacco  in  east 
North  Carolina.  Mr.  Braswell  has  always  been  liberal  and  enter- 
prising, substantially  contributing  to  the  building  of  all  the  schools 
and  churches  in  his  section.  He  was  among  the  first  to  engage  in 
cultivating  grasses  and  raising  improved  stock,  and  has  now  at  his 
home  farm  near  Battlesboro  the  largest  and  finest-bred  herd  of  Jer- 
sey cattle  In  the  state.  Mr.  Braswell  has  filled  creditably  many  use- 
ful public  positions  in  his  county  and  state;  was  first  appointed  by 
the  governor  a  justice  of  the  peace,  afterward  elected  by  the  people; 
a  part  of  the  time  chairman  of  the  county  board  of  magistrates.  For 
man}'  years  he  was  county  commissioner,  serving  as  chairman  of  the 
board  and  once  chairman  of  the  county  democratic  executive  com- 
mittee. He  was  nominated  by  the  democratic  party  and  elected  a 
member  of  the  state  legislature  and  served  in  the  sessions  of  1876-7, 
declining  a  renomination  in  1878.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.  lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F..  Knights  of  Honor,  and  in  politics  a 
democrat. 

While  Mr.  Braswell's  greatest  interest  is  in  farming  he  has  con- 
tributed largel}'  to  the  building  up  of  his  county  towns;  having  built 
and  now  owning  business  houses  in  Nashville,  Rocky  Mount  and  Bat- 
tleboro,  he  is  a  stockholder  and  promoter  of  the  Rocky  Mount  West 
End  Land  and  Improvement  company,  and  is  president  of  the  East- 
ern Carolina  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Fair  association.  Mr. 
Braswell  married  Miss  Emily  Stallings,  a  native  of  Edgecombe 
county,  N.  C,  in  his  early  manhood,  and  their  four  children  are: 
M.  C.  Braswell,  Esq.,  of  Battleboro,  N.  C,  a  large  merchant  and 
broker,  conducting  the  largest  business  in  his  county.  He  was  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Homes  Henderson,  attended  college  at  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  and  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.;  J.C.  Braswell,  B.  S., 
University  of  North  Carolina,  a  tobacconist  at  Rocky  Mount,  N.  C; 
T.  C.  Braswell,  Jr.,  aged  fifteen  years,  at  school.  M.  R.  Braswell, 
M.  D.,  born  in  Edgecombe  county,  N.  C,  December  12,  1865,  pre- 
pared for  college  at  his  home  and  Bingham  school,  and  attended 
college  at  Wake  Forest  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  March  17,  18S6,  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Maryland, 
with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years.  He  obtained 
license  to  practice  his  profession  from  the  state  board  of  medical 
examiners  in  May  of  the  same  j-ear,  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Rocky  Mount,  of  the  same  year,  and  has  since  then  con- 
tinued to  build  up  an  extensive  practice,  being  notably  successful  in 
the  treatment  of  all  diseases  to  which  he  Is  called  to  see.  He  Is  a 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  state  medical  society,  and  an  active 
member  of  the  Corinthian  lodge  No.  230,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  is  medi- 
cal e.xaminer  for  four-fifths  of  the  life  insurance  companies  doing  busi- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2/9 

ness  in  his  town.  He  is  public  spirited  and  lends  a  helping  influence 
to  all  worthy  enterprises.  Besides  his  extensive  practice,  he  operates 
successfully  a  tobacco  farm.  Was  a  promoter  and  is  a  stock  owner 
of  the  Rocky  Mount  West  End  Land  and  Improvement  company,  and 
is  considered  a  progressive  and  able  business  man  as  well  as  a  skillful 
and  intelligent  physician,  as  few  have  gained  such  distinction  at  his 
age.     His  political  faith  is  of  the  principles  of  the  democratic  party. 


DR.  JOHN  F.  BELLAMY 

was  born  in  Edgecombe  county,  N.C.,  in  1827.  He  is  the  son  of  John  F. 
and  Ann  Nicholson  Bellamj',  who  were  both  natives  of  North  Caro- 
lina. John  F.  was  the  son  of  John  Bellamy,  also  a  native  of  the  same 
state,  and  he  in  turn  was  the  son  of  William,  a  North  Carolinian.  He 
was  the  father  of  two  sons,  John  and  William,  and  both  were  resi- 
dents of  the  state.  William  was  a  minister,  and  held  the  commission 
of  lieutenant  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  a  company  of  home 
guards.  He  died  in  October,  1846.  John  Bellamy,  the  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  died  when  but  a  young  man.  John  F. 
Bellamy  was  born  about  1790;  studied  medicine  and  practiced  for 
a  number  of  years  in  the  state;  enlisted  in  the  United  States  army  in 
181 2,  as  a  private,  and  afterward  served  as  surgeon.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  settled  near  Battleborough,  where  he  followed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  until  1S36.  He  then  retired  from  business,  and 
died  in  1S46.  He  was  married  about  1S17,  to  the  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  She  bore  him  one  son  and  one  daughter,  and  then 
died.  He  was  married  again  in  1836,  to  Mrs.  Coffield,  who  bore  him 
one  son.  He  took  no  part  in  politics,  and  he  was  an  earnest  and  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Methoclist  church. 

John  F.  Bellamy,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received  his  early  ed- 
ucation in  the  schools  of  the  county,  and  completed  his  course  in  the 
University  of  Virginia,  graduating  from  that  institution  in  1847.  He 
began  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr.  William  Hunter,  and  gradu- 
ated from  Jefferson  college,  Philadelphia,  in  1S49.  He  began  prac- 
tice near  Entield,  and  continued  it  until  1S70,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  engaged  in  farming  and  cotton  spinning.  He  was  married 
in  1858,  to  Miss  Sarah  Coffield,  his  step-sister.  The  issue  of  this 
union  has  been  one  son  and  one  daughter.  Mr.  Bellamy  has  taken 
some  interest  in  politics,  and  has  been  offered  several  offices  by  his 
fellow-citi/.ens.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  and  Masonic 
organizations,  and  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church.  He  is  one  of 
the  prominent  men  of  Fnfield,  and  enjoys  the  respect  and  esteem 
of  its  citizens. 

DR.  WILLIAM  D.  McMILLEN, 

a  leading  physician  of  Magnolia,  was  born  in  New  Hanover  county, 
N.  C,  in  a  part  now  in  Pindar  county,  in  the  year  1844.     He  received 


280  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

his  early  education  in  the  Wilmington  schools  and  in  the  Bula  mili- 
tary academy.  On  the  secession  of  the  state,  in  iS6i,  he  enlisted  in 
the  Papsail  Rifles  for  one  year  and  did  service  in  coast  defense.  That 
company  was  disbanded  in  1S62,  and  he  then  enlisted  in  the  first  bat- 
talion of  artillery  and  served  with  that  through  the  Virginia  cam- 
paign. But  in  1S63,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Fifty-first  North 
Carolina  infantry  and  served  wath  that  regiment  until  the  surrender 
in  1865,  with  Johnston's  army.  He  was  in  the  battles  around  Peters- 
burg, at  Cold  Harbor,  and  among  others  was  wounded  at  Fort  Har- 
rison by  a  shot  through  the  left  shoulder.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
he  began  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr.  W.  G.  Thomas,  with  whom 
he  remained  one  year.  He  entered  the  Maryland  university  in  the 
latter  part  of  1867  and  graduated  from  there  in  iS6g.  In  1870,  he  be- 
gan practice  in  New  Hanover  count}'  and  remained  there  six  j'ears; 
he  then  moved  to  New  River  where  he  remained  five  years,  and  then 
removed  to  Magnolia  where  he  now  resides.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
county  medical  society,  of  which  he  is  president,  and  was  for  some 
time  a  member  of  the  state  society.  He  has  never  taken  any  active 
part  in  politics,  but  served  as  chairman  of  Onslow  county  democratic 
committee.  He  enjoj's  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  and  is 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 


JOHN  B.  BECKWITH,   M.  D., 

was  born  in  Pasquotank  count3%  N.  C,  on  the  Sth  of  November,  1816, 
the  son  of  Watrous  and  Susan  E.  (Bailey)  Beckwith.  The  father 
was  a  native  of  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  and  came  to  North  Carolina 
with  his  brother,  Dr.  John  Beckwith,  settling  in  Newbern  in  1808. 
John  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  his  new  home,  where  he 
married  Miss  Stanly,  a  sister  of  John  Stanly.  Subsequently,  he  re- 
moved to  Raleigh,  and  in  1840  went  to  Petersburg,  \'a.,  going  thence 
to  New  York  sometime  later,  he  died  in  the  latter  state  in  1870.  He 
was  the  father  of  Bishop  John  W.  Beckwith,  of  Georgia,  and  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Stanly  Beckwith,  of  Petersburg,  \"a.  Watrous  Beckwith 
was  an  eminent  lawyer  and  legislator.  He  read  law  under  the 
direction  of  a  Mr.  Martin,  and  in  1812  located  in  Smithfield,  John- 
ston county,  N.  C.  In  18 15  he  removed  to  Elizabeth  City,  where  he 
married.  In  1829  Plymouth,  Washington  county,  became  his  resi- 
dence, and  his  demise  occurred  at  this  place  on  the  loth  of  April, 
1850.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  whig  party,  and  repre- 
sented his  county  in  the  house  of  representatives  of  North  Carolina 
in  I  S3 1.  His  father  was  John  Beckwith,  who  was  born  in  Lyme, 
Conn.,  and  later  in  life  he  removed  to  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  He  was 
born  April  17,  1752,  and  died  -September  12,  1834.  His  wife,  Chloe 
Bosworth  Beckwith,  was  born  at  Washington,  Conn.,  December  5, 
1759,  and  died  October  g,  1834,  the  same  year  as  her  husband.  These 
parents  had  three  sons:  Dr.  John  Beckwith;  Nathaniel,  who  died  in 
1840,  and  Watrous,  the  father  of  our  subject.     The  maiden  name  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  28  I 

Susan  E.  Beckwith  was  Bailey,  and  she  was  a  daughter  of  Mr.  John 
Bailey,  of  Pasquotank  county,  l\.  C.  She  was  a  devout  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  a  woman  of  lovely  Chris- 
tian character.  She  went  to  her  eternal  rest  October  23,  1862.  The 
six  children  born  to  her  were:  John  B;  Nathaniel,  a  prominent  law- 
yer of  Hyde  county,  N.  C,  he  died  October  30,  1886.  In  September, 
1849,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Wynne,  of  Franklin  county, 
and  their  children  are:  Watrous,  Sidney,  Stewart,  Norma,  who  mar- 
ried Terr}'  Welborn;  Dr.  James  L.  S.  Beckwith,  who  died  in  Craven 
county,  >Iarch  30,  1S66;  he  married  Evelyn  C.  Clifton,  of  Johnston 
county,  who  bore  hini  these  children:  Dr.  Roe  B.;  Bosworth  C,  a 
lawyer;  Annie,  wife  of  John  Thaxton,  and  Miss  Susan  W.  Thomas 
Beckwith  died  in  Smithfield  in  1863;  he  was  a  lawyer  by  profession, 
and  during  the  Civil  war  served  in  Company  I,  Twenty-fourth  North 
Carolina  infantry;  Henrietta  J.  Phelps,  of  Washington  county,  be- 
came his  wife  in  1856,  and  their  children  are:  John  Percy;  Dr. 
Thomas  L.,  born  January  14,  i860,  and  died  in  December,  1883; 
Chloe  Ann,  who  died  in  1847,  aged  nineteen  years;  Georgette,  also 
deceased  in  early  childhood. 

The  immediate  subject  of  this  biographical  mention  is  John  B. 
Beckwith,  M.  D.  Until  his  fourteenth  year  Dr.  Beckwith  remained 
in  his  native  county.  He  was  educated  at  Vine  Hill  academy,  in 
Halifax  county,  and  subsequently  began  the  study  of  medicine  under 
the  tutelage  of  Prof.  Eli  (jeldings,  in  1834.  Entering  the  University 
of  Maryland  he  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  the  class  of 
1837,  and  in  that  year  began  the  active  practice  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion in  Wake  county,  N.  C,  but  in  1841  he  removed  to  Smithfield, 
and  has  since  been  prominently  identified  with  the  interests  of  that 
place,  having  won  for  himself  a  position  in  the  front  ranks  of  the 
medical  profession  of  the  state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical 
society,  and  also  of  the  Johnston  county  medical  association,  he  hav- 
ing been  very  active  in  the  organization  of  the  latter  mentioned 
society,  and  its  first  president.  Dr.  Beckwith  has  given  much  atten- 
tion to  agriculture,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  successful 
and  progressive  planters  in  the  county.  During  the  great  struggle 
between  the  north  and  south,  he  remained  true  to  the  principles 
so  dearly  beloved  by  the  "Southland,"  and  was  a  commissioned 
surgeon  in  the  Confederate  service,  and  he  was  also  aitpointed  to 
look  after  the  families  of  soldiers,  to  provide  them  with  the  necessities 
of  life.  He  was  first  married  in  1849,  to  Miss  Annie  G.  Thompson, 
daughter  of  Rev.  David  Thompson,  of  Smithfield.  One  year  later 
this  estimable  lady  died.  In  i8",6.  Miss  Julia  M.  Sanders,  a  daughter 
of  Major  Ashley  Sanders,  of  Johnston  county,  became  his  wife.  In 
1859  death  again  entered  this  home,  and  terminated  his  happy 
domestic  life,  his  wife  having  died  in  that  year,  leaving  no  issue.  Dr. 
Beckwith  is  a  valued  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south,  and  has  been  a  steward,  and  the  superintendent  of  its  Sabbath 
school,  at  Smithfield  since  1855. 


282  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


N.  J.  PITTMAN,  M.  D. 

Among  North  Carolina's  most  prominent  physicians  appears  the 
name  of  N.  J.  Pittman,  M.  D.,  who  was  born  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C, 
August .  9,  1818.  His  great-grandfather  was  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  and  settled  in  Virginia  in  1650.  John,  Ambrose  and  Arthur 
Pittman  removed  to  Halifax  about  1776.  Ambrose  was  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject.  His  father  fled  to  America  from  England,  on 
account  of  the  persecution  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  became  a  planter 
and  prominent  man  in  the  colonies.  John  Pittman,  his  son,  and  the 
father  of  N.  J.  Pittman,  was  born  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C.  He  be- 
came a  large  planter  and  slaveowner.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Cath- 
erine Jones,  of  Halifax  county,  he  had  nine  children.  By  a  second 
marriage  two  children  were  born.  The  only  surviving  member  of  this 
family  is  Dr.  Pittman.  The  latter  received  a  thorough  literary  edu- 
cation, and  for  a  time  read  law.  Later  his  attention  was  turned  to 
medicine,  and  in  1839  he  received  his  diploma  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  Until  1850  he  was  engaged  in  practice  at  the  Falls  of 
Tar  river,  when  he  decided  to  take  a  more  e.xtended  course  in  the 
medical  schools  of  Europe.  For  two  years  he  remained  in  Paris,  then 
the  city  of  sciences,  and  later  pursued  his  studies  at  Berlin,  and  also 
gained  an  intimate  knowledge  in  the  schools  of  London.  During  his 
residence  abroad  Dr.  Pittman  became  personally  known  to  many  of 
the  great  scientific  men  of  the  day.  In  1853  he  returned  to  his  native 
country  and  resumed  his  practice  at  Tarboro,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. In  1857  Dr.  Pittman  was  elected  president  of  the  Edgecombe 
county  medical  society,  and  one  year  later  was  made  president  of  the 
state  medical  association,  he  having  been  most  active  in  the  organ- 
ization of  both  these  societies,  and  also  as  an  organizer  of  the  state 
medical  board,  of  which  he  was  the  second  president.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Society  of  .Science,  Letters  and  Art,  of  London,  Eng.,  and 
has  a  very  fine  badge-  which  was  presented  him  by  the  society. 

During  the  recent  Civil  strife,  he  cast  his  influence  and  service 
with  the  south,  and  served  as  a  surgeon  in  Branch's  brigade,  having 
been  captured  with  the  Confederate  forces  that  surrendered  at  New- 
bern.  Erom  1866  to  1872,  Dr.  Pittman  was  a  member  of  the  state 
board  of  medical  examiners;  and  in  1877,  he  presided  as  first  vice- 
president  of  the  National  medical  association,  which  met  at  Chicago, 
and  in  1881,  was  a  delegate  to  the  International  medical  congress  in 
London  from  the  American  medical  and  North  Carolina  medical 
societies;  and  in  the  same  year  was  a  delegate  to  the  British  medical 
association,  which  met  at  Ryde,  Isle  of  Wight.  This  eminent  gentle- 
man has  contributed  many  valuable  medical  papers,  the  most  impor- 
tant ones  being  on  gynecology,  of  which  he  has  made  an  especial 
study.  At  one  time  he  was  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Tennes- 
see medical  society.  In  addition  to  his  professional  work,  he  is  also 
very  extensively  interested  in  agriculture  and  stock  raising,  and  owns 
some  3000  acres  of   land   in   Edgecombe  county;  his  large  herds  of 


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NORTH  CAROLINA.  2S3  ■ 

Shropshire  sheep,  and  Devon  and  Jersey  cattle,  are  among  the  finest 
in  the  south,  and  have  made  their  owner  famous  as  a  stock -raiser. 
Dr.  Pittman  is  a  stoclcholder  in  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line  railroad,  and 
is  a  director  in  the  Tarboro  cotton  mill,  he  having  been  very  promi- 
nent in  the  organization  of  that  company.  Miss  M.  A.  Pittman,  a 
distant  relative,  became  his  wife  in  his  early  manhood,  and  bore  him 
two  children,  one,  Minerva,  now  surviving.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Eliza,  daughter  of  the  late  James  S.  Battle,  of  Edgecombe 
county  two  more  children  have  been  born,  Eliza  and  Cornelia  B., 
now  deceased.  He  is  a  Master  Mason  and  a  senior  warden  in  the 
Episcopal  church. 

JOHN  E.  LOGAN,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Greensboro,  X.  C,  July  14,  1S35.  His  education  was  re- 
ceived in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  1857.  He  then  entered  Jefferson  medical  college  at  Philadelphia, 
and  finished  the  course  there  in  1859.  After  a  year  spent  in  the  hos- 
pitals of  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Logan  returned  to  Greensboro  and  entered 
upon  his  professional  career.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  recent  Rebel- 
lion he  became  the  company  surgeon  of  the  Guilford  Grays,  an  inde- 
pendent company  organized  in  Guilford  county,  N.  C,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1861  he  was  assigned  to  the  Fourteenth  North  Carolina  regiment 
of  state  troops  as  assistant  surgeon,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
war  acted  as  surgeon  of  the  regiment.  After  the  close  of  hostilities 
between  north  and  south.  Dr.  Logan  returned  to  Greensboro  and  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  medicine,  in  which  he  has  since  met  with  suc- 
cess. In  the  year  1868  he  was  most  fortunate  in  forming  a  marriage 
alliance  with  Miss  Frances  Mebane  Sloan,  daughter  of  Robert  M. 
Sloan,  of  Greensboro.  Dr.  Logan  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, and  occupies  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lives.  His  father  was  John  i\L  Logan,  who  was  born  near 
Londonderry,  in  the  county  Londonderry,  Ireland,  in  1797,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  when  twenty-one  years  old,  settling  in  Guilford 
county,  N.  C.  For  many  years  he  was  a  leading  merchant  of  Greens- 
boro, and  for  a  long  period  held  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  county 
court,  and  was  the  incumbent  of  that  position  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
mise in  1853.  He  was  quite  prominent  in  military  circles,  and  held 
the  commission  of  major-general  in  the  North  Carolina  militia.  In 
1829,  Miss  Elizabeth  Ambler  Strange,  daughter  of  Robert  Strange, 
of  Bedford  county,  Va.,  became  his  wife,  and  to  them  were  born  four 
children,  all  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  with  the  exception  of  John  E. 
The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  1845.  John  M.  Logan  was  the 
son  of  Alexander  Logan,  who  was  born  in  Ireland.  He  was  an  offi- 
cer in  the  British  army.  His  father's  name  was  also  Alexander,  and 
he  was  a  native  of  Scotland.  The  maternal  great-great-grandfather 
of  Dr.  J.  E.  Logan  was  Gen.  Leftwitch,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  He 
was  a  Virginian.  Bishop  Early,  the  eminent  Virginia  clergyman,  was 
a  great-uncle  of  our  subject,  whose  ancestors  on  both  sides  have  been 
men  of  ability  and  note. 


284  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


JAMES  ELLIS  MALONE,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  De  Soto  count}-,  Miss.,  November  19,  1S51.  While  he 
was  still  in  his  infancy  his  parents  removed  to  Louisburg,  N.  C,  and 
it  was  in  the  latter  place  that  the  boy  was  educated,  having  been  a  stu- 
dent in  the  excellent  school  taught  by  Mr.  M.  S.  Davis.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  went  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  remained  for  about  a 
year.  Returning  to  his  home  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  under 
the  tutelage^of  his  father.  Dr.  Ellis  Malone,  and  in  1S72  entered 
Bellevue  hospital  medical  college  in  New  York  city,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  in  1S75.  From  1875  to  1S78,  Dr.  Malone  was 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  iSgo 
he  was  appointed  medical  examiner  for  the  Fourth  congressional 
district  to  examine  candidates  for  West  Point.  In  i88g  Gov.  Fowle 
appointed  him  a  delegate  to  the  national  sanitary  convention  held  at 
Montgomery,  Ala.  Dr.  Malone  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Frank- 
lin county  medical  society,  and  also  of  the  farmers'  alliance.  His 
marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Richmond,  daughter  of  Jones  Fuller,  of  Louis- 
burg, N.  C,  was  solemnized  in  1S78,  and  five  children  are  the  offspring 
of  the  union,  namely:  Jones  Fuller,  Carrie  Hill,  Edward  Hutchison, 
Mary  Ellis  and  Anna  Richmond  Malone.  Ellis  Malone,  M.  D.,  father 
of  the  above  mentioned,  was  born  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  Novem- 
ber 5,  1805,  and  cartie  to  Franklin  county  in  1853,  having  resided  in 
Mississippi  for  seven  years  prior  to  that  date.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  Jefferson  medical  college  at  Philadelphia,  and  arose  to  great 
eminence. in  his  profession.  At  one  time  he  was  deputy  grand  master 
of  the  grand  lodge  of  F.  &  A.  M.  of  North  Carolina.  In  addition  to 
a  large  practice  he  owned  extensive  agricultural  interests,  both  in 
Mississippi  and  North  Carolina.  He  was  twice  married,  his  second 
wife  having  been  Miss  Martha  Caroline  Hill,  to  whom  he  was  mar- 
ried in  1845.  Their  children  were:  Mary  E.  (deceased),  wife  of 
Edwin  W.  Fuller  (deceased),  a  noted  poet  of  Louisburg,  N.  C,  who 
died  April  22,  1877,  and  James  Ellis  Malone.  The  grandfather  of 
these  children  was  James  Glencoe  Malone,  who  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  emigrated  to  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  in  early  life.  He  was 
a  tobacco  planter.  Dr.  James  E.  Malone  has  been  prominently  iden- 
tified with  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  Franklin  county  since 
entering  upon  the  active  duties  of  his  professional  career.  In  1884 
he  had  the  entire  charge  of  the  magnificent  exhibit  of  Franklin  county 
at  the  exposition  held  in  Raleigh,  and  by  his  skillful  management 
made  his  department  a  great  success. 

DR.  WILLIAM  M.  B.  BROWN 

was  a  Virginian  by  birth.  In  early  manhood  he  settled  in  Pitt  county, 
N.  C,  with  a  Virginia  colony,  and  died  prior  to  the  war  of  181 2,  leav- 
ing a  large  family  of  children.  One  of  his  sons  was  W^iley  Brown, 
who  was  born  in  Pitt  county.     He  was  quite  extensively  interested  in 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  285 

agriculture.  He  married  Xancy  Moj-e,  also  a  native  of  Pitt  county. 
Wiley  Brown  died  in  1867,  his  wife  having  preceded  him  to  rest  in 
1843.  These  parents  reared  five  children  to  maturity,  their  names 
being,  Wyatt  Moye  Brown,  who  was  a  physician,  and  from  1854  until 
1859,  was  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the  United  States  navy.  Resigning 
he  engaged  in  practice  of  medicine  in  Greenville,  N.  C.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war  he  offered  his  services  to  the  navy  of  North 
Carolina,  and  was  an  active  medical  of^cer  until  the  war  ended. 
After  the  war  he  became  a  member  of  the  commission  house  of  Mar- 
maduke  &  Brown,  and  died  in  Macon,  Miss.,  where  he  had  married 
in  1863.  The  second  child  is  Susan,  wife  of  William  M.  Merritt,  of 
Ridge  Spring,  S.  C.  Annie,  wife  of  J.  J.  Thomas,  of  North  Carolina, 
is  the  next,  and  Martha,  who  married  S.  B.  Wilson,  of  Greenville, 
N.  C,  is  the  fourth.  The  eldest  child  is  William  M.  B.  Brown,  M.  D., 
who  was  born  in  Greenville,  Pitt  county,  N.  C,  on  the  gth  of  October, 
1823.  He  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  state, 
and  then  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  E.  H.  Goelett,  of 
Greenville.  In  1S46  he  was  graduated  from  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  New  York,  and  in  the  same  year  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Pitt  count}'. 

In  1854  Dr.  Brown  removed  to  Greenville,  and  has  since  been  a  resi- 
dent and  practitioner  of  that  town.  As  a  democrat  he  is  active  and 
loyal.  During  the  Civil  war  Dr.  Brown  rendered  valuable  assistance 
to  the  Confederate  service  by  caring  for  the  families  of  Confederate 
soldiers,  and  in  other  ways  earnestly  forwarded  the  cause.  In  con- 
nection with  his  professional  duties  he  now  operates  a  plantation. 
He  married  Miss  Jane  M.  Greene,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Greene, 
Esq.,  of  Greenville,  N.  C,  in  1854.  This  union  has  resulted  in  the 
birth  of  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  Wyatt  L.  Brown  is  an  insur- 
ance agent  at  Greenville;  William  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Brown 
&  Hooker,  merchants  of  Greenville;  Jennie,  wife  of  L.  V.  Morrill,  of 
Pitt  county,  N.  C;  Zeno  Brown,  M.  D.,  educated  at  the  Universityof 
North  Carolina,  and  entering  Bellevue  hospital  college,  completed 
the  medical  course  there  in  1885,  since  which  time  he  has  practiced 
at  Greenville;  James  and  Wiley  Brown  are  associated  together  in  the 
mercantile  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Brown  Brothers.  The 
family  are  active  members  of  the  Episcopal  and  Methodist  churches. 

CHARLES    JAMES    O'HAGEN,  M.  D. 

Among  the  most  eminent  of  North  Carolina's  many  noted  physi- 
cians we  find  the  name  of  Charles  James  O'Hagen,  M.  D.,  of  Green- 
ville, N.  C.  Dr.  O'Hagen  is  an  Irishman  by  birth,  having  been  born 
in  county  Londonderry,  Ireland, SeiJlemhcr  16,  182 1,  the  son  of  John  P. 
and  Martha  lO'Kane)  O'Hagen.  The  parents  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1840,  and  settled  in  New  York.  The  father  was  a  gentle- 
man of  rare  refinement  and  ability.  He  was  a  literateur  of  consid- 
erable note,  and  for  several  years  edited  a  paper  in  Irelaml.and  after 
his  removal  to  this  country  was  in  editorial  charge  of  a  leading  Brook- 


286  NORTH  CARULINA. 

lyn  (N.  Y.)  journal.  Dr.  O'Hagen  was  educated  in  Londonderry, 
later  at  Belfast,  and  his  scholastic  training  was  completed  at  Trinity 
college,  Dublin.  In  1842  he  joined  his  parents  in  America.  It  was 
his  ambition  to  become  a  physician,  but  before  jDroceeding  further 
with  his  studies  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  obtain  money  sufftcient 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  medical  course.  For  some  time  he  taught 
school  in  Lenoir,  Greene  and  Pitt  counties,  N.  C,  and  by  that  means 
managed  to  save  enough  to  keep  him  while  a  student  in  the  New 
York  medical  college.  While  engaged  in  teaching,  Dr.  O'Hagen  had 
given  every  spare  moment  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and  consequently 
entered  college  under  favorable  circumstances.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  New  York  medical  college  in  1855,  and  in  the  same  year 
located  at  Greenville,  N.  C. 

In  1S61  he  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  and 
offered  his  services  to  the  army.  He  was  made  surgeon  of  the  First 
North  Carolina  cavalry,  subsequently  being  transferred  to  the  Thirty- 
fifth  infantry.  Gen.  Ransom's  brigade,  and  served  with  that  command 
until  the  final  surrender  at  Appomatox.  Surgeon  O'Hagen 
fought  in  the  battles  of  Malvern  Hill,  Fredericksburg,  Richmond, 
Antietam,  Drury's  Bluff  and  Sharpsburg.  The  war  closing,  he  re- 
sumed his  practice  at  Greenville.  He  has  been  president  of  the  state 
medical  society,  a  member  of  the  board  of  censors,  is  a  member  of 
the  American  medical  association,  and  for  two  years  served  as  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  medical  examiners  of  the  state.  Dr.  O'Hagen 
has  been  twice  married.  In  January,  1846,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza 
Forest,  of  Greene  county,  N.  C,  was  solemnized.  She  died  in  1871, 
leaving  two  children,  viz.:  Eliza,  wife  of  J.  J.  Loughinghouse,  of  Pitt 
county,  N.  C;  and  Martha.  ^liss  Elmira  Clarke,  also  of  Pitt  county, 
became  his  wife  in  1877,  and  their  union  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of 
one  child,  Charles  James,  Jr.  Mrs.  O'Hagen's  demise  occurred  on  the 
15th  of  November,  i88g.  As  a  democrat  Dr.  O'Hagen  has  been  ac- 
tive and  loyal  at  all  times.  He  has  been  mayor  of  Greenville,  and  is  a 
most  enthusiastic  supporter  of  the  public  school  system. 

DR.  J.  D.  GROOM 

was  born  in  New  Hanover  county,  N.  C,  December  22,  1844,  the  son 
of  John  B.  and  Mary  (McDuffie)  Croom,  both  North  Carolinians. 
The  father  is  an  extensive  planter,  and  has  held  the  office  of  magis- 
trate for  over  thirty  years.  He  served  in  the  senior  reserves  of  the 
Confederate  army  during  the  Civil  war.  His  wife  died  in  1874,  aged 
fifty-two.  She  was  a  life-long  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  the  influence  of  her  life  will  be  felt  in  the  community  in  which 
she  lived  for  good.  These  parents  had  ten  children,  nine  of  whom 
survive.  J.  D.  Croom  was  educated  in  the  private  schools  of  his 
native  county,  and  in  the  spring  of  1S62  enlisted  in  the  heavy  artillery 
service  of  the  Confederate  army,  being  at  the  time  of  his  enlistment 
but  seventeen  years  of  age.  Most  of  his  service  was  in  North  Caro- 
lina, but  near  the  close   of  the   conflict  he  was  transferred   with   his 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  287 

regiment  to  the  department  of  Virginia.  After  a  service  of  tliree 
years  he  surrendered  with  Johnston,  having  fought  at  Fort  Anderson, 
Kinston,  Bentonville,  where  he  was  wounded,  and  several  otlier 
engagements  of  minor  importance.  After  the  final  surrender  he 
resumed  his  studies  for  a  time,  and  then  began  the  study  of  medicine. 
At  this  time,  however,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mortimer  Blake, 
daughter  of  Isham  Blake,  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  the  ceremony'  hav- 
ing been  solemnized  September  i,  1S6S.  After  completing  his  medi- 
cal course  in  the  college  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  at  Baltimore, 
which  institution  he  left  in  1873,  he  embarked  in  the  drug  business  at 
Maxton,  N.  C.  In  1S75-6  Dr.  Croom  attended  the  lectures  at  the 
South  Carolina  medical  college,  and  was  graduated  in  the  latter  year. 
He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  and  has  held 
the  office  of  president  of  the  North  Carolina  pharmaceutical  asso- 
ciation, and  has  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen 
of  Maxton  for  several  terms,  and  at  the  present  time  is  a  director  in 
the  Building  &  Loan  association  of  Maxton.  Jimmie  M.,  Mary  P., 
Robert  I).,  James  D.,  and  Arthur  D.,  are  the  children  that  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Croom.  His  wife  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  while  he  is  a  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian 
denomination,  and  he  is  also  a  Mason,  is  past  chancellor  of  the  K.  of  P., 
and  is  secretary  of  the  lodge  of  Chosen  Friends. 

H.  W.  McNATT,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Robeson  comity,  N.  C,  October  24,  1859,  the  son  of 
Daniel  and  Carolina  (Gillis)  iMcNatt,  who  were  both  natives  of  the 
same  state  as  their  son.  Daniel  McXatt  was  an  extensive  turpentine 
operator,  having  been  the  largest  in  the  south  in  1872.  He  served 
three  jears  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  surrendered  with  Gen.  Lee 
at  Apponiatox.  having  been  a  member  of  a  cavalry  company  with 
whom  he  participated  in  most  of  the  great  battles  of  the  Civil  war. 
His  death  occurred  December  25,  1885,  in  his  sixty-first  year.  He 
was  a  devout  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  is  also  his  wife, 
who  survives  him.  Three  sons  and  two  daughters  were  born  to  these 
parents,  four  of  whom  are  living.  II.  W.  McNatt  obtained  his  pre- 
liminary schooling  in  the  Jonesboro  high  school,  then  under  the 
charge  of  Prof.  J.  D.  Arnold.  Entering  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  he  took  a  partial  course  there,  and  in  1878  began  the  study 
of  medicine  with  Dr.  T.  W.  Harris.  He  attended  lectures  in  Bellevue 
hospital  college,  in  New  York  during  the  winter  of  1879-80,  and 
graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Mary- 
land in  1881.  In  April,  1881,  Dr.  McNatt  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Maxton,  N.  C.  He  has  rapidly  risen  in  his  profession, 
and  is  now  acknowledged  to  be  among  the  leading  physicians  in  that 
portion  of  the  state.  He  has  been  a  medical  examiner  for  the  New 
York  Life,  Manhattan  Life,  and  also  the  Connecticut  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  companies,  and  since  coming  to  Maxton  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  board  of  health.     Miss  Jessie  McRea,  a  daughter  of 


288  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

John  McRae,  of  Robeson  county,  became  his  wife  October  31,  iSSS. 
Dr.  McNatt  is  a  prominent  member  of  several  secret  organizations, 
among  them  the  K.  of  P.,  the  K.  of  H.,  and  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
Progressive  and  liberal,  he  is  honored  in  the  community  not  only  for 
his  professional  skill,  but  also  for  his  intelligent  view  of  what  consti- 
tutes good  citizenship. 

W.  B.  HOUSTON,  D.  D.  S., 

was  born  in  Union  county,  N.  C,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1862.  He  is  a 
son  of  Mr.  W.  H  Houston,  who  is  likewise  a  native  of  Union  county, 
and  a  leading  stockdealer  of  Darlington,  S.  C.  His  marriage  to  Miss 
A.  J.  Stevens  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  three  children,  whose 
names  we  give  below:  Annie,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  O.  Muldrow,  a 
resident  of  Darlington;  D.  Frank,  a  resident  of  Spartanburg,  S.  C, 
where  he  is  superintendent  of  the  city  schools.  Prof.  Houston  Is  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  South  Carolina,  and  for  one  yea,r  was 
a  member  of  the  faculty  of  his  abna  mater;  he  is  an  educator  of 
exceptional  promise;  and  W.  B.  Houston.  The  latter  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  and  was  graduated  from  the  dental  depart- 
ment of  Vanderbilt  university  in  1885,  and  at  once  began  his  profes- 
sional duties  at  Monroe,  where  he  has  since  succeeded  in  building  up 
an  extended  practice  and  a  reputation  second  to  none  in  that  portion 
of  the  state.  As  a  citizen  he  is  progressive  and  liberal,  and  is  inter- 
ested in  every  movement  promising  the  uplifting  of  the  community, 
and  the  enlargement  of  its  industrial  resources.  Dr.  Houston  was 
most  happily  married  in  1888,  to  Miss  M.  H.  Fitzgerald,  an  accom- 
plished daughter  of  Mr.  I.  A.  Fitzgerald,  of  Davidson  county,  N.  C. 
Two  children  have  been  born  to  this  union:  Henry  Addison  and 
Annie  Fitzgerald;  the  first  named  died  February  12,  i8qi,  aged  but 
nineteen  months.  Both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Houston  are  active  and  con- 
sistent members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south. 

I.  H.  BLAIR,  M.  D., 

is  one  of  ten  children  born  to  Joseph  and  Thirza  (Hilton)  Blair,  na- 
tives of  North  and  South  Carolina,  respectively.  The  father  was  a 
mill-wright  by  trade,  but  subsequently  became  a  planter.  He  was  a 
man  of  affairs,  and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  wherever  known. 
Both  himself  and  wife  were  devout  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  I.  H.  Blair  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  S.  C,  July  5,  1833. 
He  received  a  thorough  academic  education  at  the  Franklin  academy, 
Lancaster,  S.  C,  and  in  March,  1S55,  was  graduated  from  the  South 
Carolina  medical  college  at  Charleston,  at  once  beginning  the  prac- 
tice of  his  chosen  profession  in  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  but  after 
a  short  time  he  returned  to  Lancaster  county,  S.  C,  and  for  five  years 
practiced  there  in  partnership  with  Drs.  Wylie  and  Strait.  He  then 
went  to  Jefferson,  Chesterfield  county,  S.  C.,  and  in  1871  settled  at 
Monroe,  N.  C,  where  he  now  resides.     During  the  Civil  war  Dr.  Blair 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2Sg 

served  on  the  examining  board  of  conscripts  for  the  First  congress- 
ional district  of  South  Carolina,  and  later  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
state  troops,  being  appointed  regimental  surgeon  of  Goodwin's  regi- 
ment, and  at  the  time  of  the  final  surrender  he  held  that  office,  part 
of  the  time  having  served  as  brigade-surgeon.  In  1855  Miss  Laura 
McCullough  became  his  wife,  and  bore  him  one  child,  Richard  W. 
He  graduated  from  the  South  Carolina  medical  college  at  Charles- 
ton, and  was  practicing  at  Walkerville,  Union  county,  N.  C,  when 
death  ended  his  career.  He  died  August  16,  1878,  aged  twenty-three 
years;  he  was  possessed  of  a  brilliant  mind,  and  gave  great  promise 
of  a  bright  future.     The  mother  died  March  19,  1859. 

July  22,  i860,  Miss  L.  M.  Miller,  of  Chesterfield,  S.  C,  was  joined 
in  marriage  to  Dr.  Blair,  and  six  children  are  the  offspring  of  the 
union,  their  names  being:  Joseph  R.,  a  successful  lawyer  of  Troy, 
Montgomery  county,  N.  C;  John  M.,  who  graduated  from  the  Louis- 
ville medical  college,  in  1S87,  and  is  now  associated  with  his  father; 
Stephen  O.,  a  graduate  of  the  Baltimore  college  of  pharmacy,  and 
now  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  Monroe.  He  married  Miss  Lot- 
tie Fitzgerald,  daughter  of  Col.  Fitzgerald,  of  Monroe,  and  Isaac  H. 
is  their  child;  Rochelle  K.,  the  fourth  son  of  Dr.  I.  H.  and  L.  M. 
Blair,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Baltimore  college  of  pharmacy;  Mary  M. 
and  Jennie  L.,  the  two  last  mentioned  being  still  of  the  home  circle. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Blair  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south,  as  are  also  the  two  daughters.  Dr.  Blair  is  very  prominent  in 
several  of  the  secret  fraternities,  being  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  the  K.  of  H.,  and  the  American  Legion  of- 
Honor.  He  stands  among  the  leaders  of  his  profession  in  the  state, 
and  is  a  man  of  wide  intelligence,  and  of  the  strictest  integrity. 
Samuel  Hilton,  his  great-grandfather  on  the  maternal  side,  was  a 
patriot  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  during  the  Mexican 
war  forty-seven  of  his  immediate  kinsmen  fought  in  the  United 
States  army,  all  either  bearing  the  name  of  Hilton,  or  being  imme- 
diate descendants  of  that  proud  old  connection. 

JOHN  F.  SHAFFNER,  M.  D. 

Among  the  most  eminent  of  North  Carolina's  many  distinguished 
phj'sicians  appears  the  name  of  John  F.  Shaffner,  M.  D.,  who  is  a  na- 
tive of  Salem,  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  on 
the  14th  of  July,  1838.  He  was  given  the  best  of  educational  facili- 
ties in  the  excellent  public  schools  of  his  native  town  and  with  differ- 
ent private  tutors.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  the  study  of 
medicine,  and  in  1S60  was  graduated  from  Jefferson  medical  college. 
Returing  to  his  home  he  had  completed  the  first  year  of  active  prac- 
tice when  the  Civil  war  broke  out,  and  in  1861  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany F,  Twenty-first  regiment,  North  Carolina  volunteer  infantry,  as 
a  private.  After  one  month's  service  he  was  transferred  to  the  Sev- 
enth North  Carolina  regiment  as  assistant  surgeon,  and  after  three 
months  was  detailed  on  special  duty  at  Manassas,  where  he  remained 
B — 19 


290  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

for  about  two  months.  He  was  then  transferred  to  the  Thirty-third 
regiment  of  North  Carolina  vohmteers  as  assistant  surgeon,  and  in 
March,  1862,  was  commissioned  surgeon,  and  detailed  as  inspector 
for  North  Carolina  and  Virginia.  At  this  time  the  battle  of  Newbern 
was  fought,  and  the  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-third  regiment  being  cap- 
tured, Surgeon  Shaffner  was  appointed  to  fill  his  place,  and  he  re- 
mained with  that  regiment  until  April,  1863,  acting  as  brigade 
surgeon.  In  the  latter  year  and  month  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Fourth  North  Carolina,  and  remained  with  the  Fourth  regiment  un- 
til the  final  surrender  at  Appomato.x,  and  his  whole  term  of  service 
was  marked  by  complete  devotion  to  his  duty. 

After  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  Dr.  Shaffner  returned  to  Salem 
and  resumed  his  practice,  and  in  1867  established  a  drug  business, 
which  he  still  operates  in  connection  with  his  practice.  In  1865,  in 
the  month  of  February,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Carrie  L.  Fries,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Francis  Fries,  was  solemnized,  and  has  resulted  in  the 
birth  of  five  children,  the  four  living  ones  being:  Henry  F.,  William, 
Carrie  Lizette  and  John  F.  Shaffner,  Jr.  For  seven  years  Dr.  Shaff- 
ner satisfactorily  filled  the  office  of  mayor  of  Salem,  and  for  some 
time  he  was  a  member  of  the  Forsyth  county  democratic  executive 
committee.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  state  medical  society, 
and  for  six  years  was  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  medical  exam- 
iners. He  is  also  a  member  of  the  American  medical  society,  and  in 
1872  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  convention  for  the  North  Caro- 
lina state  society.  In  187Q  and  iSSo  he  was  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  state  medical  association,  and  for  several  years  was  director 
in  the  Northwestern  North  Carolina  Railroad  company.  Henry 
Shaffner,  the  father  of  Dr.  J.  F.  Shaffner,  was  born  in  Canton  Basle, 
Switzerland,  in  the  year  179S.  He  came  to  America  in  1834,  and 
located  at  Salem,  N.  C,  where  he  assumed  the  management  of  the 
Salem  Pottery  company,  and  was  at  the  head  of  that  concern  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1877.  He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  hav- 
ing been  Miss  Lavinta  Hauser,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1835,  and 
who  bore  him  two  children,  the  surviving  one  being  John  F.  The  wife 
and  mother  died  in  1840.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Peter  Hauser,  who 
was  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 

CHARLES  J.  WATKINS,  D.  D.  S., 

one  of  the  leading  dentists  of  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  was  born  in  the 
latter  county  August  4,  1836.  Until  his  twentj'-first  year  he  was  a 
student  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  subsequently  at  Smith 
Grove  academy  in  Davie  county,  N.  C.  He  commenced  his  active 
career  as  a  school  teacher,  and  he  was  engaged  in  that  calling  in  P'or- 
syth,  Davie  and  Davidson  counties  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  war.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the  Sixteenth  North  Carolina  bat- 
talion of  cavalry,  as  a  private,  and  was  promoted  to  first-sergeant,  and 
later  to  brigade  forage  sergeant,  and  he  held  the  latter  rank  at  the 
time  of  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomatox.     He  served  in  the  battles  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  29I 

Black  and  White's  station,  around  Petersburg,  and  many  other  en- 
gagements, in  all  of  which  he  bore  himself  as  a  true  soldier  and  pat- 
riot. After  the  final  surrender  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
dental  surgery,  and  in  the  fall  of  1866  entered  the  old  Pennsylvania 
dental  college  at  Philadelphia,  and  graduated  therefrom  in  1868.  He 
located  at  Kernersville,  N.  C,  and  was  engaged  in  practice  there 
until  1S73,  when  he  removed  to  Winston,  N.  C,  where  he  has  since 
been  most  successfully  engaged  in  his  profession,  residing  in  Salem. 
In  1873  Dr.  Watkins  married  Miss  Flora  O.  Conrad,  daughter  of  J.  J. 
Conrad,  of  Yadkin  county,  N.  C,  and  their  children  are:  Joseph  C, 
William  H.  and  Bessie.  Dr.  W'atkins  is  one  of  the  oldest  deacons  of 
the  First  Baptist  church  of  Winston.  In  church  work  he  has  been 
very  prominent,  and  was  instrumental  in  building  that  church,  it  being 
conceded  by  all  that  he  did  more  in  that  direction  than  any  other  one 
man.  He  has  also  been  very  active  in  Sunday-school  work,  and  for 
eighteen  years  has  been  connected  with  the  same,  having  during  that 
time,  served  as  superintendent  and  teacher.  In  temperance  work  the 
doctor  has  always  been  prominent  and  active,  he  being  a  strong  ad- 
vocate of  prohibition  in  any  shape  or  form.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order.  His  father,  Abel  C.  Watkins,  was  born  in  Guilford 
county,  N.  C,  in  iSoo,  and  spent  his  life  as  a  planter.  He  was  married 
in  1833,  to  Hannah  Teague,  daughter  of  Isaac  Teague,  of  Davidson 
count}',  N.  C,  and  eleven  children  were  born  to  them:  Susan,  wife  of 
William  Hasten;  Rebecca,  wife  of  Anselm  Reid;  Mary,  wife  of  Will- 
iam Crews;  Charles  J.,  and  Sarah,  wife  of  Bennett  Sprinkle,  being 
the  surviving  members.  The  father  died  in  1872,  and  the  mother  in 
1866.  Abel  was  the  son  of  Josiah  Watkins,  who  was  born  in  Virginia, 
and  came  to  North  Carolina  in  early  life.  He  was  a  successful 
farmer,  and  died  in  1810.  Dr.  W^atkins  was  elected  to  the  honorable 
position  of  first  vice-president  of  the  North  Carolina  dental  associa- 
tion,  which  he  held  for  two  years. 

ROBAH  F.  GRAY,  M.  D. 

Among  the  leading  physicians  of  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  may  be 
found  the  name  of  Robah  F.  Gray,  M.  D.,  of  Winston.  Dr.  Gray  was 
born  December  24,  1852,  in  the  city  where  he  now  resides.  His  edu- 
cation was  begun  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  continued  in 
the  Emory  and  Henry  college  of  Virginia.  After  completing  his 
junior  year  in  the  latter  institution,  he  returned  to  Winston  in  1S72 
and  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Keehlan,  with  whom  he 
remained  for  two  years,  after  which  he  accepted  a  position  on  the 
editorial  staff  of  the  IVcstcrii  Sentinel,  and  for  two  years  was  engaged 
in  editing  that  journal.  At  this  time  Dr.  Gray  entered  the  Louisville 
medical  college,  and  was  graduated  therefrom  in  1877.  He  then  went 
to  New  York  city,  and  in  1878  completed  the  course  in  the  Bellevue 
medical  college  there.  Once  more  returning  to  Winston,  he  opened 
an  office  and  entered  upon  his  professional  career.  I  )uring  the  small- 
po.\  epidemic  of  1882,  he  held  the  office  of  city  health  officer,  and  to 


292  NORTH    CAROLINA 

his  efficient  service  the  community  owes  much.  He  has  had  marked 
success  in  his  calling,  and  is  ranked  among  the  ablest  physicians  of 
the  county.  Dr.  Gray  was  very  fortunate  in  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Lelia  R.  Wilson,  an  accomplished  daughter  of  James  H.  Wilson,  of 
Charlotte  county,  Va.  Their  union  was  solemnized  in  1878,  and  has 
been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  six  children,  named  as  follows:  May 
Belle,  Eugene  P.,  Robah  F.,  Samuel  W.,  Alice  S.  and  George  P. 
Robert  Gray,  the  father  of  the  above  mentioned  subject,  was  born  in 
Randolph  county,  N.  C.,  in  1814.  He  was  given  a  good  common 
schooling,  and  then  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Gladesboro 
county,  N.  C,  but  in  1850  removed  to  Winston,  N.  C.,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  mercantile  house  of  large  proportions.  He  was  married  in 
1842  to  Miss  Mary  Millis  Wiley,  daughter  of  Mr.  Wiley,  of  Guilford 
county,  N.  C.,  and  their  children  are:  Samuel  W.,  was  killed  at 
Gettysburg  while  commanding  Company  D,' Fifty-seventh  regiment, 
North  Carolina  volunteer  infantry  —  held  the  rank  of  captain;  Mar- 
tha E.,  wife  of  A.  P.  Gibson;  James  A.,  Robert  T.,  Mary  I.,  wife  of 
Thomas  Barber;  Robah  F.,  Eugene  C,  Emory  S.  and  Willie  T.,  col- 
onel of  the  Third  regiment  North  Carolina  state  militia.  The  father 
died  in  1881,  but  his  wife  still  survives  him. 

DR.  JAMES  L.  RUCKER 

was  born  in  1S32,  in  Rutherford  county,  N.  C.  He  was  the  third 
child  of  William  and  Lavinia  Rucker.  and  his  preliminary  education 
was  acquired  at  the  schools  of  his  native  county.  He  read  medicine 
with  Dr.  Calaway,  at  Rutherfordton,  and  then  attended  the  medical 
school  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  for  a  time,  finally  graduating  with  honors  at 
the  Medical  college  at  Louisville,  Ky.  x^fter  completing  his  medical 
education  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Morganton,  Ga., 
where  he  soon  worked  up  an  extensive  business.  But  not  tarrying 
long  there,  he  removed  to  Texas,  where  he  practiced  until  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  war.  At  this  time  he  returned  to  his  native  home 
and  entered  the  Confederate  army  in  defense  of  his  country.  He 
served  as  surgeon  throughout  the  war  and  made  himself  very  useful  to 
the  soldiers  under  his  medical  charge,  gaining  their  love  and  respect 
for  his  invaluable  services  to  them.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  at  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  his  many  friends,  Dr.  Rucker  located  himself  at 
Rutherfordton,  and  began  there  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
was  not  long  in  acquiring  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice  which 
he  successfully  prosecuted  until  his  death,  which  occurred  March  13, 
1884.  His  loss  to  the  community  in  which  he  moved,  both  profession- 
ally and  socially,  was  a  sad  blow  and  left  a  void  which  could  not  be 
readily  filled.  Politically,  Dr.  Rucker  was  an  ardent  and  thorough 
going  democrat,  but  he  took  no  prominent  action  in  partisan  strifes, 
being  strictly  devoted  to  his  profession. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  Dr.  Rucker  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Fanning,  daughter  of  Rev.  F.  M.  Fanning,  of  Asheville, 
N.  C.     The  fruit  of  this  marriage  was  the  birth  of  two  children,  Will- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2Q3 

iam  Fanning  and  Myra  Lavinia,  both  of  whom  survive.  Dr.  Rucker 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  in 
western  North  CaroUna,  having  filled  all  the  chairs  in  that  organiza- 
tion. He  lived  up  to  the  high  principles  and  maxims  of  the  order, 
standing  upon  the  broad  platform  of  its  charitable  and  religious 
teachings.  He  was  not  a  Mason  simply  in  name,  wearing  its  insignia 
for  display  and  knowing  its  mysteries  for  selfish  ends,  but  he  was  a 
Mason  in  its  grander  and  more  unselfish  spirit,  and  he  was  univer- 
sally respected  by  all  members  of  the  order  who  enjoyed  the  privi- 
lege of  his  acquaintance. 

JOHN    MILLER  CRATON,    M.  D., 

was  born  at  Rutherfordton,  X.  C.  March  9,  1823.  He  is  the  eldest 
son  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  Craton,  both  deceased.  The  home  schools 
furnished  young  Craton  his  preliminary  education,  and  at  the  age  of 
si.xteen  he  went  to  Gainesville,  Ga.,  where  for  two  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  a  dry  goods  store.  He  read  medicine  one  year  with  Dr. 
Banks,  at  that  time  one  of  the  best  physicians  in  Georgia.  From 
Gainesville  Mr.  Craton  went  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  in  1843  he 
entered  the  medical  college.  Here  he  attended  two  full  courses  of 
lectures,  graduating  in  1845.  Dr.  Craton  then  came  to  Cleveland 
county,  N.  C,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  company  with 
his  uncle.  Dr.  W.  J.  T.  Miller.  Here  he  remained  one  year  and  then 
removed  to  his  native  town  and  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Dr. 
Calloway,  the  firm  continuing  from  1846  to  185 1,  in  the  medical  prac 
tice.  At  this  time  Dr.  Craton  was  seized  with  a  desire  to  locate  in 
some  other  state,  and  to  this  end  made  an  extended  tour  through 
Georgia  and  Alabama  in  search  of  a  desirable  location.  But  his 
search  was  unavailing,  and  he  returned  to  Rutherfordton  and,  in 
185 1,  settled  permanently  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  where  he 
has  doubtles  secured  the  most  extensive  practice  of  any  physician  in 
western  North  Carolina.  Notwithstanding  his  devotion  to  his  pro- 
fession. Dr.  Craton  has  not  neglected  the  material  interests  of  his  city 
and  county;  he  is  public  spirited  and  has  liberally  contributed  of  his 
means  and  efforts  for  the  public  improvement.  In  politics  he  has 
never  taken  an  active  part,  though  repeatedly  solicited  to  represent 
his  county  in  the  state  legislature.  He  is  a  thorough  democrat  and 
has  always  been  identified  with  that  party.  In  his  religious  views  he 
is  a  devout  Methodist,  having  been  associated  with  that  church  for 
more  than  thirty  years. 

April  8,  1S47,  Dr.  Craton  was  united  in  marriage  at  .Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
with  Miss  Margaret  Williams,  daughter  of  Dr.  Williams,  of  that  cit}', 
and  granddaughter  of  Judge  Forman,  formerl}'  of  New  York,  but 
later  of  Rutherfordton.  Judge  Forman  was  the  founder  of  Syracuse 
and  was  a  prime  mover  in  the  construction  of  the  Eric  canal.  Nine 
children  have  been  born  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Craton,  whose  names  are 
respectively  as  follows:  Mrs.  Carrie  Ciuthrie,  Mrs.  Alice  Simpson, 
John  Williams,  Marshall,  at  present  practicing  medicine  atCarroIton, 


294  NORTH  CAROLIXA. 

Mo.;  Mrs.  Maggie  Sevier,  of  Spartanburg;  Mrs.  Florence  Dixon,  of 
Florence,  S.  C;  S.  Boyce,  physician  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y.;  Mrs.  Hattie 
Chapman,  of  Spartanburg;  Mary  Willie  Craton.  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Craton  are  a  most  amiable  couple  and  one  only  has  to  visit  their 
home  to  find  the  very  ideal  of  generous  hospitality  and  true  but 
unostentatious  politeness.  Dr.  Craton  has  exercised  great  care  and 
liberality  in  the  education  of  his  family. 


DR.  JOHN  McENTIRE 

was  born  in  Burke  county,  N.  C,  in  1791.  He  was  the  youngest  son 
of  James  McEntire  who  came  from  Ireland  to  the  United  States  at 
an  early  day.  John  McEntire  spent  his  early  days  in  Morgantown, 
N.  C.  He  chose  the  medical  profession  for  his  life  work  and  attended 
two  terms  of  medical  lectures  at  Charleston,  S.  C,,  after  which  he 
completed  his  studies  at  Philadelphia.  His  medical  training  being 
perfected,  he  located  at  Rutherfordton,  and  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  In  those  early  cfays  his  territory  was  extensive,  reaching 
south  as  far  as  the  South  Carolina  line.  The  result  of  his  wide  prac- 
tice was  the  accumulation  of  a  large  fortune,  but  in  1830  failing  health 
compelled  him  to  retire  from  his  laborious  practice.  About  this  date 
he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  which  he  served  his  state  with 
great  dignity  and  efficiency,  and  with  great  credit  to  himself.  Dur- 
ing his  legislative  career  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Mary 
Jane  Lancaster,  of  Franklin  county,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Lan- 
caster, a  prominent  Baptist  divine.  The  acquaintance  ripened  Into 
an  engagement,  and  Dr.  McEntire  and  Miss  Lancaster  were  mar- 
ried in  1832.  The  young  wife  of  that  period  still  survives  her  husband 
at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety-two  years,  with  a  mind  fresh  and  unimpaired 
by  the  lapse  of  this  unusual  extension  of  her  physical  and  intellectual 
faculties.  She  is  still  remarkable  sprightly  for  a  lad}'  of  her  years 
and  the  charm  and  vivacit}'  of  her  mind  are  in  keeping  with  this 
physical  healthfulness  and  strength.  She  is  the  honored  mother  of 
two  sons.  William  T.,  and  John  J.,  both  of  whom  were  gallant 
soldiers  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  both  of  whom  bore  marks 
of  their  valor  in  the  shape  of  honorable  wounds.  The  eldest  son 
died  of  his  wounds  a  sacrifice  to  his  patriotism  and  chivalr}'.  Mrs. 
McEntire  was  also  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Martha  Ann  Morris,  who  is 
still  living  in  Rutherfordton;  of  Mrs.  Jane  Eliza  Shotwell,  whose 
heroic  husband  fell  in  the  engagement  around  Richmond;  and  of 
Mrs.  Laura  Eugenia  Hicks,  wife  of  Dr.  Hicks  of  Rutherfordton. 
William  Thomas  McEntire  left  two  daughters,  who  since  his  death 
have  married.  Dr.  McEntire  died  in  December,  1856.  He  was 
greatly  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  his  days  were  spent  in 
rendering  himself  useful  to  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  In  all 
his  acts  he  was  charitable,  and  humane  and  the  memory  of  his  noble 
characteristics  and  of  his  exemplary  life  is  a  perpetual  solace  to  his 
well  preserved  and  lovable  surviving  widow. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  295 


THE  WARD  FAMILY 

has  furnished  the  prominent  physicians  of  Washington  county,  N.C., 
for  four  generations.  The  first  of  the  name  to  settle  in  North  Car- 
olina was  Francis  Ward,  an  Englishman,  who  was  the  first  register  of 
deeds  and  of  colonists  under  the  Earl  of  Granville,  in  Tyrell  county, 
and  Ward's  Bridge,  his  home,  was  named  for  him.  Francis  Ward,  Sr., 
was  the  first  of  the  family  to  practice  medicine  in  Plymouth.  His 
son  was  named  for  him,  and  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps  as  a 
physician.  He  was  born  at  Ward's  Bridge  and  received  a  collegiate 
education.  For  many  years  he  was  the  leading  practitioner  of  Ply- 
mouth. For  one  term  he  served  in  the  state  senate,  and  in  1832  was 
a  presidential  elector,  having  cast  his  vote  for  Andrew  Jackson. 
W.  W.  Ward,  M.  D.,  was  his  son  and  successor  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession. He  was  born  in  Martin  county,  at  Ward's  Bridge,  in  1817, 
and  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  county.  He  attended  lec- 
tures at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Maryland  in  1847.  In  the  same  year  he  began  his  prac- 
tice at  Plymouth.  During  the  late  war  Dr.  Ward  served  as  surgeon 
in  the  Confederate  States  army  until  discharged  for  deafness.  His 
reputation  as  a  physician  was  well  known  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state,  and  his  name  was  known  throughout  the  state.  He  was  a 
prominent  Mason,  and  a  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and 
his  political  faith  was  founded  on  the  principles  of  the  republican 
party.  His  death  occurred  in  1879.  His  wife,  Alexina  Boyle 
Ward,  is  a  native  of  Petersburgh,  Va.,  and  still  survives  him.  But 
two  of  their  seven  children  are  living,  viz.:  Johnson  G.,  of  Philadel- 
phia, Penn.,  and  William  H.  Ward,  M.  D.  The  latter  was  born  in 
Plymouth,  N.  C,  on  the  3rd  of  January,  1857.  His  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  schools  of  his  native  city  and  at  Buckhorn  academy. 
He  read  medicine  under  the  tutelage  of  his  distinguished  father,  and 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Maryland  in  18S1.  Dr.  Ward 
is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  lodge 
No.  528,  and  also  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  and  Masons.  As  a 
democrat  he  is  active  and  loyal,  and  is  now  county  physician,  and 
for  several  years  held  the  office  of  United  States  pension  surgeon. 
He  was  married  in  1SS3  to  Miss  Jessie  M.,  daughter  of  Maj.  A.  F. 
Garrett,  of  Washington  county,  N.  C.  Dr.  Ward  is  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church. 

CHARLES  E.  MOORE,  M.  D., 

of  Wilson  county,  N.  C,  is  a  native  of  Edgecombe  county,  N.  C, 
where  he  was  born  on  the  loth  of  June,  1854.  His  parents  were 
Moses  and  P2sther  (Peel)  Moore.  Moses  Moore  was  a  prominent  and 
influential  planter  of  Edgecombe  county,  which  he  left  in  1855  to  take 
up  his  residence  in  Nash  county.  He  continued  in  agriculture  there 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1890.     As  a  democrat  he  was  active 


2g6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  efficient,  and  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners for  several  terms.  During  tlie  Civil  war  he  served  in  the 
Confederate  army  for  some  time,  subsequently  furnishing  a  substitute. 
His  widow  still  survives  him,  being  a  resident  of  Nash  county.  Both 
became  identified  with  the  Primitive  Baptist  church  in  e^irly  life.  Of 
the  five  children  born  to  them,  three  are  living,  viz.:  W.  H.  Moore, 
of  Nash  county,  N.  C;  Charles  E.  and  R.  M.  Moore.  The  latter  is 
a  leading  planter  of  Nash  county.  Charles  E.  Moore  obtained  his 
scholastic  training  in  the  public  schools  of  Edgecombe  and  Wilson 
counties,  and  also  under  the  instruction  of  private  tutors.  His  medical 
education  was  begun  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  N.  J.  Pittman,  of 
Tarboro,  N.  C,  and  was  completed  in  the  Bellevue  medical  college, 
of  New  York,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1S75.  Dr.  Moore  practiced  in  Nash  county  until  March,  18S6,  when 
he  removed  to  Wilson,  where  he  has  since  resided  and  practiced.  As 
a  physician  he  has  won  an  enviable  reputation,  and  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  state  and  Wilson  county  medical  societies.  He  is  a 
progressive  and  valued  citizen,  and  is  deepl}^  interested  in  public 
affairs  as  a  democrat.  For  the  past  few  j'ears  he  has  been  quite  ex- 
tensively interested  in  agriculture,  and  now  operates  a  large  planta- 
tion. Dr.  Moore  was  very  happily  married  in  1878,  to  Miss  Minnie  R. 
Taylor,  a  daughter  of  K.  C.  Taylor,  Esq.,  of  Nash  county,  N.  C.and 
five  children  have  blessed  their  union,  their  names  being:  Charles  E., 
Jr.,  Thomas  H.,  Karl  C,  Clyde  and  Elsie  Moore. 

DR.  JOHN  K.  RUFFIN. 

Hon.  Thomas  Ruffin  was  descended  from  one  of  the  oldest  families 
of  the  south.  The  connection  has  furnished  many  eminent  pro- 
fessional men,  among  whom  may  be  found  several  judges  of  unusual 
distinction.  Thomas  Ruffin  was  born  in  King  and  Queen  county, 
Va.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  Warrenton,  N.  C,  and  subse- 
quently graduated  from  Princeton  college.  Having  chosen  the  law 
as  his  life  work,  he  settled  in  Orange  county,  N.  C,  and  rapidly  rose 
to  the  front  ranks  of  the  bar  in  the  state.  For  several  terms  he  was 
a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  the  state,  and  was  a 
judge  of  the  superior  court.  Although  able  and  dignified  at  all 
times,  the  crowning  work  of  his  life  was  accomplished  as  chief-justice 
of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina.  After  filling  that  honored 
position  for  many  years,  he  retired  at  last  with  ermine  unspotted, 
and  a  name  of  wide-spread  prominence  as  a  wise  and  able  judge. 
His  many  decisions  are  remarkable  for  their  clearness  and  soundness. 
This  distinguished  gentleman  was  born  November  17th,  1787,  and 
died  in  1870.  He  was  a  prominent  democrat,  and  was  particularly 
interested  in  agriculture,  having  been  at  one  time  president  of  the 
State  Agricultural  F"air  association.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Anne  M. 
Kirkland  fourteen  children  were  born,  six  of  whom  survive.  The 
mother  died  in  1875.  Thomas  Ruffin  was  the  son  of  Sterling  Ruffin, 
a  Virginian  by  birth.     Late  in  life  he  settled  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C, 


^ff- 


,.^c^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2Q7 

where  he  labored  as  a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  He  married  Miss  Alice  Roane.  Anne,  wife  of  Paul  Cam- 
eron, of  Hillsboro,  Orange  county,  N.  C;  Sterling,  of  the  same 
county;  Peter  B.,  also  a  resident  of  Orange  county,  where  he  is  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  of  the  N.  C.  R.  R.;  Jane  M.  Ruffin,  of  Norfolk, 
Va.;  Martha  P.  Rutfin,  of  New  York  city;  and  John  K.  Rutfin,  M.  D., 
are  the  surviving  children  born  to  Thomas  and  Anne  Ruffin. 

The  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch  is  John  K.  Rufhn,  M.  D., 
who  was  born  in  Orange  county,  N.  C,  March  6,  1834.  His  scholas- 
tic training  was  obtained  at  Bingham's  school  and  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1S54.  Dr.  James  E.  Will- 
iamson, of  Caswell  county,  became  his  preceptor  in  the  study  of 
medicine,  and  in  1857  he  completed  the  medical  course  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  At  this  time  Dr.  Ruffin  entered  upon  his 
professional  career  at  Graham,  Alamance  county,  N.  C,  moving  from 
there  to  Washington  in  Beaufort  county,  later  on.  As  surgeon  of  the 
Forty-ninth  North  Carolina  regiment  he  served  through  the  entire 
Civil  war  with  fidelity  and  efficiency.  After  the  declaration  of  peace 
between  north  and  south  he  resumed  his  practice  at  Graham,  and  in 
1876  came  to  Wilson,  where  he  has  since  practiced,  being  now  the 
oldest  practitioner  of  the  town.  Dr.  Ruffin  is  a  prominent  member 
of  the  state  medical  society,  and  also  of  the  Wilson  county  medical 
association,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arch  chapter  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity.  He  has  taken  interest  in  public  affairs  as  a  staunch 
democrat,  and  is  the  present  coroner  of  Wilson  county.  His  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Sally  E.  Tayloe,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Joshua  Tayloe,  of 
Washington,  N.  C,  in  1858,  resulted  in  the  birth  of  the  following 
named  children:  Kate  R.,  who  married  Abram  Sydnor,  of  Halifa.x 
county,  \'a.:  Sally  T.,  Anne  C,  wife  of  William  Sims,  of  Halifax 
county,  Va.;  David  T.,  a  resident  of  Fort  Townsend,  Wash.,  where 
he  conducts  a  successful  drug  business;  Sterling,  a  clerk  in  the  United 
States  treasury  department  at  Washington  chy,  and  M.  D.  by  profes- 
sion, practicing  in  Washington,  D.  C,  at  present;  Mary.  Thomas  and 
George' M.  The  mother  died  in  1883.  Dr.  Rutfin  was  married  a  sec- 
ond time,  March  3,  1886,  Miss  Nina  W.  Ruffin,  of  Franklin  county, 
N.  C,  becoming  his  wife.  She  died  May  12,  1891.  Dr.  Ruffin  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  ablest  physicians  of  the  state.  Thomas  Ruffin, 
a  brother  of  the  above  mentioned  subject,  was  a  brilliant  lawyer. 
His  death  occurred  at  his  residence  in  Orange  county,  N.  C.  For 
several  years  he  was  solicitor  of  the  Fifth  district.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  served  as  captain  of  the  Alamance  Grays,  and  left  the  service 
with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  As  an  associate-justice  of  the 
state  supreme  bench  he  ably   represented  the   honored  famil\-  name. 

WILLIAM  J.  JONES,  M.  D., 

was  born  in  Greene  county,  N.  C,  February  15.  1838.  His  jiarents  were 
W^iley  and  Winifred  lEdmundson)  Jones,  who  were  born  in  the  same 
county  as  their  son.     Wiley  Jones  was  an  extensive  planter,  owning 


290  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

many  slaves.  William  J.  Jones  was  given  every  educational  advan- 
tage. His  early  training  was  received  in  Franklin  institute,  and  in 
1855  he  became  a  student  in  the  otTice  of  L.  Jeffries,  M.  D.,  of  Frank- 
lin county.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  V^irginia,  and  in  March  1858,  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  New  York.  By  competitive  examination  he  obtained  a 
position  in  Bellevue  hospital,  New  York,  and  served  there  for  four- 
teen months  as  resident  physician.  He  then  returned  to  North  Car- 
olina and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at  Snow 
Hill,  in  his  native  county,  where  for  twentj'-four  years  he  resided  and 
practiced  with  great  success.  In  1884,  he  removed  to  Goldsboro,  and 
has  since  built  up  one  of  the  most  extensive  practices  in  the  county.- 
Since  1859  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  and 
has  served  as  vice-president  of  the  same.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  American  medical  association,  and  also  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
Dr.  Jones  has  not  confined  his  active  life  exclusively  to  ttie  medical 
profession,  but  for  some  years  has  carried  on  extensive  agricultural 
interests  in  Jones  and  Greene  counties.  In  1864  he  married  Miss 
Clara  E.  Ernull,  of  Craven  county,  and  three  children  have  been 
born  to  them.  Their  names  being  as  follows:  William  J.,  Jr.,  now  a 
student  at  the  University  of  New  York;  Wiley  Street,  attending  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill;  and  Henry  Spicer 
Jones,  who  resides  at  home  with  his  parents. 

GEORGE  L.   KIRBY,  M.  D., 

a  leading  physician  and  surgeon  of  Wayne  county,  N.  C,  was  born  in 
Sampson  county,  N.  C,  near  Clinton,  on  July  1 1,  1834,  the  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Elizabeth  (Cromartie)  Kirby.  The  mother  was  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Cromartie  who  settled  in  Bladen  county,  on  the  South 
river.  William  Kirby,  grandfather  of  our  subject,  moved  from  South- 
ampton county,  Va.,  of  which  county  he  was  a  native,  in  1800,  and 
settled  near  Clinton,  N.  C,  where  he  owned  a  large  estate.  His  en- 
tire property,  including  many  slaves,  was  lost  during  the  recent  war. 
The  father  of  our  present  subject  settled  near  Clinton,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming,  and  both  himself  and  wife  remained  on  the  farm 
until  their  death.  Dr.  George  L.  Kirby  was  given  a  thorough  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  Clinton  academy,  then  presided  over  by 
John  G.  Elliott.  He  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  New  York,  and  where  he  completed  a  course  in  i860,  and  was 
graduated  from  the  Long  Island  hospital  college.  He  then  studied 
for  one  year  in  Paris,  having  returned  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war. 
He  was  the  second  man  to  volunteer  his  services  from  his  native 
county,  and  joined  Capt.  Marsh's  company,  known  as  the  Sampson 
Rangers.  The  company  was  sent  to  Smithfield  for  duty,  and  he  was 
appointed  assistant  surgeon  and  assigned  to  the  Second  North  Caro- 
lina regiment,  then  stationed  at  Garysburg  under  Surgeon  J.  B. 
Hughes.  Dr.  Hughes  subsequently  resigned  and  Dr.  Kirby  was  then 
made  surgeon  of  the  regiment,  and  held  that  office  until  December, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  299 

1S64,  when  he  was  relieved  from  field  duty  and  assigned  to  hospital 
work,  and  was  ordered  to  establish  a  hospital  at  Wytheville,  \'a. 

Dr.  Kirby  was  with  his  regiment  in  the  battles  of  Mechanicsville, 
Cold  Harbor,  Malvern  Hill;  and  the  regiment  then  being  transferred 
to  "  Stonewall  "Jackson's  division,  he  participated  in  the  battles  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorsville,  Spottsylvania  C.  H.,  .second  Cold  Har- 
bor, Cedar  Creek,  Winchester,  South  Mountain,  Antietam  and  Kelly's 
Ford,  where  he  was  captured  and  sent  to  Fort  McHenry  and  con- 
fined there  for  several  months.  In  June,  1865,  Dr.  Kirby  was  dis- 
charged from  further  hospital  duty  at  Wytheville,  and  in  August  of 
that  year  came  to  Goldsboro  and  entered  upon  the  practice  which 
has  since  proven  so  honorable  to  him.  On  the  7th  of  June,  1S66,  he 
was  happily  married  to  Miss  Mary  C.  Green,  daughter  of  John  A. 
Green,  one  of  the  oldest  citizens  of  Goldsboro.  For  six  years  Dr. 
Kirby  was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  state  examining  board, 
and  for  twelve  years  was  coroner  of  Wayne  county,  and  he  is  now  a 
member  of  the  state  medical  society.  A  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  he  has  always  been  a  loyal  democrat,  and  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  most  skillful  physicians  in  the  county.  He  'brought  to 
his  life  work  a  mind  well  prepared  for  serious  action.  His  excep- 
tional educational  advantages  were  made  the  most  of,  and  with  native 
ability  to  grasp  them  his  professional  career  has  proven  a  success. 

ALEXANDER   W.  ROWLAND. 

A  leading  business  man  of  Wilson  county,  X.  C,  is  Alexander  W. 
Rowland,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Granville  county,  N.  C.  March  ry, 
i84[.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  Horace  H.  and  Martha  \V.  Rowland, 
natives  of  Granville  county.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Isham  Cheatham,  who  was  one  of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  the 
county.  Henry  Rowland,  the  father  of  Horace  H.,  was  born  in  Gran- 
ville county,  where  he  was  an  extensive  planter  for  many  years.  Mr. 
H.  H.  Rowland's  death  occurred  in  May,  18S6,  his  wife  surviving  him 
until  January,  i88g.  Both  were  devout  and  beloved  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  died  in  the  sweet  confidence 
of  their  Saviour.  Their  children  are,  Alexander,  William  B.,  who 
died  in  1S60;  Benjamin  W.,  of  Tyler,  Tex.,  who  is  a  prominent  drug- 
gist and  president  of  the  Tyler  water  works;  Edwin  S.,  of  the  same 
city;  Isham  C,  of  Henderson,  N.  C;  Horace  H.,  president  of  the 
Tyler  (Texas)  t'lrst  National  bank;  and  Parry  W.,  of  Tjler.  Alex- 
ander Rowland  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
at  the  Henderson  military  institute,  while  his  brothers  were  all  edu- 
cated at  Wake  Forest  college.  The  Granville  Grays  was  the  first 
company,  to  offer  its  services  to  the  cause  of  the  south  from  Granville 
county,  and  we  find  Mr.  Rowland  a  member  of  that  company  from 
the  first.  After  serving  eighteen  months  in  this  company  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Fifth  North  Carolina  cavalry.  He  proved  a  loyal 
and  valiant  soldier  and  was  in  the  engagements  at  Hanover  C.  H., 
Mechanicsville,  Cold  Harbor,  Fair  Oaks  and   Malvern  Hill,  while  in 


300  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

infantry.  In  the  latter  engagement  all  the  commissioned  officers 
having  been  wounded,  he  led  his  company,  and  in  that  engagement 
was  twice  wounded.  He  was  in  nearl}'  all  the  important  engagements 
in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  at  the  battle  of  South  Mountain  was 
taken  prisoner  and  confined  for  two  months  in  Fort  Delaware. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at 
Henderson,  N.  C,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Cheatham,  Andrews 
&  Co.  In  1870  his  business  was  burned  out,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  removed  to  Wilson,  where  he  has  from  that  time  conducted 
the  most  extensive  drug  business  of  the  town.  In  all  his  business 
ventures  he  has  been  eminentl}'  successful.  Democratic  in  politics, 
he  takes  a  deep  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
democratic  executive  committee  of  his  county.  Mr.  Rowland  was 
happily  married  in  1869,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Speed,  daughter  of 
Rufus  K.  Speed,  of  Gates  county,  N.  C,  who  for  a  number  of  years 
was  a  member  of  the  state  senate.  Mrs.  Rowland  died  in  1884.  She, 
as  is  her  husband,  was  a  devoted  communicant  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  he  is  a  vestryman.  Mr.  Rowland  is  also  a  member 
of  the  state  pharmaceutical  association,  having  been  one  of  its  found- 
ers, and  at  one  time  president  of  the  organization.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  board  of  pharmacy. 

DR.  WILLIAM  GEORGE  THOMAS 

was  born  in  Louisburg,  N.  C,  March  2^,  1818,  and  died  in  Wilming- 
ton on  the  i8th  of  February,  1890.  He  received  a  common  school 
education  at  Louisburg,  and  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  in 
the  office  of  Dr.  Wiley  Perry,  Louisburg.  He  graduated  in  1840  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  time  when  that  splended  old 
school  had  for  its  faculty  George  B.  Wood  as  professor  of  materia 
medica  and  therapeutics,  Nathan  Chapman  as  professor  of  practice, 
William  Gibson  as  professor  of  surger}',  Robert  Rogers  professor  of 
chemistry,  and  Hodge  as  professor  of  obstetrics.  Impressed  with 
the  dignity  of  his  career,  inspired  by  the  zeal  of  his  teachers,  with  a 
native  fund  of  energy,  a  strong  brain,  and  an  overwhelming  sense  of 
honor,  he  entered  upon  his  profession  in  his  native  state  at  Tar- 
boro.  There  were  two  things  specially  which  seemed  to  pre- 
dominate among  the  early  objects  of  his  study  —  the  deep  impression 
that  he  must  pursue  the  investigation  of  climatic  diseases,  and  so 
supply  the  lack  of  knowledge  dwelt  on  by  his  professor  of  materia 
medica  and  therapeutics,  and  the  neglected  study  of  obstetrics  and 
diseases  of  women.  He  did  not  neglect  other  branches  of  his  pro- 
fession, but  in  these  he  was  assiduous,  and  in  these  he  excelled. 
When  the  writer  first  obtained  personal  knowledge  of  Dr.  Thomas 
(1852)  he  learned  that  he  was  considered  an  innovator,  and  his  inno- 
vation largely  consisted  in  the  boldness  with  which  he  used  quinine, 
venturing  upon  five-grain  doses  twoor  three  hours  apart  in  the  period 
of  intermission  and  remission,  and  his  boldness  in  the  use  of  obstet- 
rical forceps.     These  may  seem  now  to  be  slight  things,  but  climatic 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  3OI 

fevers  were  then  treated  with  such  small  closes  of  quinine  as  are  now 
known  to  be  trivial,  and  the  obstetric  forceps,  when  constituting  the 
outfit  of  the  phj-sician,  was  a  reserve  power,  so  sacredly  held,  and  so 
exceptional!)'  employed,  that  it  was  an  obsolete  instrument. 

Dr.  Thomas  came  to  Wilmington  from  Tarboro  in  1850.  He 
was  then  thirty-two  years  of  age,  with  a  handsome  face,  a  kindly 
expression,  marked  physical  vigor,  attractive  as  a  horseback  rider  (in 
which  waj'  he  then  principally  visited  his  patients),  and  he  at  once 
took  a  place  in  the  community.  At  the  bedside  his  manner  was  re- 
assuring, pleasant,  painstaking,  sympathetic.  The  good  of  the 
sufferer  was  the  object  of  his  visit,  and  the  friends  of  the  patient  were 
won  by  his  persistent  attention  to  the  smaller  details  in  his  behalf. 

When  the  call  was  made  for  a  medical  convention  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  state  medical  society,  Dr.  Thomas  responded  and  be- 
came one  of  the  original  members.  His  attachment  to  the  society 
was  for  work,  and  this  distinguished  his  membership.  He  was  made 
secretary  in  1856,  and  continued  in  this  office  until  1867,  during  which 
time  he  was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  society.  Once  he  was  chosen 
its  president,  but  with  his  accustomed  magnanimity  he  declined  in 
favor  of  a  friend,  and  he  continued  to  plod  on  for  years  for  the 
future  welfare  of  the  society.  It  was  onh'  after  the  lapse  of  our 
Civil  war,  during  which  time  there  had  been  a  suspension  of  the  active 
life  of  the  society,  that  he  consented  to  be  its  president.  He  presided 
in  Tarboro,  where  he  had  spent  his  early  j^ears,  and  where  he 
was  married  in  1S43.  Doubtless  it  was  a  proud  day  for  him,  for  he 
received  an  ovation  at  the  hands  of  his  old  friends.  The  society  was 
then  small,  but  not  feeble,  although  not  much  given  to  literary  con- 
tributions. Dr.  Thomas'  address  was  well  worthy  of  the  occasion, 
indicating  his  freshness  and  vigor  of  professional  practice,  and  his 
knowledge  of  the  scientific  current,  but  his  misgivings  about  his 
literary  ability  induced  him  to  withhold  his  address,  and  no  amount 
of  persuasion  could  induce  him  to  allow  it  to  be  printed. 

Dr.  Thomas  was  always  a  worker.  He  was  willing  that  his  friends, 
especially  his  worthy  juniors,  should  have  society  promotions;  his 
sole  ambition  was  to  see  the  great  undertakings  of  the  profession, 
especially  the  board  of  examiners,  established  upon  a  sure  founda- 
tion. His  contributions  to  the  literature  of  medicine  are  very  few, 
his  only  lengthy  paper  being  an  account  of  the  yellow  fever  epidemic 
as  it  occurred  in  Wilmington  in  1862,  in  reply  to  a  paper  on  the  same 
subject  by  Dr.  E.  A.  Anderson.  When  the  yellow  fever  epidemic 
occurred  in  Wilmington  in  1S62  Dr.  Thomas  had  already  been  in 
practice  here  twelve  years.  It  was  an  ordeal  through  which  none  of 
the  resident  physicians  had  ever  passed.  In  the  very  earliest  of  it 
Dr.  James  H.  Dickson  had  died.  Dr.  Thomas  was  taken  sick  and 
went  to  his  old  home  in  Louisburg,  to  recruit,  where  he  had  a  relapse. 
From  this  attack  he  seemed  to  have  passed  from  the  middle  to  old 
age  by  one  bound,  so  feeble  was  his  health  for  years  after,  and  then 
he  reached  a  new  stage  of  his  life  marked  by  ripened  vigor  of  body 
and  brain. 


302  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Among  the  pioneers  in  gynecology  Dr.  Thomas  must  be  rightly  num- 
bered. Before  Marion  Sims  had  enunciated  the  methods  which  formed 
the  foundation  of  this  branch  of  surgery,  he  had  been  working  in  the 
same  direction,  and  had  actually  applied  the  wire  suture  for  the  closure 
of  a  vesico-vaginal  fistula,  bringing  the  local  blacksmith  into  requisition 
to  devise  for  him  a  duck-bill  speculum;  but  at  the  earliest  day  after 
Sims  had  fully  demonstrated  his  processes,  Dr.  Thomas  became  a  dili- 
gent gynecologist,  laboring  assiduously  with  patience  and  zeal  among 
the  patients  who  had  already  been  attracted  by  his  skill.  He  was  a 
most  earnest  patriot.  When  the  alarm  of  war  was  sounded  and  the 
clash  was  inevitable,  he  put  all  his  energies  in  the  preparation  of  the 
men  for  the  field,  and  hafl  it  not  been  for  the  overwhelming  weight 
of  his  duty  to  the  sick  at  home  he  would  have  gone  to  the  field.  As 
it  was,  though,  he  spent  all  he  had  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy, 
beginning  the  world  anew  in  1S65,  with  very  little  more  than  his  pro- 
fession, but  he  bravely  conquered  all  difficulties,  having  always  a  full 
practice.  Indeed,  so  large  was  his  practice  that  he  had  little  time  for 
any  reading  but  the  current  medical  journals,  but  in  the  line  of  peri- 
odical literature  he  always  had  the  best  and  in  abundance,  and  for 
this  reason  he  may  be  said  never  to  have  been  an  old  doctor.  The 
newest  and  the  bSst  he  always  mastered,  and  you  could  always  find 
at  the  bedside  of  his  patients  the  most  recent  of  the  reputable  remedies. 
His  juniors  found  that  in  consultation  he  had  no  obstinate  bias  for 
the  obsolete  therapeutic  legacies  of  the  good  old  times,  nor  was  he 
under  the  dominion  of  the  last  book  he  read,  but  he  preserved  that 
intellectual  aplomb  which  made  him  equal  to  the  task  before  him. 
His  marked  characteristics  were  truth  and  moral  courage.  His  stead- 
fastness for  God's  revealed  Word  and  for  the  right  made  it  always 
sure  on  which  side  of  every  important  question  he  could  be  found. 
Exceeding  the  time  allotted  to  man,  maintaining  his  vigor  of  body 
and  of  mind  to  the  last,  in  him  was  fulfilled  the  Scripture,  "  Thou 
shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in 
in  his  season." 

SAMUEL  SWANN. 

The  most  commanding  figure  in  Colonial  days  in  North  Carolina 
was  Speaker  Sam  Swann.  He  was  the  son  of  Major  Sam  Swann,  by  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Gov.  Eillington.  William  Swann,  the 
grandfather  of  Major  Swann,  settled  Swann's  Point,  opposite  James- 
town, Va.,  of  which  city  he  had  been  alderman,  and  died  there  in  1638. 
Major  Swann's  first  wife  was  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Gov.  Drummond, 
first  governor  of  Carolina.  After  her  death  he  married,  1694,  Elizabeth 
Lillington,  and  had  two  daughters,  Sarah,  who  married  Col.  Thomas 
Jones;  Elizabeth,  who  married  John  Baptista  Ashe;  and  two  sons, 
John  and  Sam.  Major  Swann  died  in  1707,  and  his  widow  married 
Col.  Maurice  Moore,  in  1713.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
October  31,  1704,  and  came  to  manhood  under  the  training  of  Col. 
Moore  and  Edward   Moseley.     He  became  a  practical  surveyor,  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  3O3 

ran  the  dividing  line  between  North  Carolina  and  X'irginia  in  1729, 
being  the  first  white  man  to  cross  Dismal  Swamp.  He  was  elected 
to  represent  Perquimans  county  in  the  assemblj'  of  1725,  and  contin- 
ued a  member  of  that  body  for  forty  j-ears.  In  1731  he  removed  to 
Swann's  Point,  below  Rocky  Point,  where  his  uncle,  Edward  Moseley, 
who  thirty-five  years  had  been  the  leader  of  the  popular  party,  ab- 
dicated the  speaker's  chair,  Sam.  Swann,  in  1742,  succeeded  to  the 
position.  He  occupied  the  chair  until  1762,  when  he  retired,  and  his 
nephew,  John  Ashe,  succeeded  him.  In  1746  he  was  appointed,  with 
Moseley,  to  revise  the  laws,  and  the  first  book  published  in  the  colony 
was  Swann's  Revisal  "  Yellow  Jacket."  He  was  a  lawyer  of  learning, 
and  as  speaker  and  the  head  of  the  party  opposed  to  the  prerogatives 
claimed  by  the  governors  as  representativfes  of  the  crown,  he  gave 
direction  to  the  affairs  of  the  province.  He  e.xalted  the  speaker's 
oftice,  and  wielded  an  influence  superior  to  that  of  the  roj'al  gover- 
nors. The  struggle  he  successfully  maintained  against  attempted 
encroachments  upon  the  liberties  of  the  people  entitle  him  to  the  ad- 
miration of  posterity.  Gov.  Johnston  constantl)'  referred  to  him  as  the 
head  of  the  republican  junto,  bent  on  engrossing  the  executive  power 
of  the  crown.  Retiring  from  the  assembly  in  1762,  he  continued  to 
practice  law  until  his  death  in  1772.  He  married  Miss  Mildred  Lj'on, 
and  left  several  daughters  and  one  son,  Major  Sam  Swann,  an  officer 
of  the  Revolution,  who  some  years  after  the  war  was  killed  in  a  duel 
with  Mr.  Bradley,  at  Wilmington,  N.  C. 


GEN.  SAM   ASHE, 

the  youngest  son  of  John  Baptista  Ashe,  was  born  in  1725;  was  edu- 
cated at  the  north,  studied  law  with  his  uncle,  Sam  Swann,  was  an 
active  participant  in  all  measures  in  opposition  to  the  crown,  and  was 
a  leader  in  the  extreme  democratic  wing  of  our  public  men.  He  was 
conspicuous  in  every  movement  for  indeijendcnce.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  congress  of  1775,  and  of  the  provincial  council  of  thirteen  (of 
which  he  was  chosen  president),  to  whom  was  committed  the 
administration  when  congress  was  not  in  session,  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  that  framed  the  constitution,  and  was  speaker  of  the 
first  senate  held  under  the  constitution,  and  by  that  assembly  was 
elected  presiding  judge  of  the  supreme  court,  which  position  he  held 
for  eighteen  years.  This  court  was  the  first  in  America  to  refuse  to 
obey  a  legislative  act,  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutionality.  In  after 
years  Judge  Haywood  said,  "  For  this  Judge  Ashe  deserves  the 
gratitude  of  his  country  and  posterity."  He  resigned  his  judicial  of- 
fice in  1795,  to  accept  that  of  governor,  to  which  he  was  thrice  elected. 
He  warmly  advocated  democratic  principles,  opposed  the  ratification 
of  the  Federal  constitution  until  it  was  amended,  and  was  a  leader  of 
the  opposition  to  the  federal  party.  He  died  at  Rocky  Point,  in 
1813,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years.  He  married  first  ^lary  Porter, 
a  granddaughter  of  Col.   Maurice  Moore,   and  had  by  her   two  sons. 


304  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

John  Baptista,  and  Sam;  and  after  her  death  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Merrick  and  had  one  son,  Thomas. 

His  son,  John  Baptista  Ashe,  was  born  at  Rocky  Point  in  1748;  was 
at  the  battle  of  Alamance  in  1771,  and  at  the  battle  of  Morris'  creek 
in  February,  1776;  was  appointed  a  captain  in  the  Sixth  Continentals 
in  April,  1776;  major,  January,  1777,  and  lieutenant-colonel  in  Novem- 
ber, 1778.  He  served  with  credit  throughout  the  war,  and  particularly 
distinguished  himself  at  the  bloody  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  in  1781. 
He  sat  in  the  house  of  commons  for  Halifax  from  17S4-86,  being 
speaker  of  that  body;  was  a  member  of  the  last  congress  of  the  Con- 
federation; was  a  member  of  the  state  senate  of  1789,  and  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1789,  that  ratified  the  Federal 
constitution.  As  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  whole,  he  pre- 
sided over  all  the  deliberations  of  that  body  during  the  discussion  of 
the  instrument.  He  had  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
without  amendments,  and  like  his  father  and  brother-in-law,  Willie 
Jones,  was  strongly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  democracy.  At  the  first 
election  for  members  of  congress,  he  was  chosen  to  that  body,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1791.  He  again  represented  Halifax  in  the  assem- 
bly of  1795,  but  then  retired  from  public  life.  Three  3'ears  after  his 
father  retired  from  the  office  of  governor,  he  himself  was  elected,  but 
after  signifying  his  acceptance,  he  died  in  November,  1S02,  before  en- 
tering upon  the  office.  He  married  Miss  Montfort,  of  Halifax,  and 
resided  there.  He  left  one  son,  Samuel  Porter  Ashe,  whose  descend- 
ants live  in  Tennessee. 

Samuel  Ashe,  the  second  son  of  Gov.  Ashe,  was  born  in  1763,  en- 
tered the  Continental  service  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  served  two  cam- 
paigns at  the  north,  was  taken  prisoner  at  Charleston,  ^nd  when 
exchanged  served  with  La  Fayette  in  Virginia  and  then  with  Gen. 
Greene  in  South  Carolina  until  the  end  of  the  war.  He  was  greatly 
revered  for  his  lofty  character  and  noble  virtues.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Shepperd,  of  Hillsboro,  and  raised  a  large  family.  To  give  his 
daughters  the  highest  educational  advantages,  he  maintained  a  resi- 
dence for  them  at  Bordentown,  N.  J.  His  sons  were:  Samuel,  John 
Baptista,  a  member  of  congress  from  Tennessee,  and  then  a  resident 
of  Texas,  William  Shepperd,  Thomas  Henry  and  Dr.  Richard  Porter 
Ashe.  The  latter  served  in  the  Mexican  war  and  settled  in  San 
Francisco,  Cal.,  where  his  family  still  resides. 

William  S.  Ashe  was  educated  at  Trinity  college,  Connecticut; 
studied  law;  was  a  planter;  was  often  in  the  state  legislature  from 
New  Hanover  county;  was  a  member  of  congress  from  1849  to  1855; 
was  president  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  railroad  from  1854  to 
1862,  when  he  was  killed  by  an  accident  on  that  road.  He  was  a 
strong  democrat  —  a  man  of  great  capacity  and  high  character.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  war  in  1S61  he  was  appointed  major  and  quarter- 
master, and  was  placed  in  control  of  all  the  transportation  over  rail- 
road lines  from  New  Orleans  to  Richmond.  In  1862  he  was  com- 
missioned colonel  with  authority  to  raise  a  legion  of  artillery,  cavalry 
and  infantry,  but  soon  afterward,  September,  1862,  was  killed.     He 


y^  ^.  ^:^j4^i^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  305 

married  Sarah  Green,  and  left  several  daughters  and  two  sons, 
John  Grange  Ashe,  who  attained  the  rank  of  major  during  the  war 
of  1860-5:  ajid  left  two  sons  in  Texas,  and  Samuel  A.  Ashe,  of 
Raleigh,  X.  C.,  who  was  educated  at  the  naval  school;  studied  history 
and  law  until  the  war  began;  entered  the  service  in  April,  1S61;  be- 
came a  private  in  Company  I,  Eighteenth  North  Carolina  regiment; 
was  appointed  in  regular  army  of  the  Confederate  States;  served  at 
Charleston  in  the  spring  of  186::;  was  captain  and  adjutant-general 
of  Pender's  brigade  in  the  summer  of  1862;  was  captured  after  the 
second  battle  of  Manassas;  when  exchanged  was  assigned  to  duty 
with  Clingman's  brigade  at  the  south;  was  assigned  to  duty  at  bat- 
tery Wagner  as  ordnance  officer  during  its  siege,  and  then  ordered 
to  Fayetteville,  where  he  remained  as  assistant  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  arsenal  of  construction  until  the  end  of  the  war;  studied 
law  after  the  war;  located  at  Wilmington;  represented  New  Han- 
over county  in  the  assembly  of  1870,  the  sole  democratic  representa- 
tion from  the  count}-  for  twenty  years.  He  married  Miss  Hannah 
Willard,  of  Raleigh,  in  1S71.  and  located  in  Raleigh,  where  he  formed 
a  law  partnership  with  Hon.  A.  S.  Merrimon,  now  chief-justice  of  the 
state,  and  Col.  T.  C.  Fuller,  now  judge  of  the  United  States  land 
court  of  claims,  which  continued  for  seven  years,  when  he,  in  1879, 
purchased  the  Odscrz'crnewApaper  and  entered  journalism.  The  next 
year  the  AvaVT  was  consolidated  with  the  Observer,  he  remaining  the 
editor.  Mr.  Ashe  has  always  been  interested  in  politics,  and  was  for 
many  years  a  memberof  the  state  executive  committee,  of  which  atone 
time  he  was  chairman.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Raleigh  by 
President  Cleveland.  He  has  found  time  to  indulge  a  fondness  for 
books,  and  has  for  twenty  years  been  an  original  investigator  in 
North  Carolina  history. 

THOMAS    S.  ASHE, 

.A  prominent  and  worthy  descendantof  Gov.  Sam  .'\she,  through  his 
son  Thomas,  whose  descendants  are  scattered  throughout  the  south, 
was  Thomas  Samuel  Ashe,  who  was  born  in  Orange  county,  June, 
1812. •  He  graduated  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1832, 
sharing  the  first  honors  with  Senator  Thomas  L.  Clingman  and  Hon. 
James  C.  Dobbin,  secretary  of  the  navy.  He  studied  law  under 
Chief-Justice  Ruffin,  and  located  at  Wadesboro.  In  1842  he  was 
elected  to  the  house  of  commons  as  a  whig;  and  in  1854  to  the  state 
senate.  He  was  long  a  solicitor  for  his  judicial  district.  During  the 
war  he  was  a  representative  from  his  district  in  the  Confederate  con- 
gress, and  was,  without  his  knowledge,  elected  to  the  senate  of  the 
Confederate  states.  In  1868  he  was  nominated  by  the  democrats  for 
governor  of  North  Carolina,  but  was  beaten  by  Gov.  Holden.  He 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  congress  in  1872,  and  again  in  1874. 
"No  member  of  either  party  stood  higher  in  the  house,  for  integrity, 
intelligence  and  fidelity  to  the  constitution."  He  was  a  member  of 
the  judiciary  committee,  and  was  one  of  the  committee  of  three  ex- 
ij— 20 


306  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

amining  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine  about  the  Credit  Mobilier  and  Mul- 
ligan letters  when  Mr.  Blaine's  illness  stopped  the  proceedings.  In 
1878  he  was  elected  to  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  and 
again  in  1886.  He  was  one  of  the  eminent  men  of  his  generation  and 
was  universally  esteemed  in  North  Carolina.  He  died  February  4, 
1887.  He  married  early  in  life  Caroline  Burgwin,  and  left  several 
daughters  and  one  son,  Samuel  S.  Ashe. 


JOHN   BAPTISTA   ASHE. 

A  gentleman,  many  years  ago,  referring  to  "  notices  of  the  Ashe 
family  printed  in  1710,"  wrote  "that  in  the  mother  country  for  sev- 
eral generations  they  were  the  strenuous  opponents  of  arbitrary  power, 
and  were  not  only  actors,  but  sufferers  in  the  paternal  and  also  in  the 
maternal  line."  "  A  gentleman  of  this  family  compelled  to  sell  his 
estate  in  Wiltshire,  England,  by  the  pecuniary  embarrassments,  in 
which  an  excess  of  zeal  had  involved  him,  migrated  to  South  Caro- 
lina at  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  that  province.  Thence  one 
of  his  sons  removed  to  North  Carolina,  whose  character  and  abilities 
made  him  a  prominent  member  of  that  colony,  and  from  that  time  to 
the  year  1814  the  name  of  Ashe  was  always  conspicuous  either  in  the 
forum,  the  senate  or  the  field,  and  in  the  highest  offices  of  the  state." 
In  the  long  parliament  that  maintained  the  liberties  of  England 
against  the  arbitrary  power  of  Charles  the  First,  were  two  brothers, 
John  and  Sam  Ashe,  of  Wiltshire.  In  the  next  generation  a  scion  ot 
that  family,  John  Ashe,  settled  in  South  Carolina,  where  he  became 
an  influential  member  of  the  assembly.  WHien  the  bigoted  Lord 
Granville  sought  to  oppress  the  dissenters  of  Carolina,  Ashe  was 
selected  by  the  principal  inhabitants  of  South  Carolina  to  represent 
their  grievances  to  the  crown.  While  at  Charleston  to  take  shipping, 
his  opponents  raised  a  riot  against  him  that  lasted  five  days,  and  he 
was  under  the  necessity  of  making  his  way  through  the  wilderness  to 
Albemarle.  He  was  resolute,  bold  and  high-spirited.  The  mild 
Quaker,  Archdale,  said  that  he  did  not  seem  well  qualified  for  the 
work  —  "  not  that  he  wanted  wit  —  but  temper."  His  loft}'  spirit. could 
not  tolerate  with  patience  attempted  oppression.  Arriving  at  London, 
he  drew  up  "The  Representation,"  but  died  in  1703  before  it  was  all 
printed,  "  not  without  suspicion  of  foul  play."  Defoe,  the  novelist, 
then  took  the  work  up  and  published  his  pamphlet,  "  Oppression  in 
Carolina,"  and  the  train  was  laid  that  finally  led  to  the  downfall  of 
proprietary  rule. 

A  son  of  this  John  Ashe.  John  Baptista  Ashe,  was  in  the  Albe- 
marle settlement  in  1719,  and  in  that  year  married  Elizabeth  Swann, 
daughter  of  Col.  Sam  Swann,  and  granddaughter  of  Maj.  Alexander 
Lillington,  and  by  this  marriage  became  closely  connected  with  Mose- 
ley,  Moore,  Porter  and  the  other  leaders  of  the  popular  party  in 
North  Carolina.  When  Gov.  Burrington  first  came  to  the  colony,  he 
tells  us  that   having  known  several  members  of  Mr.  Ashe's  family  in 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  307 

England,  he  made  him  his  friend.  Burrington,  at  that  time  co-oper- 
ated with  the  popular  party,  and  Ashe  was  speaker  of  the  assembly 
in  1725,  wh-ich  remonstrated  against  Burrington's  removal.  When 
Burrington  returned  as  the  first  royal  governor  in  1731,  he  brought  a 
commission  for  Ashe  as  one  of  his  council,  hoping  for  his  aid;  but 
Ashe  opposed  all  measures  to  extend  the  prerogative  of  the  crown, 
and  organized  the  council  against  the  governor  and  defeated  his 
measures  even  in  that  body,  despite  the  fact  that  his  kinsman,  Ed- 
\\:ard  Ashe,  was  one  of  the  lords  of  the  board  of  trade,  having  the 
affairs  of  the  colony  in  charge.  Great  animosity  sprang  up  between 
them,  and  the  defeated  governor  had  Ashe  illegally  thrown  into 
prison;  but  the  representations  of  Ashe  and  Rice,  the  attorney-gen- 
eral, papers  of  marked  ability,  resulted  in  the  speedy  removal  of  the 
governor.  Ashe  died  in  1734,  and  was  buried  on  his  plantation, 
Grovely,  near  old  Brunswick,  whither  he  had  removed  in  1727.  He 
left  two  sons,  John  and  Sam,  and  a  daughter  Mary.  The  latter  mar- 
ried George  Moore,  of  the  Cape  Fear. 


GEN.  JOHN  ASHE, 

the  oldest  son  of  John  Baptista  Ashe,  was  born  on  the  Albemarle, 
in  1720.  His  parents  dying  while  he  was  still  a  boy,  he  was  reared  to 
manhood  by  his  guardian,  Sam  Swann.  He  inherited  a  large  estate, 
received  a  liberal  and  thorough  education,  possessed  a  fine  library; 
was  an  orator,  a  soldier  and  a  statesman.  "  He  struck  the  chords  of 
passion  with  a  master  hand.  His  words  roused  the  soul  like  the  roll 
of  a  drum  or  the  roar  of  artilery  at  the  commencement  of  an  action." 
"  Mr.  Sam  Strudwith,  who  had  mingled  in  the  fashionable  and  politi- 
cal circles  of  London,  declared  that  there  were  not  four  men  in  Lon- 
don superior  in  intellect  to  John  Ashe,"  and  that  at  a  time  when  Pitt, 
Burke  and  their  brilliant  associates  adorned  British  annals.  He  early 
entered  the  assembly  and  soon  became  the  most  influential  member 
of  the  body  on  the  floor.  He  was  one  of  the  committee  on  corres- 
pondence, was  denounced  as  early  as  1758  for  his  republicanism  by 
Gov.  Johnston,  who  habitually  wrote  of  Ashe,  Swann  and  their  asso- 
ciates, as  the  republican  junta.  He  succeeded  his  uncle,  Sam  Swann,  in 
the  chair  in  1762,  and  as  speaker,  warned  Gov.  Tryon,  in  1765,  that 
the  people  would  resist  the  stamp  act  "  unto  blood."  He  was  a  direc- 
tor chosen  bj-  the  people,  in  the  military  movement,  in  I*ebruary, 
1766,  forcing  the  British  war  vessels  in  port  and  the  crown  officers  to 
disregard  the  stamp  act  and  release  the  vessels  they  had  seized  for 
violating  that  law.  On  the  repeal  of  that  law,  a  wave  of  loyalty 
swept  over  the  country,  and  the  new  assembly  was  on  better  terms 
with  the  governor.  John  Harvey  succeeded  Ashe  in  the  chair,  but 
later  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  southern  district  notwithstand- 
ing Tryon's  opposition.  In  the  regulation  troubles,  he  actively  sus- 
tained the  government  of  the  province  against  the  anarchy  threat- 
ened by  the  regulators,  and  was  a  major-general  in  Tryon's  army. 


308  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

In  1773  he  was  one  of  the  committee  of  correspondence  in  regard 
to  British  oppression,  and  was  ever  among  tlie  foremost  patriots  in 
the  colon}'.  Acting  on  the  idea  suggested  b}'  Speaker  Harvey,  in 
1774,  he  caused  the  notices  to  be  sent  out  by  the  Wilmington  commit- 
tee for  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  provincial  congress,  the  first 
revolutionary  legislative  body  elected  by  any  colony,  in  July,  1775, 
at  the  head  of  500  men,  he  took  possession  of  Fort  Johnson,  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  British  vessels,  burned  it  to  the  ground.  He  had 
been  an  aide  to  Col.  Innis  in  the  Indian  war,  and  solicited  the  com- 
mand of  the  first  Continental  regiment,  but  this  being  bestowed,  by  a 
majority  of  one  vote,  on  his  brother-in-law,  Gen.  James  Moore,  he 
raised  troops  at  his  private  expense,  and  participated  gallantly  in  the 
campaign  against  the  tories  in  February,  1776.  In  April,  1776,  he 
was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the  Wilmington  district,  and  was 
in  command  of  the  7,000  troops  assembled  on  the  Cape  Fear  to 
meet  the  forces  under  Gen.  Clinton  should  they  attempt  to  penetrate 
the  interior.  He  continued  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  congress, 
and  was  an  advocate  of  ultra  democratic  principles.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  that  framed  the  state  constitution  in  December, 
1776.  In  1778  he  was  major-general  and  marched  that  winter  to  the 
aid  of  Gen.  Lincoln  on  the  Savannah  river.  He  drove  the  enemy 
from  Augusta,  and  followed  them  down  the  river,  on  the  west  side, 
until  he  reached  the  confluence  of  Briar  creek,  which  protected  his 
front.  Called  to  consult  with  Lincoln  and  Rutherford,  whose  forces 
lay  further  down  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  he  returned  to  camp 
to  find  the  enemy  was  active;  and  he  sent  out  parties  to  obtain  intel- 
ligence, and  made  dispositions  to  resist  an  attack.  At  three  o'clock 
the  next  evening,  March  2,  1779,  the  enemy  approached  from  the 
north.  Ashe  advanced  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  meet  them,  his  force 
being  about  600.  His  militia  did  not  stand  the  fire  of  the  British  reg- 
ulars, and  soon  fled  to  the  swamp,  the  British  capturing  162  privates 
and  24  officers.  The  terms  for  which  these  men  were  enlisted  expired  a 
month  later,  and  the}'  returned  to  North  Carolina.  Gen.  Ashe 
was  afterward  treasurer  of  the 'southern  district.  Maj.  Craig  occu- 
pied Wilmington,  in  January,  1781,  and  sent  out  scouting  parties  to 
subdue  the  country.  He  held  as  prisoners,  under  sentence  of  death, 
two  of  Gen.  Ashe's  sons,  Maj.  Samuel  Ashe,  of  the  Continental  light 
horse,  and  William,  a  mere  boy.  Later  he  contrived  to  capture  the 
general  himself.  During  his  confinement  Gen.  Ashe  contracted  the 
small-pox,  and  was  eventually  paroled  only  to  die.  He  expired  dur- 
ing the  month  of  October,  1 781,  at  Col.  Sampson's  in  Sampson  county. 
Early  in  life  Gen.  Ashe  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Moore,  a 
daughter  of  Col.  Maurice  Moore,  and  a  sister  of  Gen.  James  Moore, 
by  whom  he  had  Samuel  Ashe,  a  major  of  light  horse  in  the  Conti- 
nental army,  who  served  with  Washington  at  the  north;  John  Ashe, 
who  was  captain  in  the  Fourth  Continentals,  A'Court  and  William. 
His  sons  left  no  issue.  Among  the  descendants  of  his  daughters  the 
following  have  attained  distinction:  Gov.  Joseph  Alston,  of  South 
Carolina,  who  married  Theodoria  Burr;  William  H.  Wright,  of  the 


^^  Jd:  16  dk 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  309 

engineers;  Griffith  J.  McRee,  and  Samuel  Hall,  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  Georgia. 

GOV.  HOLT. 

While  North  Carolina  maj-  well  be  proud  of  her  statesmen  and 
her  soldiers,  and  freel}'  acknowledge  her  indebtedness  to  them,  yet 
she  is  equall}'  indebted  to  those  captains  of  industry'  who  have  put  in 
operation  the  spindle  and  the  shuttle  within  her  borders.  And 
among  these  none  deserve  more  the  thanks  of  the  state  than  the 
famil}'  of  the  Holts.  They  have  done  much  more  to  develop  the 
manufacturing  of  cotton,  with  its  attendant  industries  and  incidental 
business,  than  any  other  family  in  North  Carolina.  They  were  pio- 
neers and  leaders  in  this  enterprise,  and  the  force  of  their  successful 
example  has  been  of  inestimable  advantage  to  the  people  of  their  na- 
tive state. 

Edwin  M.  Holt,  the  father  of  Gov.  Thomas  M.  Holt,  established 
the  first  cotton  factory  in  central  North  Carolina,  and  some  time  be- 
fore the  war  he  operated  another  factory  on  Haw  river.  Here  Gov. 
Holt  entered  actively  into  the  milling  business,  and  from  that  nucleus 
has  been  developed  by  his  skill  and  superb  management,  one  of  the 
largest  manufacturing  interests  of  the  south.  While  nineteen  mills 
have  been  built  in  Alamance  county,  in  a  large  number  of  which  the 
Holts  and  their  connections  are  interested,  Gov.  Holt  himself,  in  his 
celebrated  Plaid  mills,  operates  nearly  9,000  spindles  and  about  450 
looms,  and  gives  employment  to  500  hands.  His  father,  Mr.  Edwin  M. 
Holt,  was  one  of  the  most  estimable  citizens  of  the  state.  By  pru- 
dent management  of  his  farms  and  milling  interests  he  amassed  a 
large  fortune  which  was  carefully  invested.  His  home  was  famed  for 
its  hospitality,  and  he  enjoj^ed  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  the 
business  men  of  North  Carolina.  He  married  Emily  Farrish,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Fannie  Banks  Farrish,  by  whom  he  had  a 
large  family  of  children. 

Thomas  M.  Holt,  a  son  of  this  union,  was  born  July  15,  1831,  in 
that  part  of  Old  Orange  county,  which  has  since  been  set  off  into 
Alamance  county.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  Caldwell  institute, 
Hillsboro,  and  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  But  without  finishing  his  course  at  the  college,  he 
left  and  spent  a  year  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Philadelphia,  learn- 
ing there  the  practical  part  of  the  business  of  manufacturing.  So 
thoroughly  did  h(!  master  these  details  that  when  twenty  years  of  age 
his  father  took  him  for  an  assistant,  and  soon  began  to  lean  on  his 
judgment  and  confide  in  his  skill  and  management.  When  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age  he  was  honored  by  an  appointment  by  the 
legislature  as  a  magistrate,  and  served  as  chairman  of  the  board  of 
finance  of  Alamance  county.  In  1S72  he  was  elected  chairman  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners  and  served  for  four  years.  1  lis  kindly 
disposition,  his  unswerving  integrity,  his  courteous  demeanor  and 
neighborly  interest  in  the  people  of  his  county,  nearly  every  one  of 


3IO  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

whom  he  has  long  known  personally,  have  made  him  very  popular,  and 
he  has  never  been  brought  forward  for  office  without  receiving  not 
only  the  full  strength  of  his  party,  but  many  votes  from  others.  In 
1876  he  was  elected  state  senator,  receiving  650  more  votes  than  any 
candidate  for  that  office  had  ever  obtained.  In  the  senate,  his  ser- 
vices were  highly  useful  to  the  state.  He  had  been  a  director  in  the 
N.  C.  R.  R.,  in  which  the  state  had  an  interest  of  $3,000,000,  since 
1869,  and  was  elected  president  of  the  company  in  1875.  He  was  also 
largely  interested  in  agriculture  anci  was  president  of  the  North  Car- 
olina agricultural  society  for  twelve  years.  His  varied  experience 
and  ripe  judgment  and  sterling  character  made  him  one  of  the  most 
influential  senators.  He  labored  successfully  for  the  establishment  of 
the  agricultural  department,  and  was,  by  virtue  of  his  position  as  pres- 
ident of  the  agricultural  society,  made  a  member  of  the  board  con- 
trolling it. 

In  1S83  he  was  returned  to  the  house  of  representatives;  and  again 
in  1885,  when  the  house,  in  recognition  of  his  eminent  fitness  and  pat- 
riotic services,  chose  him  for  speaker.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
house  again  in  1887,  and  at  the  succeeding  election  was  called  by  the 
people  to  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor,  and  as  such,  he  presided 
over  the  deliberations  of  the  senate.  As  a  member  on  the  floor  of 
the  assembly,  he  had  been  able,  efficient  and  practical;  and  as  a  pre- 
siding officer  he  was  fair  and  impartial,  courteous  towards  all  and  a 
wise  administrator  of  the  rules.  During  the  period  of  his  legislative 
service  he  won  the  confidence  of  the  whole  state,  and  when  on  the 
8th  day  of  x^pril,  i8gi,  he  was  called  to  the  executive  chair,  011  the 
sudden  death  of  Gov.  Fowle,  the  people  were  entirely  satisfied  that 
the  affairs  of  state  were  in  good  hands,  and  that  the  duties  of  that 
high  office  would  be  discharged  with  ability,  intelligence  and  a  lofty 
patriotism.  For  sixteen  years  he  had  administered  the  affairs  of  the 
North  Carolina  railroad,  as  its  president,  with  zeal  and  good  judg- 
ment, and  he  laid  down  that  office  on  becoming  governor,  with  the 
consciousness  that  all  of  his  acts  had  met  public  approval. 

As  we  have  said,  for  thirteen  years  he  was  president  of  the  North 
Carolina  state  agricultural  society,  and  he  contributed  not  only  his 
time,  but  also  his  money,  to  make  that  institution  worthy  of  the  state. 
A  practical  farmer,  well  versed  in  agriculture,  and  successful  in  the 
business,  he  used  every  exertion  to  utilize  our  state  fairs  for  develop- 
ing our  agricultural  resources  and  stimulating  the  people  to  advanced 
methods  of  culture.  With  liberal  views,  always  seeking  improvement, 
he  kept  abreast  with  the  progress  in  farming,  just  as  he  has  done 
in  his  milling  operations,  and  he  has  presented  an  example  that  the 
intelligent  farmers  of  the  state  can  follow  with  advantage.  But  not- 
withstanding all  of  the  varied  duties  that  have  claimed  his  attention, 
his  chief  interest  has  ever  centered  in  his  cotton  factories.  At  Haw 
river  he  has  so  enlarged  his  fine  mill,  that  he  has  had  to  erect  about 
150  buildings,  for  his  employes,  and  for  the  purposes  connected  with 
his  business.  In  addition  he  has  there  a  five-story  flour  mill,  a  large 
mercantile   establishment,  and  he  has  erected  an  attractive  church 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  3II 

edifice  for  the  benefit  of  the  community.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  spreading  themselves  over  a  gradually  ascending  eminence  lie 
his  princely  premises  —  one  of  the  finest  country  residences  in  the 
state,  where  nature  and  art  are  combined  to  illustrate  the  taste  and 
elegance  of  a  cultured  family.  But  it  is  at  Linwood,  his  splendid 
plantation  on  the  North  Carolina  road,  that  Gov.  Holt  finds  his 
greatest  pleasure.  There  his  fine  stock,  and  his  beautiful  fields  yield 
their  increase  and  delight  the  eye  of  the  practiced  farmer. 

In  October,  1S55,  Gov.  Holt  was  happily  married  to  Louisa,  the 
accomplished  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Alar}'  A.  Bethel  Moore.  To 
them  have  been  born  five  children:  Charles  T.  Holt,  Cora  M.,  who 
married  Dr.  E.  Chanibers  Laird,  of  Virginia;  Dazie  M.,  who  married 
Alfred  W.  Haywood,  one  of  the  most  skillful  lawyers  of  Raleigh; 
Ella  X.,  who  married  Charles  Bruce  Wright,  of  Wilmington,  but  now 
a'resident  of  Raleigh;  and  Thomas  M.  Holt,  Jr.  Although  his  resi- 
dence has  been  the  seat  of  elegant  hospitality,  and  Gov.  Holt's  large 
business  interests  have  occupied  him  very  closely,  yet  he  has  always 
found  time  to  attend  to  other  duties.  He  has  participated  actively 
on  the  stump  in  nearly  every  caiiipaign,  and  not  content  with  liberal 
giving,  has  devoted  his  time  and  talents  to  the  promotion  of  party 
weal.  He  is  also  a  Royal  Arch  Mason;  and  he  has  faithfully  dis- 
charged his  religious  duties.  For  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  consist- 
ent member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  for  many  years  he  has 
been  an  elder  in  that  denomination.  Indeed,  in  all  the  relations  of 
life  he  has  been  foremost.  His  honesty  is  proverbial;  his  dealings 
are  always  fair  and  just;  and  in  his  friendships  he  is  constant  and 
unwavering.  He  never  deviates  from  lofty  principles,  and  North 
Carolina  has  no  more  patriotic  son  than  this  eminent  citizen. 

DONALD  W.  BAIN. 

The  Bain  family  of  which  the  present  treasurer  of  North  Caro- 
lina is  a  descendant,  is  of  Scotch  origin,  and  traces  its  lineage  to  the 
early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Among  the  relatives  have  been 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  United  States,  of  which 
the  single  name  of  Adams  is  enough  to  pronounce.  Donald  Bain 
was  born  near  the  city  of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  whence  he  came  to 
America  about  the  close  of  the  war  for  independence.  He  settled 
near  Wilmington,  in  North  Carolina,  and  there  in  1785,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Frances  Eliza  Hall.  Providence  favored  them  with  five  chil- 
dren, of  whom  William  T.,  was  one,  born  in  Bladen  county,  N.  C, 
November,  179,^.  William-  T.  Bain  was  educated  principally  at  the 
famous  Bingham  school,  the  founder  of  that  institution  being  his 
teacher,  and  for  a  while  after  reaching  manhood,  was  engaged  in 
teaching  school.  He  was  for  a  long  series  of  years,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  Masons  of  the  state.  From  1836  to  his  death  in  1867, 
he  occupied  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  Masonic  Grand  Lodge 
of  North  Carolina,  excepting  a  short  interval  of  four  years.  His  wife 
was  Martha  A.,  daughterof  Green  Hill,  who  bore  him  a  family  of  six 


312  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

children,  five  of  whom  are  now  living,  viz.:  Elizabeth  F.,  wife  of  the 
late  Andrew  J.  Partin,  of  Petersburg,  Va.;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  B.  L.  Bit- 
ting, of  Forsyth  county,  N.  C;  Donald  W.  Bain,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C; 
Julia  G.,  of  Raleigh;  Thomas  H.,  of  Germanton,  Stokes  county, 
N.  C.  Donald  W.  Bain  was  born  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  April  2,  1841. 
His  educational  training  was  secured  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
place,  and  in  the  high  schools  at  South  Lowell  and  Pittsboro.  Upon 
leaving  school  in  1857,  he  entered  the  office  of  the  comptroller  of 
state  and  remained  there  until  April,  1865.  In  July  of  the  same  year 
he  was  appointed  chief  clerk  of  the  state  treasury  department  by 
Jonathan  Worth,  provisional  treasurer.  Mr.  Bain  continued  in  that 
capacity  until  January,  1885,  at  which  time  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
state  treasurer,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  in  November  preced- 
ing. In  the  fall  of  18S8  he  was  elected  to  the  second  term  of  four 
years,  which  will  expire  in  January,  1893.  His  administration  of  the 
state's  fii>ances  has  been  satisfactory  to  the  public  and  gratifying  to 
his  friends.  After  having  spent  a  great  part  of  his  lifetime  in  the  of- 
fice over  which  he  now  presides,  it  was  but  a  fitting  tribute  to  his  pro- 
bity and  uprightness,  his  fidelity  and  energy,  when  his  fellow  citizens 
called  him  by  their  suffrage  to  discharge  the  responsible  duties  of 
this  high  office.  In  1879  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  commisioners  to 
adjust  and  renew  the  bonds  issued  by  the  state,  on  account  of  the 
North  Carolina  railroad. 

Like  his  father,  Mr.  Bain  is  an  ardent  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  and  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  talents  to  that  emi- 
nent order,  whose  foundation  goes  back  to  the  dawn  of  authentic 
history.  In  February,  1867,  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  his  father 
in  the  office  of  grand  secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Car- 
olina, and  from  that  time  to  this  he  has  discharged  the  duties  of  that 
honorable  place.  He  is  also  secretary  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch 
chapter  and  recorder  of  the  Grand  Council.  For  the  two  terms  of 
1885  to  1887  he  was  grand  commander  of  the  Knights  Templar  for 
'the  state  of  North  Carolina.  As  a  member  of  the  Scottish  Rite  he 
has  been  the  recipient  of  thirty-two  degrees,  thus  testifying  that  he 
is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  branches  of  this  ancient  and  respected 
order.  Mr.  Bain  is  also  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  circles  of  Odd 
Fellowship.  January  26,  1865,  he  was  married  to  Adelaide  V.  Hill,  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  William  G.  Hill,  of  Raleigh.  To  this  union 
have  been  born  four  children,  of  whom  these  three  are  now  living: 
William  H.,  Ernest  B.  and  Adelaide  V.  Mr.  Bain's  paternal  ances- 
trj'  was  of  French  extraction,  and  belonged  to  that  sect  known  as 
Huguenots,  the  persecution  of  which  in -France  .  has  handed  them 
down  to  history  as  the  most  cruelly  treated  people  which  the  annals 
of  intolerance  bear.  When  in  1598,  Henry  the  IV'.  of  France  issued  his 
famous  edict  of  Nantes,  it  secured  to  this  unhappy  class  a  release 
from  persecution  for  nearly  a  century.  But  when,  in  1685,  Lguis  the 
XIV.  revoked  this  edict  the  work  of  hate  again  commenced. 
France  was  on  that  account  speedily  abandoned  by  many  thousands 
of  her  best  and  most  industrious  citizens.     x'\  large  number  of  these 


'  NORTH  CAROLINA.  3I3 

found  their  way  to  America  where,  with  their  knowledge  of  the  arts 
and  their  habits  of  sobriety  and  industry,  they  soon  became  an  im- 
portant factor  of  the  population.  It  was  from  this  class  that  Fran- 
ces E.  Hall,  Mr.  Bain's  paternal  grandmother,  descended.  Mr.  Bain 
has  been  for  many  years  a  leading  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  south. 

GOV.  EDWARD  B.  DUDLEY. 

This  gentleman,  so  distinguished  in  the  annals  North  Carolina, 
was  born  in  Onslow  county,  N.  C.  His  first  appearance  in  public 
life  was  as  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  from  his  native  county, 
in  181 1-13.  Removing  to  Wilmington  shortly  after  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  service  he  made  that  town  his  home,  and  in  i8i6-'i7,  and 
again  in  1834,  he  was  the  representative  of  that  ancient  borough  in 
the  general  assembly  of  the  state.  In  1829  he  was  elected  to  the  con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  from  the  Cape  Fear  district,  but  served 
one  term  only,  positively  refusing  a  re-election,  and  giving  as  a  rea- 
son for  his  refusal,  that  he  did  not  think  congress  a  fit  place  for  any 
man  who  wanted  to  be  honest.  What  a  striking  contrast  between  his 
action  and  the  devious  and  tortuous  paths  now  so  generally  pursued 
in  this  progressive  age,  by  those  ambitious  of  political  preferment,  it 
is  refreshing  to  note  it,  and  to  note  also  how  much  more  highly  he 
prized  his  integrity  and  self-respect  than  all  the  allurements  of  official 
station.  He  identified  himself  with  the  cause  of  internal  improve- 
ments in  North  Carolina,  giving  to  it  his  time,  his  talents  and  his 
wealth.  He  was  the  active  and  ardent  friend  of  that  great  work,  the 
Wilmington  &  Weldon  railroad,  and  was  the  largest  individual  sub- 
scriber to  Its  stock.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  company,  and 
did  more,  perhaps,  than  any  one  man  to  secure  its  completion.  In  all 
of  its  difficulties  and  embarrassments,  he  was  its  staunch  friend,  and 
while  others  desponded  and  almost  despaired,  he  never  lost  faith  in 
its  ultimate  triumph,  and  he  lived  to  witness  in  its  successful  opera- 
tion the  gratifying  results  of  his  practical  sagacity. 

When  the  constitution  of  North  Carolina  was  amended  by  the 
convention  held  in  1835,  among  other  changes  made,  the  election  of 
governor,  which  prior  to  that  time  had  been  made  by  the  legislature, 
was  given  to  the  people.  The  democratic  party  was  in  the  ascendent 
in  the  state,  and  the  gwbernatorial  chair  was  filled  by  Richard  Dobbs 
Spaight,  a  democrat  who  had  served  one  term  and  who  had  been 
nominated  by  his  party  for  re-election.  The  ojjposition  with  remark- 
able unanimity  centered  upon  Edward  B.  Dudley  as  their  leader  in 
the  contest  for  that  elevated  position,  and  without  any  action  on  his 
part  to  secure  it,  he  was  nominated  and  elected,  being  the  first  gover- 
nor of  North  Carolina  ever  chosen  to  that  office  by  the  direct  vote  of 
the  people.  His  administration  of  the  duties  of  his  high  office  was 
so  satisfactory  that  at  the  e.xpiration  of  his  first  term  there  was  no 
organized  opposition  to  his  re-election,  a  comi^liment,  creditable  alike 
to  a  faithful  i)ul)lic  servant  antl  to  the  jjeoph^  who  thus  showed  their 


314  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

appreciation  of  his  character  and  pubHc  services.  When  his  second 
term  expired  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Wihnington,  where  lie  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  his  death,  in  October,  1855. 

Gov.  Dudley  was  no  ordinary  man,  for  despite  the  defects  of  his 
early  education  he  rose  to  distinction  by  his  natural  abilities  and  force 
of  character.  Nature  had  been  kind  to  him,  had  given  him  a  com- 
manding- presence,  a  vigorous  intellect,  and  that  faculty  which  grasps 
as  it  were  by  intuition,  the  salient  points  of  a  subject  when  presented 
for  consideration,  and  a  judgment  that  seldom  erred  in  its  conclu- 
sions. He  was  a  man  of  liberal  and  enlarged  views,  of  a  genial  dis- 
position and  generous  impulses,  and  of  spotless  integrit}'.  He  could 
not  tolerate  prevarication  or  deceit,  for  he  was  one  of  the  most  sin- 
cere of  men,  and  never  hesitated  to  express  what  he  thought,  not 
offensively  but  with  firmness,  and  with  a  dignitj'  of  manner  that 
commanded  respect.  He  was  frank  and  manly  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  world,  could  not  have  practiced  deceit  if  his  life  had  de- 
pended on  it,  and  abhorred  it  in  others.  His  ample  fortune  enabled 
him  to  dispense  a  profuse  hospitality  and  in  which  he  greatly 
delighted,  for  in  administering  to  the  pleasures  or  happiness  of  others 
he  was  but  obeying  the  promptings  of  his  heart  and  giving  expres- 
sion to  the  kindly  feelings  of  his  nature.  His  purse  was  always  open 
at  the  call  of  charity,  and  merit,  it  mattered  not  hov,'  humble  or  ob- 
scure it  might  be,  was  promptly  recognized  and  generously  assisted. 
He  sleeps  his  last  sleep  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  near  Wilmington, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  south,  and  tender  affection  has 
erected  a  massive  monument  over  his  remains  in  commemoration  of 
his  virtues  and  noble  qualities.  North  Carolina  has  had  few  more 
worthy  sons  than  Edward  B.  Dudley. 

HON.  JOHN  POOL. 

This  distinguished  man  was  born  in  Pasquotank  county,  N.  C, 
June  16,  1826,  and  died  in  the  city  of  Washington,  August  16,  1884. 
He  was  fifty-eight  years  and  two  months  old.  He  was  born  on  a 
plantation  near  Elizabeth  City,  and  reared  there  until  he  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  graduated  second  in  the  dis- 
tinguished class  of  1S47.  The  same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  commenced  the  practice  in  his  native  county,  in  Elizabeth  City. 
He  soon  went  to  the  front,  at  a  bar  renowned  for  its  learning  and 
eloquence.  Such  men  as  Ruffin,  Badgers,  Pearson,  and  Stanly,  emi- 
nent in  the  state  and  nation,  had  to  be  encountered.  It  is  no  small 
honor  that  he  won  his  reputation  at  such  a  period.  But  the  forum 
was  not  the  field  on  which  he  was  to  achieve  his  chief  success.  He 
entered  early  the  domain  of  politics  and  statesmanship.  His  high 
mental  endowments  forbade  his  occupying  a  secondary  place.  It  was 
impossible  for  him  to  breathe  the  air  of  mediocrity,  he  was  by  nature 
destined  to  tread  the  ice-clad  ranges  of  jurisprudence.  Indeed  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  the  conflict  of  procuring  testimony,  and  the 
struggle  to  select  juries   influenced   by   particular  interests,  were  dis- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  315 

tasteful.  The  subjects  involved  in  political  life  were  more  congenial. 
He  naturally  drifted  into  that  channel.  He  entered  the  tield  at  the 
most  intense  period  in  the  conquest  over  slavery,  and  after  his  own 
state  had  passed  entirely  over  to  the  ranks  of  the  slave  interest. 
Largely  interested  in  that  institution,  he  never  regarded  it  as  divine 
or  entitled  to  the  reverence  of  the  American  people.  This  became 
the  controlling  political  question  in  the  south.  It  appeared  upon  the 
hustings,  in  the  press,  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  all  the  avenues  of  social 
life.  The  intense  feeling  had  grown  with  the  deepen-'ng  interests  in 
the  extension  of  the  institution  over  new  territory.  The  growth  of  the 
free  states  demanded  for  free  labor  the  new  teritor}-,  and  the  disad- 
vantages and  crime  of  slavery  had  made  a  deep  impression  in  the 
north.  Gradually  these  two  forces  were  dividing  upon  geographical 
lines,  until  the  year  1820  introduced  the  Missouri  struggle.  The  set- 
tlement of  this  question  was  but  a  drawn  battle.  The  conflict  in  no 
respect  abated.  The  admission  of  T^xas  introduced  the  war  with 
Mexico,  and  it  gave  a  more  violent  form  to  the  impending  issue,  but 
the  country  passed  peacefully  this  crisis,  as  it  had  that  of  the  annex- 
ation of  Texas.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  the 
opening  up  of  the  new  territories  consecrated  to  freedom  by  that 
measure  brought  the  conflict  to  the  scene  of  violence. 

It  was  at  this  eventful  crisis  that  Mr.  Pool  entered  political  life. 
He  was  raised  and  educated  in  the  whig  faith,  and  had  he  not  been, 
his  fine  powers  of  head  and  heart  would  have  carried  him  to  that 
party.  It  was  then  in  the  days  of  its  decline,  indeed,  in  its  expiring 
agonies.  Its  splendid  orators  and  statesmen  had  vainly  sought  to 
save  the  country  from  a  civil  war,  and  to  preserve  the  union  of  the 
states.  The  spirit  of  freedom  in  the  free  labor  states  had  demanded 
the  unsettled  territory  for  free  men.  The  south  were  demanding  with 
still  more  intense  feelings  their  rights  under  the  constitution,  to  carry 
there  their  slaves.  Rapidl}'  those  two  forces  were  absorbing  all  the 
political  elements  in  each  section  till  the  national  party  standing  be- 
tween them  had  in  agreat  measure  disappeared.  In  his  boyhood  he  had 
followed  the  banner  of  Mr.  Clay,  borne  by  the  dauntless  Kenneth 
Raj'ner,  to  whom  he  ever  remained  devoted.  In  the  course  of  time 
the  pupil  became  the  leader,  and  was  supported  by  his  former  men- 
tor with  all  his  heroic  enthusiasm.  Though  the  great  political  forces 
had  concentrated  in  geographical  lines  Mr.  Pool  abated  in  no  respect 
his  firm  national  sentiment.  The  whig  party  retained  its  vitality  in 
the  border  slave  states  long  after  it  had  disappeared  from  the  ex- 
treme north  and  south.  The  border  state  whig,  of  necessity,  was  in 
conflict  with  both  the  great  antagonistic  forces  at  that  time.  He 
.sought  to  avert  the  nation  from  the  bloody  banquet  spread  before  it. 
His  influence  was  in  a  great  measure  dissipated  by  the  conllict  of  in- 
terest, association  and  sympathy  with  his  patriotism  and  judgment. 

In  the  years  1856  and  1858  Mr.  Pool  was  returned  to  the  state  sen- 
ate from  his  district.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  distinguished  him- 
self in  that  body.  So  marked  was  the  impression,  that  in  the  year 
i860  the  whigs  chose  him  as  their  candidate  for  governor.     He  made 


J 


l6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


a  gallant  and  impressiv^e  canvass,  and  after  this  was  ranked  among- 
the  ablest  statesmen  and  political  advocates  in  the  state.  He  was  de- 
feated, but  he  had  greatly  reduced  the  majority  of  the  opposition. 
He  pleaded  for  the  union  of  the  states,  and  the  exercise  of  reason  and 
forbearance.  It  was  against  the  tide  of  opinion  and  the  wild  shout 
for  southern  rights.  This  effort  to  save  the  people  from  the  threat- 
ened calamity  was  so  earnest  and  rational,  that  the  better  sentiment 
was  convinced,  and  ranked  him  among  their  ablest  men.  The  hour 
of  trial  had  come,  and  no  power  could  avert  the  catastrophe.  He 
foresaw  the  fatal  sacrifice  of  the  young  men  of  the  south,  and  deplored 
the  dreadful  consequences  of  that  rash  counsel  that  was  leading  them 
to  their  doom.  He  had  clone  all  that  he  could  to  avert  the  calamity, 
and  nothing  was  left  for  him  but  to  retire  to  his  home  and  await  the 
issue.  He  remained  at  home  during  the  eventful  years  of  war,  until 
1864  brought  a  gleam  of  peace.  He  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  as 
a  peace  man,  and  entered  that  body  with  the  hope  of  inducing  such  a 
rational  spirit  as  could  compel  the  Confederate  government  to  listen 
to  honorable  terms  of  peace.  He  introduced  his  celebrated  peace 
resolutions,  but  the  hour  for  reason  had  not  yet  returned,  and  these 
well-made  endeavors  proved  abortive.  These  resolutions  contempla- 
ted separate  state  action,  in  the  event  that  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment should  refuse  to  make  peace.  They,  in  that  event,  proposed  to 
withdraw  North  Carolina  from  the  Confederacy  and  restore  her  to 
the  Union.  This  was  done  while  the  war  was  still  flagrant,  and  at 
great  peril.  No  bolder,  braver,  wiser  movement  was  ever  made.  The 
war  continued  until  the  Confederate  army  was  so  overthrown  at 
every  point  that  their  arms  were  wrested  from  their  hands.  It  was  a 
conquest  thorough  and  absolute.  The  south  was  placed  at  the  mercy 
of  the  victors. 

The  war  closed  virtually  with  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee.  The 
assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  soon  followed,  and  Mr.  Johnson  came 
into  the  presidential  chair  April,  1865.  May  25th,  the  president  issued 
his  proclamation  for  the  re-organization  of  civil  government  in  North 
Carolina.  The  Hon.  W.  W.  Holden  was  appointed  provisional 
governor  and  authorized  to  call  a  convention  of  the  people  of  the 
state  for  that  purpose.  Mr.  Pool  was  a  member  of  that  body  and 
served  with  distinction  in  it.  He  and  Hon.  \V.  A.  Graham  were 
elected  to  the  United  States  senate;  congress  did  not  deem  it  safe  to 
admit  the  states  as  re-organized  by  President  Johnson  and  remanded 
them  to  military  rule,  consequently  the  members  returned  from  the 
insurrectionary  states  were  not  admitted  to  their  seats.  When  the 
state  was  reconstructed  under  the  act  of  congress,  Mr.  Pool  was  again 
elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  and  took  his  seat  in  1S68,  which 
he  held  till  1873,  when  the  state  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  opposi- 
tion. Since  that  period  he  has  been  practicing  his  profession  in  the 
city  of  Washington.  During  his  services  in  the  senate  he  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  that  body.  He  served  on  some 
of  the  leading  committees  with  usefulness  to  the  country  and  honor 
to  himself.     It   was  during  his  senatorial   term  that   North  Carolina, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  317 

■with  Other  southern  states,  was  infested  by  organized  bands  of  out- 
laws, defying  law  and  order  and  rendering  the  life,  property  and 
peace  of  the  citizens  who  differed  in  their  political  sentiments  not 
only  insecure  but  a  perpetual  dread.  Its  history  is  without  parallel 
in  the  annals  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  Mr.  Pool  believed  that  the 
proper  enforcement  of  the  law  was  the  only  and  certain  remedy. 
He  undertook  the  work  of  enacting  such  a  law  as  would  secure  pro- 
tection to  the  citizen  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  political  and  other 
rights.  Then  the  due  and  reasonable  enforcement  of  these  laws  re- 
ceived his  wise  counsel  and  aid.  The  remedy  was  successful  and 
delivered  the  state  from  the  most  terrible  and  fearful  scourge  that 
has  ever  darkened  the  pages  of  history.  For  this  noble  stand  he  was 
cruellj'  abused  by  the  opposition.  The  day  is  coming  when  full  just- 
ness will  be  done  him  in  this  matter.  In  this  movement  he  counseled 
none  but  strictly  legal  measures.  He  believed  that  law  could  be 
executed  in  due  form  with  more  lasting  effect  than  by  any  other 
means.  To  Mr.  Pool  and  Judge  Bond  is  due  the  credit  of  the  ovf;r- 
throw  of  the  Ku-klux  scourge  in  the  United  States.  The  result 
vindicated  his  judgment  and  patriotism. 

Mr.  Pool  was  at  no  time  the  friend  of  war,  he  believed  it  adverse 
to  all  generous  and  noble  sentiments,  brutal  and  irrational  in  its 
methods,  destructive  of  the  public  good,  and  useless  as  an  agent  in 
the  adjustment  of  national  disputes.  He  was  an  earnest  friend  and 
an  active  member  of  the  "  National  Arbitration  League."  He  longed 
to  see  the  peace  of  the  world  assured,  not  by  devouring  armies 
trained  for  the  butchery  of  their  race,  but  b}'  the  devout  methods 
and  profound  worship  of  humanity.  His  love  of  humanitj-  was  not 
bounded  by  the  limits  of  his  country,  it  extended  wherever  the  race 
was  struggling  for  a  higher  good.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  more  ad- 
vanced to  lift  the  degraded  to  a  higher  plane,  not  to  despoil  and  de- 
stroy them.  He  regarded  war  as  the  crime  of  all  crimes,  the  scourge 
of  all  nations,  the  organized  foe  of  the  race.  Its  machinery  was  a 
cruel  and  never-ending  curse,  the  instrument  of  tyranny,  and  the 
consumer  of  the  people's  labor.  He  thought  it  the  duty  of  all  good 
men  to  unite  their  efforts  to  put  an  end  to  an  unreasonable  and  cruel 
crime  against  all  the  virtues.  Some  two  years  since  his  fine  health 
gave  way  and  since  that  time  he  had  apprehended  serious  conse- 
quences until  more  recently  he  appeared  to  have  recovered  his  usual 
elasticity.  The  day  preceding  his  fatal  illness  he  seemed  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  health  and  cheerful  vigor.  But  P'riday  night  the  15th, 
after  having  as  usual  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  family,  where  he  was 
always  the  center  of  devoted  attachment,  in  the  full  glow  of  joyous 
amusement  he  retired  with  his  little  granddaughter  to  rest.  She 
arose  in  the  morning  on  the  i6th  at  the  usual  time,  leaving  her  grand- 
father to  enjoy  his  morning  sleep.  He  did  not  appear  at  breakfast, 
and  some  of  the  family  sought  his  room  to  call  him  to  his  meal,  and 
found  J:hat  noiselessly  he  had  passed  into  that  "  dreamless  sleep  "  that 
knows  no  waking.  His  peaceful  exit  was  in  supreme  harmony  with 
the  calm  and  dignified  life  of  the  man. 


3l8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

No  State  in  this  Union  has  contributed  to  its  country's  history 
more  conspicuous  individual  and  personal  worth  than  North  Carolina. 
From  the  first  page  of  her  history  up  to  this  good  hour,  she  has  fur- 
nished her  full  share  of  distinguished  merit,  and  her  story  is  replete 
with  illustrious  memories.  In  all  the  grand  achievements  of  the  na- 
tion, her  sons  have  filled  and  more,  the  measure  of  expectation. 
High  among  these  illustrious  names,  the  muse  of  history  will  write 
the  name  of  our  silent  friend.  He  was  the  representative  child  of  his 
native  state.  In  an  eminent  degree,  he  possessed  her  virtues  and 
none  of  her  vices.  His  portraiture  would  be  more  truly  the  repre- 
sentative North  Carolinian  than  any  other  man.  His  education  was 
the  best  that  the  university  could  afford,  and  her  efforts  were  not 
wasted.  The  seed  fell  in  fertile  soil  and  yielded  an  abundant  harvest. 
Highly  esteemed  by  the  faculty,  he  was  the  favorite  of  his  fellow 
students.  His  rich  capacity  and  freedom  from  ambition  relieved  him 
from  antagonism  in  this,  the  dawn  of  his  promising  intelligence.  His 
mind  was  one  of  order,  and  all  his  information  was  carefully  classi- 
fied and  arranged.  He  was  a  scientific  lawyer  and  had  all  his  princi- 
ples so  classified  that  he  could  at  once  refer  any  subject  to  its  proper 
place.  The  same  was  true  in  regard  to  all  his  information  on  every 
subject.  As  a  legal  and  political  advocate,  he  addressed  himself  to 
the  understanding  and  reason.  He  made  thorough  preparation, 
"  scorning  to  utter  an  unconsidered  word"  to  a  court  or  the  people. 
He  indulged  in  no  appeals  to  passion,  he  believed  this  unworthy  the 
advocate.  Nor  did  he  often,  if  ever,  appeal  to  the  more  tender  sen- 
timents of  our  nature,  though  he  was  by  no  means  destitute  of  these 
feelings,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  readily  moved  by  an  appeal  to  ten- 
der sensibilities.  His  emotional  nature  was  not  only  active,  but 
easily  aroused  by  injustice,  oppression  or  tyranny.  The  strong  side  of 
his  character  was  the  esthetic.  He  loved  the  beautiful  in  form,  color 
and  sound,  and  was  more  readily  moved  by  the  moral  than  by  natural 
beauty.  As  an  advocate,  his  voice  was  clear,  benevolent  in  tone,  soft 
and  gentle.  His  articulation  was  so  distinct,  that  he  was  readily 
heard  without  an  effort  in  the  open  air,  or  in  large  rooms.  His  man- 
ner, gesture,  voice  and  the  whole  man  were  always  under  the  domin- 
ion of  reason.  His  powers  of  analysis  were  of  the  highest.  In  some 
respects  he  resembled  President  Johnson  in  this  particular  mental 
faculty.  He  was  a  more  highly  endowed  man,  had  greater  powers 
of  invention  and  a  richer  imagination.  They  differed  on  many  points 
and  especially  in  their  ambition;  this  was  the  supreme  motor  in  Mr. 
Johnson,  Mr.  Pool  was  entirely  free  from  it.  He  believed  that  the 
people  should  select  their  agents  unsolicited,  whilst  Mr.  Johnson 
pressed  his  claims.  No  man  was  ever  more  thoroughly  self-poised, 
he  carried  this  into  every  relation  of  life,  in  the  domestic  circle,  in 
the  drawing  room,  in  the  senate,  in  the  tumultuous  assemblies  where 
the  populace  were  torn  by  passion,  he  was  always  the  same  unruffled, 
calm,  gentle,  unpretending  gentleman,  and  a  man  more  thoroughly 
master  of  himself  was  never  known.  He  was  above  passion  and  in- 
capable of  blind  resentment.     His  simple,  elegant  taste  characterized 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  319 

all  his  actions  and  his  intellectual  operations.  His  mind  was  one  of 
great  comprehension  and  his  judgment  e.xact.  His  knowledge  of 
mechanical  forces  and  his  capacity  to  use  them  would  have  made 
him  one  of  the  first  inventors  of  the  age  had  he  directed  his  attention 
exclusively  to  that  subject. 

To  the  firmness  of  the  martyr  he  joined  the  meekness  of  a  child. 
He  loved  all  children  and  was  beloved  by  them  in  turn.  He  knew 
their  natures  and  trusted  them  implicitly,  and  was  seldom  deceived. 
Sincere  and  faithful  to  his  friendships,  he  secured  the  confidence  of 
all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  gentle  loving  nature  never 
permitted  him  to  neglect  a  child.  He  treated  them  as  persons  of 
distinction  entitled  to  attention  and  respect.  His  friendship  was 
warm  and  did  not  depend  upon  place,  rank  or  wealth.  He  was  the 
true  friend  of  humanity,  his  heart  bled  freelj'  for  all  who  felt  the 
heavy  hand  of  affliction.  He  never  cast  off  a  faithful  friend  stricken 
by  misfortune.  Conscious  of  his  own  worth  and  proud  of  his  noble 
qualities,  he  could  with  the  Cid  have  shared  his  bed  with  the  leper, 
and  with  Sydney,  have  passed  the  cup  of  water  to  the  humble  soldier 
whose  wants  were  still  greater  than  his.  There  was  no  human  sufferer 
so  humble  that  he  would  not  reach  forth  his  hand  to  secure  from  dis- 
tress. I  have  seen  him  under  all  the  conditions  that  could  elevate  or 
depress  the  human  heart,  j^et  I  never  heard  from  him  an  angry  word, 
an  intemperate  expression,  or  one  unchaste  or  profane,  no  matter 
who  his  auditors.  He  rose  above  all  dogmas,  or  vulgar  superstitions, 
and  bowed  with  reverence  before  the  worship  of  all  sincere  persons. 
Truthful  to  his  convictions,  he  laid  no  claim  to  superior  sanctity,  and 
put  on  no  vulgar  assumption  of  importance.  He  intended  to  merit 
the  good  will  of  his  kind,  and  gave  little  attention  to  public  opinion; 
he  knew  that  it  was  unreliable;  to-day  it  was  a  blessing,  to-morrow 
cursing,  but  in  the  end,  trusted  in  public  justness  if  it  was  deserved. 
He  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to  the  culture  of  his  religious  senti- 
ments. If  "  religion  is  the  emotion  of  reverence  which  the  presence 
of  the  universal  mind  excites  in  the  individual,"  then  was  Mr.  I^ool 
one  of  the  most  religious  of  men.  All  nature  was  instinct  with  the 
Divine  from  the  lowest  forms  of  insensate  matter  up  through  all  the 
forms  of  vegetable  and  animal  life.  His  heart  was  responsive  to  its 
presence  in  every  form  of  life.  His  comprehensive  intelligence,  his 
warm  affections  embraced  all,  protected  all,  reverenced  all.  His  was 
the  religion  of  cheerfulness  and  duty.  No  gloomy  fears  shrouded 
humanity  in  habiliments  of  woe.  Every  object  around,  from  the 
ephemera  sporting  in  the  sunlight  to  the  distant  stars  that  shine 
in  glory  through  all  the  countless  ages,  were  ministering  angels 
inspiring  love  and  reverence.  The  suppression  of  passion,  the  exer- 
cise of  reason,  and  the  cultivation  of  a  living  love  for  all  men,  all  life, 
were  the  supreme  duties  of  man.  The  strongest  element  of  his  na- 
ture was  the  love  of  liberty,  of  soul  and  body.  Subordination  of  the 
spirit  to  the  will  of  another  was  the  worst  form  of  slavery.  He  de- 
tested every  form  of  dominion  over  the  hearts  and  bodies  of  men.  As 
he  loved  liberty  for  its  own  sake,  he  rejoiced  to  see  all  other  men  en- 


320  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

joy  it.  Out  of  this  element  grew  his  political  principles  and  conduct.  A 
whig  before  the  war,  he  readily  became  a  republican,  which  party  has, 
since  it  was  established  in  North  Carolina,  received  his  warmest  sup- 
port until  the  contest  of  1880.  In  this  contest,  he  supported  Gen.  Han- 
cock, not  only  for  his  superior  militar}'  services,  but  for  fine  intelli- 
gence and  manly  virtues,  but  he  believed  that  the  southern  republicans 
had  been  unjustly  treated,  and  defeat  would  lead  the  party  to  act 
with  better  faith  toward  their  real  allies.  He  confided  in  the  pro- 
gressive character  of  the  republicans  but  believed  that  a  long  lease 
of  power  had  rendered  them  neglectful  to  their  duties  and  recreant 
to  good  faith. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Pool  was  an  eventful  one.  Born  under  a  declin- 
ing civilization,  he  grew  up  during  the  discussion  of  its  merits  and 
participated  in  its  extinction  in  every  part  of  the  republic.  He  saw 
the  old  passing  away,  and  on  his  vision  broke  the  dawn  of  a  grander 
day.  From  Nebo's  loftiest  peaks  he  looked  into  the  promised  land 
and  passed  over  and  dwelt  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  tree  of  liberty, 
and  saw  "a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,"  that  had  risen  out  of  the 
old.  He  did  not  live  long  enough  to  realize  in  full  the  glorious  prom- 
ise of  his  labors,  but  long  enough  to  felicitate  himself  upon  the  sacri- 
fices he  had  made  for  the  consummation  of  the  coming  age.  He 
largely  participated  in  working  out  for  his  native  state  and  the  nation 
one  of  the  grandest  moral  revolutions  in  time.  He  aided  to  dispose 
of  a  civilization  that  consigned  a  large  part  of  its  population  to  the 
condition  of  chattels,  tore  from  the  mother's  breast  the  sentiments  of 
maternal  affection  and  annihilated  the  father  of  the  child.  Under 
his  and  his  colleague's  labors,  life  has  been  endowed  with  a  new  value 
far  above  the  shambles.  The  graces  and  virtues  of  home  have  been 
sanctified,  justice  has  received  a  new  meaning,  her  domain  has  been 
enlarged,  and  her  worship  purified  by  a  living  and  universal  faith. 
Labor  has  been  emancipated  from  the  lash,  and  its  author  has  been 
lifted  from  a  beast  of  burden  to  the  condition  of  Amercan  manhood. 
The  education  of  the  whole  people  has  been  made  the  life  of  the 
commonwealth.  The  reign  of  fear  has  given  place  to  the  reign  of 
love  and  duty.  This  beneficent  change  has  worked  inconvenience  to 
a  few,  but  is  full  of  promise  to  a  regenerated  people.  Every  year  will 
attest  his  prescience  by  the  increased  knowledge,  the  growth  of  vir- 
tue, the  accumulation  of  wealth,  and  the  adoption  of  creative  inter- 
ests. Though  calumniated  by  those  who  did  not  realize  the  demands 
of  the  age  and  the  wants  of  a,  growing  community,  in  time  a  new 
commonwealth  will  attest  his  wisdom  and  honor  his  memory.  A  re- 
newed life  will  dissolve  all  the  resentments  and  partisan  prejudices. 
The  good  will  survive  the  shock  of  resentment  that  annoyed  his  tran- 
quillity. The  benefactors  of  mankind  hope  not  to  receive  a  grateful 
return  for  their  services,  they  seldom  escape  the  scourge,  the  cross  of 
calumny.  They  have  always  been  consecrated  to  the  public  good 
through  sighs,  and  groans  and  tears.  For  their  sufferings  the  tears 
of  sorrow  must  forever  flow.  The  champions  of  a  new  era  cannot 
escape  the  malignant  arrows  of  an  expiring  one.     But  the   hour  has 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  321 

passed,  "no  steel,  nor  poison,  malice  domestic,  foreign   levy,  nothingr 
can  touch  him  farther." 

This  tender,  strong  man,  so  dignified  in  life,  without  a  struggle  or  a 
sigh,  has  retired  to  his  endless  rest.  No  kinder  friend,  no  more  lov- 
ing and  devoted  husband,  father  or  brother,  has  crossed  the  "sunless 
river's  flow."  In  all  the  relations  of  life  he  has  modestly  and  faith- 
fully performed  his  duty.  To  him  we  may  justly  apply  the  words  of 
the  greatest  of  Roman  poets: 

'*  Juslum  et  tenacem  proposite  vireni 
Non  civiuni  ardor  prava  juventtuni, 
Non  vultus  instantis  tyranni 
Mente  qiialit  solida  nemie  Auster 
Dux  ini|uieti  turbidus  Adrae 
Nee  fulniinaiUes  magna  Jovis  manus: 
Si  fmctus  illabatur  orbis, 
Inipaviitum  ferient  vuinde." 

Mr.  Pool  was  twice  married;  first,  to  Miss  Narcissa  D.  .Sawyer,  of 
Elizabeth  City,  X.  C,  of  whom  one  child,  Mrs.  Dr.  Sessford,  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  survives;  second,  to  Miss  Mollie  Mebane,  of  Bertie 
county,  N.  C,  of  whom  two  children,  Miss  Mamie  and  Mr.  John  Pool, 
of  Washington,  D.  C,  survive.  He  was  a  classmate  at  the  univer- 
sity of  the  very  highly  gifted  and  distinguished  Gen.  J.  Johnston 
Pettigrew,  who  early  fell  in  the  Civil  war,  and  of  the  Hon.  M.  W. 
Ransom,  at  present  United  States  senator  from  North  Carolina. 


GEN.  LAWRENCE  O'BRIAN  BRANCH. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  of  distinguished  lineage,  his  ances 
tors  having  been  prominent  for  many  generations  in  the  affairs  of 
North  Carolina.  He  was  born  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  November 
28,  1820.  On  Christmas  day.  1825,  his  mother  died;  and  in  1S27  his 
father,  who  had  removed  to  Tennessee,  also  died.  Gov.  John  Branch, 
who  was  his  guardian,  brought  him  back  to  North  Carolina,  and  be- 
ing appointed  secretary  of  the  navy  in  1829,  carried  him  to  Washing- 
ton city.  1  le  studied  under  various  preceptors,  among  others  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  afterward  chief-justice  of  the  United  .States.  He  entered 
Chapel  Hill  in  1S35,  but  the  same  year,  left  and  entered  Princeton, 
where  he  graduated  in  1838,  taking  the  first  honor.  He  removed  to 
Florida  to  practice  law,  and  in  the  early  part  of  1841,  he  served  in  the 
Seminole  war.  After  a  residence  of  eight  years  in  P'lorida,  he  re- 
moved to  Raleigh,  N.  C,  having  in  1844,  married  Miss  Blount,  the 
accomplished  daughter  of  Gen.  William  A.  Blount  of  Washington, 
N.  C.  In  1852  he'  was  an  elector  on  the  Pierce  and  King  ticket,  and 
in  the  same  year  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston 
railroad  company,  which  position  he  held  until  he  was  elected  to  con- 
gress in  1855.  He  continued  in  congress  until  the  war  began,  win- 
ning the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  his  party  associates. 

In  December,  i860,  on  the  resignation  of  lion.  Howell  Cobb,  ''ren 
Branch  was  tendered,  by  President  Buchanan,  the  position  of  secre 
B — 21 


322  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tar}'  of  the  treasury,  but  declined  it.  He  was  appointed  quartermas- 
ter-general of  North  Carolina  on  the  day  the  state  seceded  from  the 
Union,  and  in  September,  iS6i,  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the 
Thirty-third  regiment  North  Carolina  troops.  On  the  17th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1S62,  he  was  promoted  to  be  brigadier-general.  His  brigade 
consisted  of  the  Seventh,  Eighteenth,  Twenty-eighth,  Thirty-third 
and  Thirty-seventh  North  Carolina  regiments.  His  first  service  was 
at  Newbern,  where  he  disputed  Burnside's  approach,  March  14,  1S62. 
His  brigade  was  attached  to  A.  P.  Hill's  light  division,  and  it  was  the 
first  to  open  the  fights  around  Richmond  at  Hanover  Court  House. 
It  was  also  the  first  to  cross  the  Chickahominy  and  to  encounter  the 
Federal  forces.  With  about  3,000  men,  it  lost  1,250  in  killed  and 
wounded,  and  of  five  colonels,  two  were  killed,  two  w'ere  wounded 
and  one  was  taken  prisoner.  In  those  battles  the  brigade,  no  less 
than  Gen.  Branch  himself,  won  imperishable  fame.  Gen.  Branch 
bore  himself  with  distinguished  courage  and  was  idolized  by  his  men. 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Cedar  Run,  Second  Manassas,  Fair- 
fax Court  House  and  Harper's  Ferry.  Hurrying  from  that  great 
achievement  at  Harper's  Ferry  to  Sharpsburg,  he  reached  that  fatal 
field  to  be  of  essential  service  to  Gen.  Lee's  hard  pushed  army.  He 
had,  with  his  command,  just  swept  the  enemy  from  his  front,  w'hen 
Gens.  Gregg  and  Archer  pointed  out  a  column  approaching.  Step- 
ping up  to  these  generals,  a  group  was  formed  that  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  a  sharpshooter,  and  a  bullet  came  crashing  through  his 
brain  and  he  fell  dying  into  the  arms  of  his  staff  officer,  Maj.  Engel- 
hard. As  a  lawyer,  a  statesman  and  a  soldier.  Gen.  Branch  took 
high  rank,  and  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  North  Carolina  of 
his  age.  He  left  one  son,  Hon.  W.  A.  Branch,  the  representative  of 
the  First  North  Carolina  district  in  congress,  and  two  daughters. 


GEN.  JAMES  JOHNSTON  PETTIGREW. 

Among  the  brilliant  men  who  have  adorned  the  annals  of  Caro- 
lina none  takes  precedence  of  James  Johnston  Pettigrew,  who  was 
born  July  4,  1S28,  at  his  father's  residence,  "  Bonarva  "  on  the  shore 
of  the  beautiful  lake  Scuppemong,  in  Tyrrell  county,  N.  C.  One  of 
his  ancestors  was  James  Pettigrew,  a  distinguished  officer  in  King 
William's  arm}-  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  whose  youngest  son, 
James,  emigrated  to  America  in  1740,  and  finally  settled  at  Abbeville, 
S.  C.  His  son  Charles  Pettigrew,  settled  in  North  Carolina,  and  was 
ordained  a  minister  in  1775,  and  after  the  Revolution  was  chosen  the 
first  bishop  of  North  Carolina,  but  was  never  consecrated.  The  only 
son  of  Bishop  Pettigrew  was  Hon.  Ehenezer  Pettigrew,  who  was  a 
member  of  congress  from  eastern  North  Carolina.  He  married 
Ann  B.  Shepard,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  fami- 
lies of  Newbern,  and  from  that  union  sprang  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  After  a  thorough  preparatory  education  at  Bingham's  and 
elsewhere,  Johnston  Pettigrew,  as  he  was  called,  entered  Chapel  Hill, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  323 

where  he  won  greater  distinction  than  any  other  student  there  has 
ever  done. 

He  was  a  marvelous  scholar,  and  upon  graduating,  in  1847,  so 
■  great  was  his  capacity,  especially  in  mathematics,  that  President  Polk, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Commodore  Maury,  tendered  him  one  of  the 
assistant  professorships  at  the  observatory  in  Washington,  he  being 
then  onlj'  nineteen  years  of  age.  The  law,  however,  attracted  the 
brilliant  student  and  after  a  year's  work  with  Maury,  he  studied  law, 
first  with  James  M.  Campbell,  of  Baltimore,  and  then  with  his  cousin, 
the  great  James  L.  Pettigrew,  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  In  1850  he  began 
an  extended  tour  of  Europe,  and  spent  two  years  in  travel  and 
study  on  the  continent.  On  his  return  to  Charleston  he  took  rank 
with  the  first  men  of  South  Carolina,  and  being  in  the  legislature  of 
1S56,  when  the  slavery  question  was  much  discussed,  he  became  an 
honored  and  conspicuous  figure  in  that  body.  The  Italian  war  break- 
ing out  in  1859.  his  sympathies  were  strongly  enlisted  for  the  Sardin- 
ians and  he  sailed  for  Europe,  determined  to  offer  his  assistance.  He 
was  tendered  an  appointment  in  that  service,  but  the  war  ended  be- 
fore he  could  reach  the  scene.  Shortly  after  his  return  he  published 
a  very  interesting  and  instructive  volume,  "Spain  and  the  Spaniards," 
that  is  worthy  of  his  high  ambition. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  he  was  colonel  of  the  First  regiment  of 
Charleston  rifles,  and  rendered  efificient  service  at  that  point,  Ijut  the 
Confederate  government  declining  to  receive  the  officers  of  that 
organization,  he  was  chosen  colonel  of  the  Twelfth  North  Carolina 
regiment  which  afterward  was  known  as  the  Twenty-second  North 
Carolina  troops.  His  fine  bearing,  his  unusual  accomplishments,  his 
proficiency  in  military  studies,  and  the  great  personal  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  singled  him  out  as  a  proper  object  for  promotion,  but  he 
declined  the  offer  of  a  commission  to  be  brigadier-general,  until  he 
had  greater  e.xperience.  Later  he  accepted  the  offer  and  was  as- 
signed to  a  brigade.  At  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  June  i,  1862,  his 
brigade  was  heavily  engaged,  and  as  he  was  gallantly  leading  one  of 
his  regiments  in  a  charge  upon  a  strong  position,  he  was  wounded 
and  fell  insensible  on  the  field;  when  he  regained  consciousness  he 
was  a  prisoner.  After  two  months  confinement  he  was  exchanged, 
but  for  some  time  being  an  invalid,  was  employed  as  commander  of 
the  post  of  Petersburg.  Here  a  new  brigade  was  formed  for  him  — 
composed  of  the  Eleventh,  Twenty-sixth,  Forty-fourth,  Thirty-second 
and  Fifty-second,  North  Carolina  troops.  During  the  fall  of  1862,  he 
was  ordered  to  North  Carolina  with  his  brigade,  and  he  repelled  the 
Federal  raid  into  Martin  county,  and  Gen.  Foster's  expedition  in 
December,  against  Goldsboro,  and  he  rendered  conspicious  service  in 
the  demonstration  against  the  town  of  Washington,  N.  C,  in  the  spring; 
at  Blount's  creek,  he  illustrated  his  fine  abilities  as  a  commander. 

When  Stoncman  made  his  raid  north  of  Richmond,  Pettigrew 
was  in  command  of  the  defenses  of  that  city.  Eater  his  brigade  was 
assigned  to  Heth's  division,  and  marched  with  Lee  to  Gettysburg. 
He  led  his  brigade  in  the  assault  on  the  first  day  of  that  great  battle 


324  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  if  his  fame  and  that  of  his  brigade  were  to  rest  on  that  engage- 
ment of  July  1st,  alone,  they  would  be  imperishable;  but  as  heroic  as 
were  their  achievements  then,  they  were  surpassed  on  July  3d,  in  the 
famous  Confederate  charge.  Maj.-Gen.  Heth  being  wounded.  Gen. 
Pettigrew  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  division,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  3d  reported  to  Gen.  Longstreet.  The  division  ad- 
vanced on  a  line  with  Pickett's  fresh  Virginians  on  the  right,  across 
the  plain  to  the  crest  of  Cemetery  Ridge,  and  took  possession  of  the 
stone  wall  which  had  served  the  Federal  forces  as  a  breastwork. 
Nothing  in  history  has  surpassed  that  grand  charge,  anci  Pettigrew's 
name  has  become  immortal.  Of  the  3,000  men  and  officers  compos- 
ing the  brigade,  1,100  were  killed  and  wounded  at  Gettysburg.  The 
Twenty-sixth  regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Henry  Burgroyn,  out  of 
800  men,  lost  549,  the  greatest  loss  ever  sustained  in  modern  warfare 
by  any  regiment.  Officers  and  men  were  alike  mowed  down,  and 
Gen.  Pettigrew  himself  was  painfully  wounded.  On  the  return  of  the 
army  to  Virginia  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  July,  near  Falling 
Waters,  on  the  Potomac,  Gen.  Pettigrew  was  ordered  to  remain  with 
his  command  as  a  rear  guard.  A  small  body  of  cavalry,  some  forty 
in  number,  made  a  sudden  dash  upon  a  bevy  of  officers,  of  whom 
Gen.  Pettigrew  was  one,  and  being  mistaken  for  Confederates  were 
not  fired  on  by  the  troops.  In  the  melee  Gen.  Pettigrew  was  mor- 
tally wounded,  and  on  the  17th  day  of  July  he  expired  near  Martins- 
burg,  Va.  Thus  perished  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  brilliant  men 
known  to  American  annals,  whose  name  is  inseparably  connected 
with  the  most  heroic  feat  of  arms  in  modern  times. 

GOVERNOR  JOHN  OWEN. 

The  memory  of  but  few  North  Carolinians  deserves  to  be  held  in 
higher  esteem  than  that  of  Gov.  John  Owen.  He  was  the  son  of 
Col.  Thomas  Owen,  a  gallant  officer  during  the  Revolution,  who 
married  Eleanor  Porterfield,  a  daughter  of  Maj.  James  Porterfield, 
an  Irishman  by  birth,  who  had  settled  at  Fayetteville,  and  was  a  lead- 
ing whig,  and  whose  son,  Capt.  Dennis  Porterfield,  was  a  conspicuous 
officer  in  the  continental  line,  and  at  last  fell  fighting  gloriously  at  the 
battle  of  Eutaw  Springs.  By  her  Col.  Owen  had  two  sons.  Gen.  James 
Owen,  who  was  a  member  of  congress  in  1817-18,  and  later  president 
of  the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh  railroad  —  a  gentleman  of  the  high- 
est character  and  reputation,  who  died  about  i860;  and  John  Owen, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  born  in  1787.  He  was  a  gentle- 
man of  singular  purity  of  life,  sweetness  of  temper  and  refined 
culture.  He  served  the  people  of  Bladen  in  the  assembly  from  181 2  for 
sixteen  years,  being  elected  governor  of  the  state  in  1S28.  After 
three  years  in  the  executive  chair  he  was  brought  forward  for  United 
States  senator,  and  came  within  one  vote  of  an  election.  He  was 
president  of  the  whig  national  convention  which,  in  1840,  nominated 
Gen.  Harrison  for  president,  and  he  was  tendered  the  nomination  for 
vice-president,  but  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  accept  the  honor 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  325 

since  he  presided  over  the  body.  He  declined  it  for  that  reason. 
He  died  a  year  later  at  Pittsboro,  N.  C,  much  lamented  in  North 
Carolina  and  by  his  friends  throughout  the  Union.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Gen.  Thomas  Brown,  of  Bladen  county,  a  Revolutionary 
patriot  and  officer  who  was  the  hero  of  the  battle  of  Elizabethtown, 
leaving  an  only  daughter,  who  married  Hon.  Haywood  Guion — a 
distinguished  lawyer  and  the  author  of  "The  Comet"  —  a  book  of 
rare  merit. 

GEN.  JAMES  B.  GORDON. 

John  George  Gordon  came  to  this  countrj-,  from  Scotland,  about 
the  year  1724.  He  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  whose  ancestors,  for  four  generations,  lie  buried  in  the  family 
burying  ground,  at  Wilkesborough,  Wilkes  county,  N.  C.  James  B. 
Gordon  was  born  at  the  old  homestead,  November  2,  1822,  and  at  the 
age  of  ten  years  was  placed  at  school,  with  Peter  S.  Ney,  in  Iredell 
county.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  Emory  and  Henry  col- 
lege, X'irginia,  and  then  became  a  merchant  at  Wilkesborough.  He 
represented  his  county  in  the  legislature,  in  1850,  and  was  always 
active  in  political  affairs.  At  the  first  call  to  arms,  he  volunteered  in 
the  Wilkes  county  guards,  and  was  chosen  a  lieutenant.  The  com- 
pany was  assigned  as  Company  B,  to  the  First  regiment  of  state  troops, 
and  Gordon  was  appointed  captain  of  it.  Soon  afterward  he  was  ap- 
pointed major  of  the  F'irst  cavalry,  and  went  to  the  front  in  Virginia, 
where  the  regiment  (Col.  Robert  Ransom)  was  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  Brig.-Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  Maj.  Gordon  led  the  first  charge 
on  the  P'ederal  forces,  at  Vienna,  Halifax  county,  Va.  In  the  spring 
of  1862  he  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant-colonel,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1863  he  was  commissioned  colonel  and  given  command  of  the  Sec- 
ond North  Carolina  cavalrj'.  He  won  his  promotion  by  his  gallantry 
on  many  a  hard  fought  field.  In  September,  1863,  he  was  commis- 
sioned brigadier-general,  and  the  First,  Second,  Third  and  Fifth 
regiments  of  North  Carolina  cavalry  were  assigned  to  him,  as  his  brig- 
ade. He  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  promoting  the  efficiency  of 
his  command,  and  soon  established  thorough  confidence  and  reliance 
upon  each  other  among  his  regiments.  At  Auburn,  October  13,  1863, 
he  was  wounded,  but  he  successfully  passed  through  hundreds  of 
dangerous  encounters. 

In  the  memorable  campaign  of  1864,  Gordon's  outposts  were  the 
first  to  meet  the  Federal  forces  as  they  crossed  the  Rai)idan  near  the 
Wilderness,  and  for  days  the  most  terrible  struggle  raged  throughout 
that  section.  On  the  evening  of  the  loth  of  May,  .Stuart  and  Fit/,  Lee 
were  hastening  with  the  brigades  of  Lomax,  Gordon  and  Wickham, 
to  intercept  the  F'ederal  cavalry  in  its  march  on  Richmond.  It  was  a 
critical  moment.  Between  Stuart  and  Gordon  there  existed  the 
warmest  friendship;  together  they  had  performeil  feats  of  prodigious 
valor  and  had  made  the  fame  of  the  Confederate  cavalry  immortal. 
They  had  fought  together  as  brothers:  they  were  to  die  together  as 


o 


26  NORTH   CAROLINA 


heroes.  Gordon  drove  the  opposing  force  at  Ground  Squirrel  Church 
on  the  nth,  and  attacked  Sheridan  near  Broolc  Churcli,  ahiiost  in  the 
suburbs  of  Richmond  on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  On  the  evening 
before  Stuart  had  fallen  at  Yellow  Tavern,  and  at  Brook  Church, 
with  Richmond  almost  in  sight,  Sheridan  fought  with  great  obstinacy. 
With  his  inferior  force,  Gordon  held  the  road,  and  reckless  of  self, 
exposed  his  life  with  unusual  daring  to  encourage  his  men  to  the 
utmost  resistance.  He  was  severely  wounded,  but  held  his  position 
until  Confederate  infantry  came  up  and  Richmond  was  saved.  F"or 
six  days  he  lingered,  and  then  died  at  the  hospital  at  Richmond, 
May  18,  1864.  His  death  was  lamented  throughout  the  army,  and 
"  filled  his  entire  command  with  grief  and  consternation." 

GEN.   STEPHEN    D.   RAMSEUR. 

But  few  North  Carolinians  have  displayed  greater  militarj'  capac- 
ity than  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  a  worthy  descendant  of 
John  Wilfong,  a  Revolutionary  hero,  who  fought  valiantly  at  Kings 
Mountain  and  Eutaw  Springs.  Stephen  D.  Ramseur,  the  second  child 
of  Jacob  A.  and  Lucy  M.  Ramseur,  was  born  May  31,  1837,  at  Lin- 
colnton,  Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  where  his  ancestors  had  settled  sev- 
eral generations  before.  His  earl)'  education  was  received  at  the 
preparatory  schools  in  Lincolnton  and  ]\Iilton,  and  at  Davidson  col- 
lege. North  Carolina.  In  1855  he  entered  the  military  academj'  at 
West  Point,  and  graduated  there  with  distinction  in  t86o.  He  was 
appointed  a  lieutenant  in  the  light  artillery,  but  in  April,  1861,  re- 
signed his  commission  and  took  service  with  the  Confederate  States 
government,  then  at  Montgomer}-.  He  was  soon  afterward  offered 
the  command  of  the  Ellis  light  artillery,  a  Raleigh  company',  and  in 
the  summer  was  ordered  with  his  company  to  Smithfield,  \'a.  The 
next  spring  his  company  was  at  Yorktown,  in  front  of  Gen.  McClel- 
lan,  and  Ramseur  was  put  in  charge  of  all  the  Confederate  artillery, 
and  later  was  commissioned  major.  Subsequently  he  was  elected 
colonel  of  the  Fortj'-ninth  regiment  North  Carolina  troops,  and  was 
assigned  to  the  brigade  of  Gen.  Robert  Ransom.  In  the  seven  days 
fights  he  won  distinction,  and  at  Malvern  Hill  was  severel}' wounded. 
While  still  disabled  he  was  appointed  brigadier-general,  and  in  Octo- 
ber was  sufficiently  recovered  to  take  the  field.  His  brigade  was 
composed  of  the  Second,  Fourth,  Fourteenth  and  Thirtieth  North 
Carolina  regiments,  and  was  attached  to  Rhodes'  division  of  Jack- 
son's corps. 

At  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville  Gen.  Ramseur  particularly  distin- 
guished himself.  Gen.  Lee  writing  of  his  brigade  to  Gov.  Vance, 
June  4,  1S63,  said:  "  I  consider  its  brigade  and  regimental  command- 
ers as  among  the  best  of  their  respective  grades  in  the  army,  and  in 
the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  where  the  brigade  was  much  distin- 
guished and  suffered  severely.  Gen.  Ramseur  was  among  those 
whose  conduct  was  especially  commended  to  my  notice,  by  Lieut. - 
Gen.  Jackson,  in  a  message  sent  to  me  after  he  was  wounded."  Again 


(y--t..yL^^-L^'6 


^y/<:. 


a^ypi^ty 


L^C^'-t'-'-^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  2)-7 

in  the  first  day's  fight  at  Gettysburg,  Ramseur's  brigade  secured  the 
ridge  known  as  (Tak  Hill,  the  key  to  the  field.  At  Spottsylvania 
Court  House,  May  12,  1S64,  he  again  won  unstinted  praise  for  gallantry 
and  heroism  unsurpassed  during  the  war.  After  the  battle,  Generals 
Lee  and  Ewell  thanked  Ramseur  in  person,  for  his  conduct  and  that 
of  his  brigade  at  the  "Angle  of  death."  His  heroism  won  him  a  com- 
mission as  major-general,  and  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of 
Early's  division.  After  the  battle  of  Coal  Harbor,  Early's  corps  was 
ordered  to  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  there  Gen.  Ramseur  displayed 
the  highest  military  acumen.  But  after  passing  through  many  dan- 
gers unscathed,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  igth  of  October,  1S64,  in  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  he  was  mortally  wounded,  and  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Federal  forces.  On  the  22nd  of  October,  1863,  he  had 
married  .Miss  Ellen  E.  Richmond,  of  Milton,  N.  C;  on  the  day  pre- 
ceding this  battle  he  had  received  intelligence  of  the  birth  of  a 
daughter.  He  died  the  ne.xt  day.  His  dying  words  were:  "  Bear 
this  message  to  my  precious  wife:  —  I  die  a  Christian  and  hope  to 
meet  her  in  Heaven." 

THE  HAWKINS  FAMILY. 

The  first  of  this  distinguished  family  to  settle  in  America  was 
Philemon  Hawkins,  who  was  a  descendant  of  the  celebrated  admiral, 
Sir  John  Hawkins,  whose  deeds  redounded  to  England's  glory, 
through  his  son  Sir  Richard  Hawkins.  Philemon  was  born  in  Eng- 
land in  1690,  and  his  wife,  Ann  Howard,  was  born  in  1695.  He  came 
to  this  country  in  1715,  and  niade  his  home  in  Gloucester  county,  Va., 
where  he  died  in  1725.  Mrs.  Hawkins  survived  him  seventeen  3'ears, 
and  died  at  the  residence  of  her  son,  Philemon,  in  Bute,  now  War- 
ren county,  N.  C  Philemon,  the  second,  was  born  near  Todd's 
Bridge,  Gloucester  county,  Va.,  in  1717.  Removing  to  Bute  county, 
N.  C,  he  soon  became  a  man  of  prominence  in  that  region,  and  his 
home  became  a  seat  of  elegant  hospitality.  He  served  as  an  aid  to 
Gov.  Tryon  at  the  battle  of  Alamance,  and  was  an  officer  under  the 
colonial  government,  but  later  was  a  warm  advocate  of  the  move- 
ment for  independence.  His  long  life  was  one  of  usefulness.  He 
died  in  1801,  in  his  eighty-third  year.  By  his  marriage  with  Delia 
Martin,  of  Brunswick  county,  Va.,  in  1743,  he  had  ft)ur  sons  and 
several  daughters.  The  sons  were:  Philemon,  Benjamin,  Joseph 
and  John. 

Benjamin,  the  second  son,  was  born  1754.  He  was  educated  at 
Princeton  college,  and  was  proficient,  not  only  in  Latin  and  Greek,  but 
in  French.  He  was  at  Princeton  with  his  younger  brother  Joseph, 
when  that  institution  was  closed  during  the  Revolutionary  war;  he 
then  joined  the  army  and  served  at  Washington's  headquarters  for 
nearly  a  year;  his  proficiency  in  modern  languages,  especially  P'rcnch, 
caused  Washington  to  ai)point  him  interpreter  between  the  American 
and  French  officers  of  his  staff.  In  1780  he  was  appointed  by  the 
state  of  North   Carolina  a  commercial   agent  to  secure  supplies  from 


3^8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

abroad.  From  17S1  to  17S4  he  was  a  member  of  the  Continental 
congress,  and  witnessed  at  Annapolis  the  resignation  by  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, of  the  command  of  the  army.  In  1785  he  was  appointed  a 
commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  also  on  a  com- 
mission to  treat  with  the  Creeks.  The  next  year  found  him  again  in 
congress,  and  upon  North  Carolina's  adopting  the  Federal  constitu- 
tion and  entering  the  Union,  he  and  the  distinguished  Sam  Johnston, 
were  selected  as  the  first  senators  to  represent  the  state  in  the  United 
States  senate.  At  the  end  of  his  six  years'  term  in  the  senate,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Washington,  agent  for  superintending  all  the 
Indians  south  of  the  Ohio.  He  remained  in  this  responsible  position 
through  all  administrations,  rendering  most  valuable  service  to  his 
country  until  his  death,  in  1816,  at  Fort  Hawkins,  Ga.  He  was  a 
man  of  mark  in  his  day  and  generation;  was  a  fine  scholar,  and  an 
author.  He  left  works  on  topography,  and  on  the  Indian  language, 
and  a  sketch  of  the  Creek  country.  One  son,  Madison  Hawkins,  and 
three  daughters  survive  him. 

Col.  Joseph  Hawkins,  the  third  son  of  Philemon  and  Delia,  left 
Princeton  college  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  joined  the 
army.  He  served  in  Canada,  and  rendered  efficient  service  in  the 
cause  of  his  country.  He  died  unmarried.  The  fourth  brother  was 
Col.  John  Hawkins,  who  married  a  sister  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Macon, 
and  left  a  large  family.  Among  his  sons  were  Gen.  John  H.  Haw- 
kins, Joseph,  and  Gen.  Micajah  Thomas,  who  were  all  prominent  pub- 
lic men.  The  eldest  of  these  brothers  was  Philemon  the  third.  He 
was  born  in  1752  and  died  in  1833,  in  his  eighty-first  j-ear.  He  mar- 
ried Lucy  Davis,  and  had  seven  sons  and  five  daughters.  The  sons 
were:  John  D.,  William,  Dr.  Joseph,  Benjamin,  Philemon,  George  and 
Dr.  Frank.  The  last  four  died  unmarried.  Dr.  Joseph  W.  Haw- 
kins, having  graduated  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  received 
the  degree  of  M.  D.  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1808.  He 
was  an  eminent  physician,  and  enjoyed  a  large  practice.  He  was 
great!}'  esteemed  and  beloved,  and  his  death  was  lamented  by  the 
entire  community  where  he  resided.  He  married  Mary  Boyd,  by 
whom  he  had  eight  children. 

Governor  William  Hawkins,  the  second  son  of  Philemon  and  Lucy, 
was  for  many  years  esteemed  the  most  popular  public  man  of  Warren 
county.  He  often  served  in  the  assembly,  and  was  governor  of  the  state 
for  three  years,  from  iSii  to  1814,  covering  the  period  of  the  second 
war  with  Great  Britain,  and  was  called  "  the  war  governor."  He  ad- 
ministered his  responsible  office  during  the  war  with  great  accepta- 
bility to  the  people  and  received  many  evidences  of  popular  apprecia- 
tion. He  married  Ann  Boyd,  to  whom  were  born  eight  children.  He 
died  at  Sparta,  Ga.,  in  May  of  iSig.  The  daughters  of  Philemon  and 
Lucy  were  Eleanor,  who  married  Sherwood  Haywood,  and  had  many 
children;  one,  Delia,  became  the  second  wife  of  Hon.  George  E. 
Badger;  Ann,  who  married  William  P.  Little;  Delia,  who  married 
Stephen  Haywood;  Lucy,  who  married  Louis  D.  Henry,  and  Sarah, 
who  married  Col.  William  Polk.    One  of  her  sons  was  Bishop  Polk  — 


NORTH  CAROLIXA.  329 

the  bishop-general,  who  was  killed  during  the  Confederate  war. 
One  of  her  daughters,  Marj',  was  the  first  wife  of  Hon.  George  E. 
Badger;  and  another,  Susan,  married  Hon.  Kenneth  Raynor. 

The  eldest  son  of  F^hilemon  and  Lucy  was  Col.  John  D.  Hawkins, 
who  was  born  at  the  old  homestead,  "  Pleasant  Hill,"  in  Warren 
county,  in  17S1,  and  died  in  1S58,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  His 
wife,  jane  A.  Hawkins,  was  born  in  1784  and  died  in  1S75.  Col. 
Hawkins  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
for  fifty  j'ears  was  a  trustee  of  that  institution.  He  was  a  lawyer  and 
a  political  leader.  He  served  many  terms  in  the  assembly  and  was 
prominent  in  all  internal  improvement  movements  in  his  count)-  and 
state.  He  spent  much  time  on  his  plantation  and  was  greatlj'  inter- 
ested in  agriculture.  He  had  six  sons  and  five  daughters,  viz.: 
James  B.  Hawkins,  who  married  Ariella  Alston,  and  resides  in  Mata- 
gorda county,  Tex.,  where  since  the  war  he  has  converted  his  large 
sugar  plantation  into  a  stock  farm.  Frank  Hawkins,  who  was  born 
in  1815,  and  is  living  at  Winona,  Montgomer}' count)'.  Miss.,  where  he 
is  engaged  in  planting.  John  U.  Hawkins,  born  February  5,  1821,  a 
resident  of  New  Orleans,  a  cotton  factor  and  a  large  and  successful 
planter  in  Mississippi.  Philemon  B.  Hawkins,  born  May  ii,  1S23,  and 
died  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  January  2,  i8gi.  Dr.  Alexander  B. 
Hawkins,  born  January  25,  1S25;  he  practiced  his  profession  some 
years  in  Warren  and  Franklin  counties,  and  then  moved  to  Florida, 
where  he  became  largely  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  was 
eminently  successful  as  a  planter  and  in  business  affairs.  The 
daughters  were:  Ann,  who  married  Col.  W.  W.  Young,  of  Vir- 
ginia; Lucy,  who  became  the  wife  of  T.  Kean,  of  Newbern,  who  after 
her  death  moved  to  LaGrange,  Tenn.;  Mary,  who  married  P.  E.  A. 
Jones,  of  Granville  county,  N.  C;  X'irginia,  who  married  William  J. 
Andrews  of  Edgecombe,  one  of  whose  sons  being  Col.  Alexander  B. 
Andrews,  vice-president  of  the  R.  &  D.  R.  R.  system;  and  Jane  A. 
Hawkins,  who  did  not  marry. 

The  third  son  of  Col.  John  I).  1  lawkins  and  Jane  was  William  J. 
Hawkins,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county.  May  27,  i8iq.  He  en- 
tered the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1837,  but  in  1839  he  left  that 
institution,  and  entered  William  and  Mary  college,  in  Virginia,  where 
he  graduated  in  1840.  Thence  he  went  to  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  graduated  in  the  medical  department  in  1S42.  Set- 
tling at  Ridgeway,  N.  C,  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home,  he  practiced  his 
profession  for  several  years,  displaying  rare  skill  and  unusual  talent. 
In  1855  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  railroad 
company,  and  in  this  position,  his  executive  ability  and  capacity  for  the 
management  of  business  at  once  attracted  attention.  He  continued 
in  the  presidency  of  that  company  (except  for  the  space  of  a  year  and 
a  half  I,  until  October,  1875,  when  he  retired  on  account  of  the  con<li- 
tion  of  his  health.  His  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  company, 
with  the  limited  facilities  and  unlimited  difficulties  of  the  memorable 
days  of  the  war,  called  forth  the  highest  encomiums,  and  his  acknowl- 
edged abilities  and  decided  southern  attachment  caused  the  Confed- 


330  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

erate  authorities  frequently  to  aslc  his  aid.  He  strained  every  nerve 
to  render  service  to  the  Confederate  cause,  and  his  railroad  line, 
which  was  an  important  link  in  transportation,  was  maintained  in  the 
highest  state  of  efficiency  that  the  circumstances  permitted.  In  1S70 
he  founded  the  Citizens'  bank  of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  under  his  man- 
agement it  has  ever  been  one  of  the  most  successful  banking  institu- 
tions of  the  south.  He  selected  Col.  William  E.  Anderson  for  its 
president,  but  on  Col.  Anderson's  death  in  1890,  he  himself  took  the 
position.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  university, 
and  he  has  warmly  promoted  all  plans  for  the  advancement  of  that 
institution. 

Always  cool  and  self-poised,  cautious  and  clear-headed,  deliberate 
in  council  but  firm  when  a  conclusion  had  been  reached,  gifted  with 
quick  perceptions  and  possessing  a  remarkably  sound  judgment.  Dr. 
Hawkins  combines  those  elements  that  have  entered  into  the  charac- 
ter of  the  distinguished  members  of  the  family  in  past  generations, 
and  which  would  have  assured  him  conspicuous  success  in  any  de- 
partment of  activity  that  he  might  have  chosen.  His  achievements 
as  a  railroad  manager,  especially  in  the  difficult  time  of  the  war,  and 
his  success  in  the  administration  of  the  Citizens'  bank,  and  the  high 
esteem  in  which  his  judgment  is  held  bj^  business  men,  are  evidences 
of  mental  scope  and  intellectual  power  equal  to  any  undertaking  in 
ordinary  life.  His  tastes  did  not  lead  him  to  take  part  in  the  scramble 
for  office,  and  though  always  interested  in  political  contests,  he  has 
held  no  official  station  in  government.  But  he  has  always  exerted  an 
influence  in  public  affairs  which  has  ever  proven  beneficial  to  his  state 
and  been  of  advantage  to  the  people. 

On  January  4,  1844,  Dr.  Hawkins  married  Mary  Alethea  Clark 
(daughter  of  David  Clark,  Esq.,  of  Halifax  county,  N.  C),  who  died 
on  the  19th  of  September,  1850,  leaving  two  sons,  Colin  M.  Hawkins, 
born  December  26,  1846,  now  a  citizen  of  Raleigh;  president  of  the 
Raleigh  Gas  &  Electric  company,  of  the  North  Carolina  Phos- 
phate company,  the  Citizens'  Trust  company,  and  a  director  in 
the  Citizens'  National  bank,  and  Marmaduke  J.  Hawkins,  born  Sep- 
tember 9,  1850,  a  resident  of  Ridgeway,  N.  C,  and  a  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession. On  December  27,  1855,  Dr.  Hawkins  married  a  second  time, 
Lucy  N.  Clark,  who  died  October  g,  1867,  leaving  two  daughters, 
Louisa,  who  married  William  McGee,  Esq.,  a  merchant  of  lialeigh, 
and  Alethea,  who  married  Mr.  J.  M.  Lamar,  a  merchant  of  Monti- 
cello,  Fla.  On  the  the  12th  da}'  of  May,  1869,  Dr.  Hawkins  married 
a  third  time,  Mary  A.  White,  the  daughter  of  Andrew  B.  White,  of 
Pottsville,  Penn.     They  have  cme  daughter,  Lucy  C.  Hawkins. 

DOLPHIN  ALSTON  DAVIS. 

Few  men  in  western  North  Carolina  have  lived  a  more  useful  and 
exemplary  life  than  did  Dolphin  Alston  Davis.  He,  in  his  lifetime, 
set  an  example  well  worthy  of  imitation,  one  which  may  be  regarded 
as  a  beneficence  to  his  fellow  citizens.     Mr.   Davis  was  born   in  Fay- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  33 1 

etteville,  N.  C,  in  July,  1S02.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Halifax 
county,  \^a.,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  taking  part 
in  the  famous  batttle  of  Kings  Mountain.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  his  father  settled  in  Fayetteville  and  married  Ann  Steven- 
son, a  daughter  of  one  of  the  Scotch  emigrants  who  came  to  Cape  Fear 
shortly  after  the  battle  of  Culloden.  The  fruits  of  that  marriage 
were  five  sons  and  three  daughters.  Dolphin  A.  Davis  was  the 
youngest  son  and  next  to  the  youngest  child.  Both  of  his  parents 
were  devout  and  religious  people,  and  his  father  was  long  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Davis  lost  his  parents  when 
he  was  but  a  j'outh,  as  he  was  sixteen  years  old  when  his  father  died 
and  one  j'car  later  the  death  of  his  mother  occurred.  The  estate 
left  him  was  but  small  and  the  inheritance  of  a  Christian  father's 
blessing,  his  exemplary  life  and  his  blameless  character  was  a  legacy 
more  precious  and  valuable  than  gold  —  which  contributed  more  to 
the  development  of  his  manly  characteristics  than  material  wealth 
could  do.  His  education  was  limited,  probably  owing  to  the  early 
death  of  his  parents.  He  enjoyed,  however,  the  advantage  of  the 
best  schools  and  academies  of  those  days  by  which  he  attained  a 
good  English  education.  At  the  death  of  his  father,  the  son  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  in  the  Fayetteville  branch  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States.  In  May,  1825,  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Fayetteville,  and 
spent  twelve  years  in  pursuit  of  agriculture.  In  1837  he  was  elected 
cashier  of  the  branch  bank  of  Cape  Fear  at  Salisbury,  and  in  the 
same  year  removed  to  this  city  with  his  wife  and  two  children. 

For  several  years  before  his  removal  from  Fayetteville.  Mr.  Davis 
had  been  a  magistrate  and  the  financial  agent  of  Cumberland  county. 
He  was  soon  chosen  to  the  same  position  in  Rowan  county.  His  ac- 
curacy, his  integrity  and  ability  soon  won  for  him  the  confidence  of 
his  fellow  citizens,  and  there  was  scarcely  an  enterprise  originated  in 
which  his  services  were  not  demanded.  He  became  a  stockholder 
in  the  Salisbury  cotton  mills,  a  director  of  the  Salisbury  and  Taj^- 
lorsville  plank  road  company,  a  director  of  the  North  Carolina  rail- 
road company',  chairman  of  the  special  court,  warden  of  the  poor  and 
county  commissioner,  holding  the  last  office  to  his  death.  To  his 
prudence  and  sagacity  was  due  for  many  years  the  safe  condition  of 
the  finances  of  Rowan  county.  He  was  ever  a  friend  and  promoter 
of  schools  and  a  higher  education,  and  to  his  wisdom  and  foresight 
was  due  the  advantageous  management  of  the  Rowan  school  fund 
prior  to  the  war.  He  was  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  Davidson  col- 
lege, and  a  member  of  the  executive  and  finance  committee  of  the 
college.  His  counsel  and  management  helped  to  tide  over  the  col- 
lege through  many  shoals  and  quicksands.  He  was  able  to  provide 
for  his  family  liberally,  and  gave  them  all  a  finished  education.  To 
the  Davidson  college,  to  which  he  so  generously  and  prudently  lent 
his  aid  and  influence,  he  sent  his  four  sons,  and  they  were  all  gradu- 
ated from  that  college.  Mr.  Davis,  in  his  lifetime,  showed  his  adap- 
tation to  all  the  business  situations  he  assumed,  yet  his  efficiency  and 
success  as  a  financier  marked   him  specially  as  an  adept.     For  over 


332  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

fiftj' years  he  was  in  the  banking  business,  and  when  in  1S64  or  1S65, 
the  branch  bank  of  Cape  Fear,  at  Salisbury,  of  which  he  had  re- 
mained cashier  from  the  first,  was  discontinued,  Mr.  Davis  estabhshed 
the  private  bank  of  D.  A.  Davis,  which  he  continued  until  his  death. 
His  moral  and  religious  character  was  upon  an  exalted  bqsis.  In  a 
private  letter  to  a  friend  he  wrote:  "  If  I  am  a  Christian,  I  owe  it  under 
God,  to  the  precepts  and  examples  of  a  pious  father  who  was  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  for  many  years,  as  well  as  the  pray- 
ers of  a  mother,  whose  constant  practice  it  was  to  spend  a  season  of 
private  prayer  for  her  children  and  family  every  night.  If  I  could 
have  in  me  any  love  of  country,  I  have  justly  inherited  it  from  my 
father,  whose  life  was  jeoparded  in  the  Revolution  to  free  his  coun- 
try from  a  foreign  yoke.  And  as  I  am  a  Presbyterian,  I  am  justly  en- 
titled to  mjf  predilections,  as  I  am  descended  directly  on  the  mater- 
ternal  side  from  the  Scottish  Covenanters." 

At  the  age  of  twenty  years,  Mr.  Davis  became  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Faj'ettevllle,  and  in  a  short  time  was  or- 
dained to  the  eldership  in  this  church.  On  removing  his  family  to 
Salisbury  In  1837,  he  and  his  wife  were  two  weeks  later  received  into 
the  communion  of  the  Salisbury  Presbyterian  church.  In  December, 
1839,  he  was  elected  an  elder  in  this  church  and  served  in  that  capa- 
city till  his  death.  Mr.  Davis  often  represented  his  church  in  the 
presbytery,  the  synod  and  the  general  assembly.  Many  years  ago 
he  was  made  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  session.  As  treasurer,  he  had 
the  management  of  the  funds  of  the  church  and  the  supervision  of 
the  property  connected  with  it.  These  duties  he  performed  faith- 
fully to  the  last.  He  lived  to  see  his  eight  children  members  of  the 
church  of  their  fathers,  and  all  of  them  but  one  survived  him.  Two 
sons  and  one  grandson  are  faithful  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  one  son  a  ruling  elder  in  the  church.  Rev.  John  W. 
Davis,  one  of  his  sons  Is  a  faithful  misslonar}'  In  Soo  Chou,  China, 
and  the  children  then  surviving  were  all  but  him  permitted  to  stand 
around  the  death-bed  of  their  father  and  receive  his  blessing.  Mr. 
Davis  died  December  14,  1881.  In  1849  Mr.  Davis  became  a  Master 
Mason  and  in  1850  he  was  exalted  to  the  degree  of  Roj'al  Arch.  Mr. 
Davis  had  strong  and  marked  characteristics,  his  leading  traits  being 
decision,  order  and  system  in  business.  In  his  attachments  he  was 
constant  and  affectionate,  traits  which  shone  out  In  his  relations  of 
husband,  father  and  friend.  It  Is  worthy  of  mention,  that  his  son, 
Mr.  O.  D.  Davis  has  ably  and  successfully  followed  in  man^-  of  the  po- 
sitions vacated  by  the  death  of  his  father  and  has  continued  the  es- 
tablished banking  business  of  his  father.  He  was  born  In  Rowan 
county,  N.  C,  February  27,  1851,  and  graduated  with  honors  from 
Davidson  college  In  1S73.  He  taught  for  one  year  and  then  went  to 
the  business  college,  at  Poughkeepsle,  N.  Y.,  where  he  graduated  in 
November,  1874.  Returning  home  he  was  made  cashier  of  the  pri- 
vate bank  of  his  father,  at  Salisbury,  remaining  as  such  till  his  father's 
death.  Immediately  after  this,  he  and  Mr.  Samuel  H.  Wile}-  estab- 
lished a  private  bank,  doing  business  as  Davis  &  Wile}-,  bankers,  till 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  T,^^ 

Jul}'  1,  18S9,  when  they  associated  some  of  the  prominent  business 
men  of  Salisbur)-  with  tliem  and  established  Davis  &  Wiley  bank, 
Mr.  Samuel  H.  Wiley  being  president,  and  Mr.  Davis  the  cashier,  the 
institution  being  a  state  bank,  and  it  is  still  doing  a  successful  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Davis  has  for  years  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  which  he  has  been  an  elder  for  eleven  3'ears.  He  has  for 
about  the  same  time  been  treasurer  of  the  invested  funds  of  the 
church.  He  was  town  treasurer  of  Salisbury  for  three  years,  and  is 
one  of  the  substantial  citizens  highly  respected  in  the  community  in 
which  he  resides.  Mr.  Davis  was  united  in  marriage,  May  5,  1880, 
with  Miss  May,  the  daughter  of  J.  M.  McCorkle,  deceased,  who  in  his 
lifetime  was  a  prominent  lawj-er  in  Salisbury.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Davis 
have  three  children. 

SAMUEL  H.  WILEY. 

Samuel  H.  Wiley,  Esq.,  of  Salisbury,  is  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  prominent  of  bank  presidents  and  business  men  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  North  Carolina.  His  parents  were  Shannon  and  Nancy 
(Millis)  Wiley,  and  the  father  was  a  nephew  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 
He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  of  Scottish  ancestry.  The 
mother  was  of  French  descent,  her  parents  being  of  a  family  of  ex- 
iled Huguenots.  The  father  reached  the  age  of  seventy-seven,  and 
the  mother  lived  till  she  was  eighty-five.  Both  parents  were  univer- 
sally respected  wherever  known.  Samuel  H.  W^iley  received  a  thor- 
ough literary  education  at  the  classical  school  of  E.  W.  Caruthers 
and  at  the  Caldwell  .institute,  then  among  the  foremost  educational 
institutions  in  the  state.  Among  his  schoolmates  were  Col.  Julius  A. 
Gray,  Gov.  A.  M.  Scales  and  other  characters  who  have  risen  to  emi- 
nence. Moved  by  a  laudable  ambition  Mr.  W^iley  was  destined  for 
success  in  life.  By  teaching  school  he  obtained  the  means  of  com- 
pleting his  education.  As  a  teacher  he  was  faithful,  instructive,  and 
on  completing  a  classical  course  the  degree  of  master  of  arts  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  After 
studying  civil  engineering  under  Gen.  J.  F.  Gilmer,  Mr.  Wiley  served 
for  some  time  as  a  surveyor  of  public  lands  in  the  west.  W^ithout 
solicitation  on  his  part  he  was  appointed  collector  of  internal  revenue 
of  North  Carolina  in  1865,  and  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  satis- 
faction to  the  public,  held  the  position  till  1872,  when  he  resigned 
that  he  might  give  a  more  undivided  attention  to  his  own  private 
business. 

Although  Mr.  Wiley  has  never  been  a  politician,  nor  a  candidate 
for  office,  he  has  filled  several  positions  of  trust  with  signal  ability. 
He  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  largely  interested  in  various  finan- 
cial and  industrial  enterprises  and  has  always  given  freely  of  his  time 
and  resources  to  the  material  upl)uilcling  of  his  town  and  section.  He 
is  the  president  of  the  Davis  «!<:  Wiley  bank  of  Salisbury,  and  is  vice- 
president  and  the  largest  stockholder  in  the  Salisbury  cotton  mills. 
He   is  treasurer  of  the  North  Carolina  steel  and  iron  company  at 


334  NORTH  CARULINA. 

Greensboro,  N.C.;  a  director  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad 
company;  a  director  of  the  Salisbury  water  works  com^sany;  a  director 
of  the  Salisbury  gas  company  as  well  as  of  the  Connelly  Springs  com- 
pany, the  Yadkin  railroad  company,  the  North  Carolina  Bessemer 
company;  trustee  and  treasurer  of  Davidson  college;  men\ber  of  the 
finance  committee  of  the  North  Carolina  railroad  company,  of  which 
he  has  been  chairman  for  fourteen  years.  All  these  as  well  as  other 
similar  positions  are  evidences  of  the  esteem  and  confidence  his  fel- 
low citizens  repose  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity.  Mr.  Wiley  has  been 
instrumental  in  the  development  of  the  new  celebrated  Cranberry  and 
Ore  Hill  iron  properties.  In  1861,  Mr.  Wiley  was  married  to  Miss 
Miriam  C.  Murdock,  who  with  five  children,  the  fruit  of  this  union, 
still  lives  to  bless  his  home.  Mr.  Wiley  has  been  an  extensive  trav- 
eler both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  He  is  thoroughly  well  in- 
formed on  all  subjects  of  general  interest,  and  throughout  his  useful 
and  active  career,  has  ever  been  a  warm  friend  and  supporter  of  edu- 
cational and  religious  institutions.  He  has  been  a  lifelong  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Salisbury,  in  which  he  has  been  a  ruling 
elder  for  many  years.  Perhaps  the  most  important  achievements  of 
Mr.  W^iley's  life  were  the  success  of  his  efforts  in  conjunction  with 
those  of  Col.  A.  B.  Anderson,  of  Raleigh,  in  the  construction  and  com- 
pletion of  the  W^estern  North  Carolina  and  Yadkin  railroads. 

COL.  JAMES  G.  BURR 

is  a  native  of  W^ilmington  and  has  resided  in  that  city  the  whole  of 
his  life.  He  married  Miss  Many  Anna  Berry  of  the  same  cit}',  a  de- 
scendant of  Chief-Justice  Charles  Berry,  who  held  office  under  the 
Colonial  government;  she  was  also  a  niece  of  Admiral  John  Ancrum 
Winslow,  of  Alabama  fame,  and  who  was  also  a  native  of  Wilming- 
ton. He  had  issue  three  sons  and  four  daughters,  but  only  four 
children  are  now  living.  Col.  Burr  has  held  many  positions  of  trust 
and  honor  under  the  government.  In  1848,  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Taylor,  postmaster  of  Wilmington,  was  removed  by  Presi- 
dent Pierce  for  political  reasons  solely,  being  a  whig,  and  retired  from 
office  with  the  reputation  of  having  made  one  of  the  most  efficient 
officers  the  city  has  ever  had.  In  1853  he  was  appointed  teller  in  the 
bank  of  Cape  Fear,  an  institution  having  a  capital  of  one  million  and 
a  half  dollars,  with  seven  branches  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  and 
in  1861,  on  the  death  of  the  cashier,  was  elected  to  fill  that  vacancy 
which  he  had  held  until  1866,  when  the  bank  went  into  bankruptcy, 
having  been  ruined  by  the  war.  He  was  a  director  and  acting  presi- 
dent of  the  Wilmington  &  Manchester  railroad  from  i860  to  1873. 
In  1866  was  elected  one  of  the  aldermen  of  the  city,  and  by  a  stand- 
ing resolution  of  the  board,  acting  mayor  during  the  absence  of  that 
officer;  was  a  state  director  of  the  insane  asylum  at  Raleigh,  and  for 
nearly  twenty-five  years  a  vestryman  of  St.  James  church  in  this  city. 
Early  in  the  war  he  was  commissioned  by  Gov.  Vance,  colonel  of  the 
Seventh   regiment  state  guards,  and   though   not   liable   to   military 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  335 

duty,  he  accepted  the  position,  and  with  his  regiment,  was  appointed 
to  the  defense  of  the  city  of  Wihnington.  At  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Fisher,  he  was  ordered  to  its  defense,  but  had  no  chance  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  affairs  as  Gen.  Bragg  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  attack 
the  enemy's  intrenchments.  On  the  evacuation  of  Wihiiington,  he 
marched  with  his  regiment  to  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  served  on  the  staff 
of  Gov.  Vance,  who  sent  him,  with  ex-Govs.  Swain  and  Graham,  to 
meet  Gen.  Sherman  and  surrender  the  city,  which  they  satisfactorily 
accomplished.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Wilmington, 
where  he  has  since  resided.  Col.  Burr  possesses  a  vigorous  mind  and 
an  intellect  of  a  high  order.  As  a  writer  and  lecturer  he  is  surpassed 
by  few.  In  him  is  combined  that  rare  faculty  of  uniting  pathos  with 
wit,  one  moment  holding  his  audience  in  tears,  the  next  convulsed 
with  laughter.  Generous  to  a  fault,  his  heart  as  trusting  as  a  child's, 
is  ever  read}'  to  respond  to  the  cry  of  distress,  like  his  purse  which  is 
always  open  to  those  who  need.  A  gentleman  of  the  Cape  Fear, 
brave,  chivalrous  and  courtly.  North  Carolina  may  well  be  proud  of 
her  sons.      * 

GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS. 

Among  the  men  of  North  Carolina,  who  have  achieved  success  in 
business  circles,  appears  the  subject  of  this  mention.  Mr.  George  \V. 
Williams,  a  native  of  this  state,  was  born  in  Chatham  county,  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1831.  He  spent  his  early  life  in  his  native  county,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  schools  of  the  state  and  at  the  hands  of 
private  tutors,  but  was  denied  the  advantages  of  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion. He  first  entered  business  near  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  in  a  small 
wa}-,  in  Januarj',  1852,  conducting  a  general  merchandise  store  which 
he  carried  on  successfully  until  1853  when  he  was  offered  the  advant- 
age of  a  partnership  with  his  elder  brother,  Mr.  John  D.  Williams, 
now  president  of  the  bank  of  Fayetteville  which  he  accepted,  the 
firm  being  known  as  G.  W.  Williams  &  Co.  Mr.  Williams  assumed 
the  management  of  the  business  and  conducted  it  until  the  early  part 
of  1866,  when  he  connected  himself  with  Capt.  David  Murchison  and 
became  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Williams  &  Murchison  of 
Wilmington.  His  connection  with  Capt.  Murchison  in  all  his  success- 
ful transactions  is  well  known  and  further  mention  of  them  can  be 
found  ir^  the  sketch  of  Capt.  Murchison  which  appears  elsewhere  in 
this  work.  On  the  death  of  Capt.  Murchison  in  1882,  Mr.  Williams 
was  appointed  administrator  of  the  immense  estate  and  by  his  judi- 
cious management  saved  the  heirs  many  thousands  of  dollars.  He  has 
continued  the  business  built  up  by  the  firm,  ha\ing  after  the  death 
of  Capt.  Murchison  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother.  Col.  K.  M. 
Murchison,  continuing  the  business  under  the  old  name.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams is  also  senior  member  of  a  firm  which  conducts  one  of  the 
largest  wholesale  grocery  houses  in  the  state,  and  he  took  an  active  part 
in  the  organization  of  the  bank  of  New  Hanover  of  Wilmington,  of 
which  he  is  vice-president   and  director.     Mr.  Williams   was  happily 


336  NUKTII  CAROLINA. 

wedded  to  Miss  Kate  A.,  daughter  of  D.  Murchison,  and  the  sis- 
ter of  Capt.  D.  R.  Murchison,  on  April  12,  1S54.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  by  five  sons  and  three  daughters  now  living.  Mr.  Williams 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  has  been  a  lifelong  com- 
municant of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  has  never  taken  any  active 
part  in  politics  or  sought  public  honors,  preferring  to  give  his  whole 
attention  to  his  business  interests.  He  has  shown  himself  to  be  a 
man  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  abilit}-,  and  during  his  long 
residence  in  Wilmington,  has  b}'  his  honesty  and  uprightness  gained 
many  warm  personal  friends  and  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  that 
know  him. 

EUGENE  A.  EBERT. 

One  of  the  leading  and  most  enterprising  business  men  of  Forsyth 
county,  N.  C,  is  Eugene  A.  Ebert.  Mr.  Ebert  is  a  native  of  Salem, 
N.  C,  having  first  seen  the  light  there.  May  27,  1850.  He  left  school 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  at  that  time  entered  upon  his  mercantile 
career  as  a  clerk  in  a  Salem  store.  He  remained  with  one  firm  for 
ten  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  embarked  in  business 
for  himself,  and  for  eight  years  successfully  conducted  a  large  busi- 
ness. During  the  last  two  years  of  this  time  he  was  cashier  in  the 
internal  revenue  office.  Selling  out  his  store,  he  engaged  in  the 
tobacco  business,  and  still  is  interested  in  that  leading  industry.  In 
1888,  at  the  organization  of  the  Forsyth  Savings  bank,  Mr.  Ebert  was 
elected  its  president,  and  still  holds  that  office.  He  is  secretary  of 
the  Winston  Development  company,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Roanoke  &  .Southern  railroad  company.  In  1877  he  was  happily 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Dora  Starbuck,  daughter  of  D.  H.  Star- 
buck,  of  Winston,  N.  C,  and  to  their  union  three  children  have  been 
born,  one  of  whom  survives,  namely,  Ellen.  Christian  Ebert,  the 
father  of  the  above,  was  born  in  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  in  181 2.  He 
was  a  hatter  by  trade.  He  married  Miss  Lucinda  Rothass  in  1838, 
and  became  the  father  of  four  children,  two  of  whom  now  survive 
him:  Leonora  A.,  wife  of  John  I.  Nissen,  of  Salem,  and  E.  A.  Ebert. 
The  father  of  these  children  was  a  son  of  Solomon  Ebert,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1775,  and  came  to  North  Carolina  with  his 
parents  when  a  youth.     He  died  in  1S38. 

HON.  DAVID  F.  CALDWELL. 

One  of  North  Carolina's  most  prominent  citizens  is  the  Hon. 
David  F.  Caldwell.  David  Franklin  Caldwell,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  Caldwell,  was  born  one  mile  west  of  the  cit}-  of  Greens- 
boro, N.  C,  Guilford  county,  on  the  5th  of  November,  1814.  His 
parents  removed  to  Greensboro  when  he  was  but  one  year  old,  and 
his  schoolastic  training  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  that  city.  For 
a  time  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm,  and  in  1841  left  the  farm  to 
enter  the   mercantile  business   in  Greensboro,  and  continued  in  that 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  337 

enterprise  until  1849.  In  1S48  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  state,  and  was  re-elected  for  five  successive  terms, 
only  retiring  in  1861.  In  i860  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  one 
year  later  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  practiced  at  Greensboro 
until  the  new  code  was  adopted,  when  he  abandoned  his  profession 
in  disgust.  In  1864  he  was  elected  county  attorney  and  served  until 
his  retirement  from  the  law.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional 
convention  of  1S65,  and  in  the  same  year  was  nominated  for  congress, 
but  was  counted  out  by  Gen.  Canby,  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  In  1872  he 
was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  nominated  Greeley  and  Brown 
for  the  presidency  and  vice-presidency,  respectively,  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  1879  was  sent  to  the  state  senate,  where  he  remained 
one  term,  and  in  the  same  \'ear  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee chosen  to  compromise  the  state  debt.  Mr.  Caldwell's  course 
as  a  member  of  the  legislature  was  dignified  and  able.  In  184S  he 
framed,  and  had  passed  a  tax  bill,  revolutionizing  the  tax  system  of 
the  state,  and  despite  the  bitterest  opposition,  finally  brought  his 
measure  into  so  great  favor  with  the  people  that  he  was  practically 
their  unanimous  choice  for  the  legislature  until  his  voluntary  retire- 
ment from  public  life.  He  was  more  than  prominent  in  the  organi- 
zation and  building  of  the  North  Carolina  railroad,  and  was  a  prime 
mover  in  the  establishment  of  the  Greensboro  &  Cheraw  and  Cape 
Fear  &  Yadkin  Valley  railroads. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  Mr.  Caldwell  was  engaged  in  a 
lucrative  law  practice  with  the  late  James  A.  Long.  He  was  opposed 
to  secession,  and  like  many  another  southerner  who  proved  loyal  to 
his  people  when  the  test  came,  yet  foresaw  too  far  into  the  future  to 
think  that  good  could  come  of  the  disruption  of  the  Union.  When 
his  state  seceded  David  Caldwell  went  with  the  majority,  and  in  1861 
enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army,  he  being  at  that  time  captain  of 
Senior  reserves,  but  owing  to  the  refusal  of  the  governor  to  issue  his 
commission,  he  served  as  a  private.  He  was  refused  a  captain's  com- 
mission because  of  his  previous  opposition  to  secession,  and  bctcause 
the  governor  of  the  state  had  doubts  of  his  loyalty.  Mr.  Caldwell 
proved  his  love  for  his  people,  and  his  name  was  vindicated  by  them 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
As  a  financier,  Mr.  Caldwell  is  able  and  safe.  He  has  large  landed 
interests,  is  a  stockholder  in  various  railroad  enterprises  of  the  state, 
and  is  extensively  interested  in  different  cotton  factories.  In  1889  he 
organized  the  bank  of  Guilford,  and  was  made  its  president,  an  office 
he  still  holds.  Thomas  Caldwell,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  the 
first  clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  Guilford  county,  having  been  first 
appointed  to  that  office  by  Judge  Duncan  Cameron,  at  Martinsville, 
in  i8o5.  For  more  than  fifty  years  he  discharged  the  duties  of  that 
important  office.  When  the  county  seat  was  changed  in  1808  from 
its  former  location  to  (Greensboro,  Thomas  Caldwell  bought  some 
property  in  the  now  thriving  city,  and  erected  the  first  brick  dw(;ll- 
ing  of  the  present  city.  His  family  moved  into  this  abode  in  1815, 
and  the  son,  David,  has  continued  to  reside  in  that  house  ever  since. 
B — 22 


338  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

As  a  boy,  David  Caldwell  was  not  vigorous  in  bod^'.  His  parents 
were  obliged  to  take  him  from  school  in  order  to  allow  him  to  recu- 
perate, and  he  was  placed  in  a  coach-shop  to  gain  strength  by  manual 
labor.  This  had  the  desired  effect.  His  first  appearance  In  political 
life  was  in  the  campaign  of  1840,  when  he  cast  his  first  vote  for 
"Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too."  He  is  a  man  of  magnificent  abilities, 
and  his  life  has  not  been  lived  "  apart  unto  himself,"  but  his  talents  and 
energies  have  been  directed  toward  the  upbuilding  of  his  state,  and 
the  uplifting  of  her  people. 

THOMAS    A.   GREEN, 

a  member  of  the  banking  house  of  Green,  Foy  &  Co.,  was  born  in 
Newbern,  N.  C,  June  25,  1846,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Annie  M. 
(Curtis)  Green,  both  of  Craven  county.  N.  C.  The  father  was  a  sea 
captain,  being  joint  owner  in  the  vessel  he  commanded,  which  was  in 
the  West  India  trade.  He  was  lost  at  sea  in  1852.  Our  subject  was 
raised  in  Newbern,  and  received  his  scholastic  trainmg  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  town.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  Mr.  Green  was 
"bound  out"  to  Mr.  Fred  Lane,  by  his  guardian,  A.  T.  Jerkins,  Esq., 
to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade.  On  the  14th  day  of  March,  1862,  the 
city  of  Newbern  was  captured  by  Gen.  Burnside,  and  on  that  day  he 
was  left  a  barefooted  and  bare-headed  boy,  without  a  penny  to  call  his 
own.  During  the  war  he  obtained  employment  at  such  odd  jobs  as 
he  could  pick  up,  and  in  1868,  having  saved  his  earnings,  he  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  business  with  Capt.  Gates,  the  firm  name  being 
Gates  &  Green.  In  1872  Mr.  Green  purchased  the  entire  business, 
which  he  successfully  conducted  until  1SS5.  In  th^  latter  year  he  be- 
came associated  in  the  banking  business  with  the  present  firm  of 
Green,  Foy  &  Co.,  he  controlling  a  one-half  interest.  Early  in  life 
he  was  thrown  on  his  own  resources,  and  the  reputation  he  has  won 
as  an  able  business  man  is  vastly  more  to  his  credit  than  if  he  had  not 
started  life  as  a  drayman  in  the  streets  of  the  city  where  he  is  now 
recognized  as  its  leading  banker,  and  where  for  years  he  has  con- 
ducted the  largest  mercantile  establishment  in  the  vicinity.  Mr.  Green 
was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  establishment  of  the  Cotton  Ex- 
change at  Newbern,  and  has  been  treasurer  of  that  institution  since 
its  organization  in  1879.  He  has  also  served  as  president  of  the  New- 
bern board  of  trade.  He  is  now  the  president  of  the  Neuse  &  Trent 
River  Steamboat  company,  and  at  one  time  was  president  of  the 
Newbern  Cotton  Mill  company.  Mr.  Green  is  a  member  of  St.  John 
lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  which  he  is  past  master  and  present  treas- 
urer. He  is  a  director  in  the  Oxford  orphan  asylum,  at  Oxford,  N.C., 
and  has  served  as  an  alderman  of  his  city.  He  is  the  oldest  living  fire- 
man in  the  city,  and  has  been  chief  of  the  department.  A  trustee  of 
the  Newbern  academy,  he  was  one  of  its  principal  supporters,  and 
has  ever  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  people.  He  is 
one  of  the  largest  tax  payers  in  the  city.  In  1868  he  was  married  to 
Miss   Harriet   H.  Meadows,  daughter  of  J.  A.  Meadows.     The  mar- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  339 

riage  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  six  children,  of  whom  two  sur- 
vive, namely:  Maud  Louisa  and  Clara  Maria.  The  family  are 
communicants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  he  has 
been  chairman  of  the  board  of  stewards  of  that  church  for  several 
years. 

CLAUDIUS  E.  FOY, 

a  member  of  the  banking  firm  of  Green,  Foy  &  Co.,  of  Newbern, 
N.  C,  is  a  descendant  of  an  old  French  Huguenot  family  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  born  in  Jones  county,  N.  C,  on  the  loth  day  of 
May,  1850,  his  father,  Charles  H.  Foy,  being  also  a  native  of  that 
county,  born  September  20,  1S16.  He  was  a  prominent  planter  of 
that  section,  a  colonel  in  the  state  militia  and  a  leading  member  of 
the  whig  party,  taking  an  active  interest  in  all  questions  of  public  im- 
provenients.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  south,  and  lived  within  a  half  a  mile  of  Lee's  Chapel 
church,  where  he  held  his  membership.  Mr.  Foy  was  very  fond  of 
societ}-,  and  he  entertained  his  friends  with  the  old-time  southern 
hospitality.  His  first  marriage  was  to  Miss  Elizabeth  A.,  daughter  of 
Col.  John's.  Smith,  of  Newbern,  and  occurred  October  13,  1840.  She 
died  July  30,  1843,  without  children.  Mr.  Foy  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  P.,  daughter  of  John  Oliver,  of  Jones  county,  on  the  20th  of 
June,  1S49,  and  this  union  was  blessed  with  the  following  children: 
James  O.,  born  April  4,  1852,  now  editor  of  the  Winston  Tzvin  City 
Daily  Sentinel;  Laura  E.,  born  February  7,  1854,  married  James  C. 
Holland,  of  Onslow  county;  Charles  H.,  born  November  2,  1856,  a 
prosperous  farmer  of  Jones  county,  and  Claudius  E.  Foy.  The 
father  died  August  20,  1856,  having  contracted  a  fatal  illness  while 
canvassing  Jones  county  as  a  candidate  for  the  state  legislature.  His 
wife,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Piney  Grove  Baptist  church  of  Jones 
county,  and  a  most  devout  woman,  died  February  23,  1863. 

The  paternal  grandparents  of  Claudius  E.  Foy  were  Enoch  Foy 
who  was  the  son  of  James  F"oy  and  Elizabeth  Ward,  his  wife,  who 
was  born  in  Onslow  county  on  May  17,  1777.  Enoch  Foy  moved 
to  Jones  county  and  settled  on  the  south  side  of  Trent  river,  about 
fifteen  miles  above  Newbern.  He  became  an  e.xtensive  planter  and 
large  slaveowner.  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina  says  that 
he  was  nine  times  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  from  Jones 
county  between  the  years  1803  and  1838;  five  times  a  member  of  the 
house  of  commons  and  four  times  a  member  of  the  senate.  He  be- 
longed to  the  whig  party.  His  wife,  the  mother  of  Charles  H.  Foy, 
was  Phcebe  Sanderson,  daughter  of  Joseph  Sanderson.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  at  Lee's  chapel, 
in  Jones  county,  and  died  October  6,  1846.  James  Foy,  the  father  of 
Enoch  Foy  and  the  paternal  great-grandfather  of  C.  E.  Foy,  was  the 
son  of  John  P"oy,  a  French  Huguenot,  who  with  a  number  of  others 
came  to  this  country  from  France  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  fleeing  to  escape  the  terrible  persecution  which  they  were 


340  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

subjected  to  in  their  native  land.  He  first  settled  on  the  south  side 
of  Trent  river,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Pembroke  Ferry,  near 
Newbern,  and  afterwards  moved  to  Onslow  county,  on  Hick's  run. 
The  wife  of  James  Foy  was  Elizabeth  Ward,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  church  of  England.  James  Foy  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
for  American  independence  and  was  in  the  battles  of  Cowpens.  Kings 
Mountain,  Guilford  Court  House  and  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  at  which 
place  he  was  wounded  in  the  wrist.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five  years.  American  history  says  of  the  French  Protestants  or 
Huguenots:  "  No  better  class  of  emigrants  could  have  been  desired. 
They  represented  not  only  the  best  bone  and  sinew,  but  the  best  in- 
tellect and  conscience  of  France.  They  brought  with  them  that 
power  and  influence  which  springs  not  from  rank  or  mone}',  but  from 
character." 

John  Oliver,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  the  son 
of  James  Oliver  and  Macey  Brady,  his  wife,  and  was  born  January  19, 
I79y,  and  died  July  26,  1S63.  He  was  a  large  slave  owner  and  exten- 
sive planter  of  the  Piney  Grove  section  of  Jones  county.  He  mar- 
ried a  Mrs.  Penelope  Simmons,  ncc  Loftin,  and  the  widow  of  F.  G. 
Simmons,  Sr.,  of  Jones  county,  who  had  one  son,  F.  G.  Simmons,  for 
many  3'ears  a  prominent  planter  of  Jones  county,  and  now  a  resident 
of  Newbern.  He  is  the  father  of  ex-Congressman  F.  M.  Simmons, 
of  Winston,  N.  C.  Penelope  B.  Loftin,  wife  of  John  Oliver,  was  the 
daughter  of  Joseph  Loftin  and  Mary  Becton,  his  wife.  She  was  born 
February  24,  1805,  and  died  Octcber  24,  1872.  Their  four  children, 
whose  names  were  Harriet  C,  born  March  14,  1S35,  and  married 
Thomas  S.  Gillett,  died  July  30,  1S62;  Penelope  B.,  born  February  10, 
1840,  died  April  7,  1863;  Elizabeth  P.,  who  was  the  wife  of  Charles  H. 
Foy,  was  born  October  27,  183 1,  and  died  February  23,  1863;  Joseph 
John,  their  only  son,  was  born  May  13, 1842,  and  entered  the  Confeder- 
ate army,  July  i,  1862,  as  a  member  of  Company  K,  Sixty-first  regi- 
ment, North  Carolina  state  troops.  He  was  wounded  mortallj'  at 
the  battle  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  and  died  in  the  hospital  at  Peters- 
burg, October  29,  1864,  from  the  effects  of  his  wounds;  the  above 
mentioned  are  all  deceased.  Olivers,  a  postoffice  in  Jones  count}', 
was  named  in  honor  of  John  Oliver  and  is  situated  near  "his  old  home- 
stead. He  and  his  wife  were  consistent  members  of  the  Piney  Grove 
Baptist  church,  and  he  was  a  whig  in  politics. 

The  principal  of  this  biographical  mention,  Claudius  E.  Foy,  is  a 
native  of  Jones  county,  and  early  embarked  in  an  active  business 
life.  The  Civil  war  had  destroyed  everything  belonging  to  the  Foy 
family  with  the  exception  of  their  lands  in  Jones  county,  and  there 
was  nothing  left  to  work  with.  His  first  effort  was  as  a  clerk  in  a 
countr}'  store  for  Dr.  W.  H.  Barker,  of  Carolina  city,  Carteret  county, 
beginning  there  July  i,  1865,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  Subse- 
quently Dr.  Barker  removed  to  Swansboro,  in  Onslow  county,  in  the 
early  part  of  1866  where  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Robert  S.  Mc- 
Lean under  the  firm  name  of  Barker  &  Mcllean.  Mr.  Foy  was 
retained  in  their  employment  until  the  fall  of   1866,  when  on  account 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  341 

of  ill  health  he  had  to  give  up  his  position.  In  the  early  part  of  1S67 
he  came  to  Newbern  and  secured  a  clerkship  with  J.  A.  Bell,  general 
merchant,  and  remained  with  him  until  July  i,  1869,  when  at  the  age 
of  nineteen,  with  the  assistance  of  his  uncle  he  embarked  in  the 
general  mercantile  business  for  himself.  His  first  visit  to  New  York 
was  made  in  September,  1869,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  goods  for 
the  fall  trade.  He  then  entered  upon  the  career  which  has  since 
been  so  prosperous  and  honorable.  In  1871,  Mr.  I"oy  removed  his 
business  to  Polloksville  in  Jones  county  and  remained  there  until  Feb- 
ruarj',  1873,  when  he  returned  to  Newbern,  and  formed  a  copartner- 
ship with  Capt.  Thomas  Gates  for  the  prosecution  of  the  general 
mercantile  and  cotton  commission  business  under  the  firm  name  of 
Gates,  Foy  &  Co.  This  concern  existed  until  F"ebruary  13,  1880,  it 
having  met  with  marked  success.  At  this  time,  Mr.  Gates  retired 
from  the  firm,  and  Mr.  Foy  conducted  it  alone  under  the  firm  name 
of  C.  E.  Foy  &  Co.  until  January,  1885.  During  the  year  1884  he 
took  an  extensive  trip  throughout  the  west,  going  to  Denver,  Col., 
with  a  possible  view  of  locating  and  investing  in  business.  But  he 
decided  to  return  to  Newbern,  and  on  the  29th  of  January,  1885  the 
banking  house  of  Green,  Foy  &  Co.  was  organized  by  Thomas  A. 
Green  and  Claudius  E.  Foy,  F.  M.  Simmons  and  Clement  Manly. 
Messrs  Green  and  Foy  soon  afterward  purchased  the  entire  interest 
of  the  concern,  and  have  since  conducted  it  under  the  name  of  Green, 
Foy  &  Company. 

Mr.  Foy  has  ever  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  development  of 
Jones  county.  He  was  the  promoter  of  the  first  government  appro- 
priation in  1S79,  of  $7,000  for  the  improving  of  Trent  river,  and  was 
appointed  by  the  people  of  that  county  to  go  to  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  look  after  the  interests  of  their  section.  Up  to  this  time,  more 
than  $40,000  have  been  expended  under  the  direction  of  Gen.  Robert 
Ransom,  in  opening  up  the  river  to  navigation  from  its  mouth  to 
Trenton,  the  county  seat  of  Jones.  Mr.  Foj-  organized  the  Trent 
River  Transportation  company,  and  was  president  of  the  same  for 
several  years.  They  ran  a  regular  line  of  freight  and  passenger 
steamers  on  the  Trent  river.  Mr.  ?'oy  has  been  a  member  and  di- 
rector of  the  Newbern  cotton  and  grain  exchange  since  its  organiza- 
tion, and  is  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Newbern  board  of 
trade,  and  for  several  years  was  a  director  of  the  Atlantic  &  North 
Carolina  railroad.  He  was  the  promoter  of  the  East  Carolina  Land 
&  Railway  company,  which  had  for  its  object  the  building  of  a  rail- 
road from  Jacksonville,  Onslow  county,  to  Newbern.  The  charter 
was  sold  to  a  New  York  sj'ndicate  who  are  now  exgaged  in  con- 
structing the  road.  Mr.  Foy  is  a  director  in  this  company.  He  is 
prominently  identified  with  the  democratic  party,  and  is  one  of  its  ac- 
tive workers.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  Knights  of 
Honor,  .\merican  Legion  of  Honor  and  Chosen  I'riends.  On  the 
6th  day  of  July,  1871,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  form  a  marriage  alli- 
ance with  Miss  Agnes  C.  Paton,  a  native  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 
Her  father  was  David   Paton,  the  son  of  John  and   lilleanor   (Roper) 


342  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Paton,  the  latter  a  sister  of  Sir  Timothy  Roper,  of  England.  The 
father  of  John  Paton  was  also  named  David.  He  is  the  great-grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Foy,  and  his  wife  was  Eleanor  Campbell,  the  sister  of 
Lord  Campbell  of  Monzie  Castle,  and  one  of  the  oldest  families  in 
Scotland.  The  mother  of  Eleanor  Campbell  descended  from  the 
Earl  of  Breadalbine  of  Taymouth  Castle.  David  Paton,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Foy,  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Nicol,  the 
daughter  of  Andrew  Nicol,  Esq.,  of  Scotland,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  one  daughter,  Eleanor,  who  married  John  Wyld,  now  de- 
ceased. She  now  lives  at  Mount  Ellen,  near  Glasgow,  Scotland. 
Mrs.  Paton  died  in  Scotland,  and  Mr.  Paton  subsequently  came  to 
America,  making  a  prospecting  tour  through  the  United  States  and 
Canada. 

David  Paton  was  an  architect  by  profession,  and  while  in  New 
York,  just  on  the  eve  of  returning  to  Scotland,  he  was  engaged  by  a 
committee  from  North  Carolina  to  come  to  Raleigh  and  draw  the 
plans  for  the  new  state  capitol.  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina 
says  of  this  structure:  "That'  for  correctness  of  architecture  and 
perfect  adaptation  to  its  intended  purposes,  it  has  no  superior  in 
these  United  States."  While  living  in  Raleigh  during  the  course  of 
the  construction  of  this  capitol,  Mr.  Paton  met  Miss  Annie  B.  Farrow, 
a  daughter  of  Hezekiah  and  Theresa  (Jones)  Farrow,  of  Washington, 
N.  C,  and  made  her  his  wife.  Soon  after  this  they  went  to  Scotland, 
and  after  living  there  nine  years,  they  returned  to  this  country  and 
took  up  their  residence  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  He  was  a  professor  in 
the  American  architectutal  institute  at  Brooklyn  and  professor  on  the 
mechanical  institute  of  New  York  for  more  than  thirty  years.  His 
death  occurred  in  1883  and  that  of  his  wife  in  1S75.  To  his  second 
marriage  were  born  these  children:  Theresa  J.,  now  Mrs.  E.  Snedeker, 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  Hettie  S.,  wife  of  Horace  F.  Hopkins  and  John 
Paton,  of  the  same  city;]Sarah  D.;  Mrs.  N.  D.  Bush,  of  Nyack,  N.  Y.; 
Matildas.;  Mrs.  W.  Van  Gorden,  of  Newburg;  Mary  A.;  Mrs.  JohnO. 
Silvey,  of  Denver,  Col.,  and  Agnes  C,  wife  of  C.  E.  Foy,  of  Newbern, 
N.  C.  Mr.  Paton's  father  was  largely  interested  in  building  the  Dean 
bridge  across  the  Leith  near  Edinburgh.  Four  children  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foy.  They  are:  Claudius  B.,  eighteen  years 
of  age,  now  at  Major  Bingham's  military  school;  David  F.,  aged  fif- 
teen years;  Agnes  G.,  aged  thirteen  years,  and  Annie  E.,  aged  nine 
years.  The  last  three  are  attending  the  Newbern  collegiate  institute. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foy  are  active  and  valued  communicants  of  the  New- 
bern Presbyterian  church  in  which  he  is  an  elder. 

COL.  JOHN  W.  ALSPAUGH 

was  born  in  Forsyth  county,  in  Jul\%  1S31,  and  received  his  education 
mainly  through  his  own  efforts  at  Trinity  college,  N.  C,  graduating 
at  that  institution  with  distinction  in  1S55.  Leaving  the  farm  on 
which  he  had  been  reared,  he  came  to  Winston,  from  which  point  he 
went  to  Greensboro,  and  began  the  study  of  law  under  Hon.  I^ob- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  343 

ert  p.  Dick,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S56.  As  is  often  the  case 
with  young  men  who  have  been  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law,  and 
who  have  little  or  no  means,  he  sought  employment  which  he  might 
pursue  to  aid  him  in  accumulating  means  with  which  to  start  in  life, 
and  being  of  a  literary  turn  of  mind,  he  connected  himself  with  the 
JVcstcrn  Scnliiul,  and  soon  became  the  sole  editor,  publisher  and  pro- 
prietor of  that  so  well  and  favorably  known  weekly  newspaper  in 
North  Carolina.  As  editor  of  this  democratic  paper,  he  soon  brought 
himself  into  notice  throughout  the  state;  and  any  one  who  has  exam- 
ined the  old  files  of  the  Sciitiiicl,  published  previous  to,  and  during 
the  war,  will  testify  to  the  ability  with  which  he  maintained  the  cause 
of  the  south,  and  of  the  Confederacy  during  this  trying  period.  He 
remained  in  charge  of  the  editorial  chair  of  this  paper  until  1866, 
during  which  time  he  was  offered  the  editorial  control  of  the  North 
Carolina  Standard,  published  at  Raleigh,  and  of  the  Charlotte  Demo- 
crat, published  at  Charlotte,  N.  C.  After  retiring  from  the  active 
management  of  the  Sctitinal,  in  1866,  Col  Alspaugh  returned  to  the 
practice  of  the  law.  Establishing  an  office  in  Winston,  he  offered  his 
services  as  a  lawyer,  confining  his  practice  to  civil  causes.  In  the 
practice  of  law  he  set  out,  as  in  everything  else  he  has  undertaken, 
with  the  intention  to  succeed,  and  soon  by  close  application  to  busi- 
ness and  faithfulness  to  his  clients,  he  found  himself  supplied  with 
the  very  best  class  of  clients  which  the  country  afforded  and  a  large 
number  of  them.  His  business  continued  to  increase  year  after  year, 
and  no  lawyer  had  a  better  class  of  paying  business  than  he.  He  then 
conceived  that  the  necessities  of  the  community  in  this  section  of 
North  Carolina  demanded  niore  capital,  and  he  determined  to  with- 
draw from  the  practice  of  law  and  establish  a  National  bank  in 
Winston. 

During  his  experience  at  the  bar  Col.  Alspaugh  had  so  gained  the 
confidence  of  parties  who  had  money  to  invest  that  he  managed  the 
funds  of  many  capitalists  in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  conse- 
quently when  he  retired  from  the  law  to  take  up  banking  he  lirought 
to  bear  in  his  position  as  cashier  of  the  First  National  bank  of  Wins- 
ton, which  was  established  in  1S76,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000, 
and  now  increased  to  $200,000,  with  a  deposit  account  of  over  $300,000, a 
ripe  experience  and  a  fine  knowledge  of  business;  he  has  been  the  cash- 
ier of  this  bank  since  its  fcnindation  in  1876,  and  as  such  has  been 
largely  instrumental  in  aiding  in  the  establishment  of  many  of  the 
large  manufacturing  institutions  which  adorn  and  enrich  the  flourish- 
ing city  of  Winston.  Col.  Alspaugh  has  never  allowed  the  use  of  his 
name  in  connection  with  any  public  office,  with  the  exception  of  fill- 
ing for  five  years  the  jjosition  of  chief  clerk  of  the  North  Carolina 
senate,  and  being  mayor  and  commissioner  of  Winston  for  a  number 
of  times.  There  are  many  large  and  rich  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  the  city  of  Winston  in  which  Col.  Alspaugh  has  been  instru- 
mental in  having  brought  to  Winston,  and  in  aiding,  by  loaning 
monc}'  and  lending  the  proprietors  the  use  of  his  name  in  i)roruring 
money  to  successfully  operate.     There  is  not  a  railroad  running  into 


344  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Winston  which  has  not  had  the  benefit  of  his  time,  experience  and 
money  in  being  located  and  built  to  this  place.  Read}'  at  all  times, 
day  or  night,  to  lend  the  use  of  his  infiuence  and  his  money  to  do 
whatever  his  fellows  citizens  agree  upon  as  the  best  thing  to  be  done 
for  the  city  and  community,  it  might  justly  be  said  of  him  that  his 
native  county  seat  has  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  his  services  and 
to  wish  for  his  continued  prosperity  and  success.  No  one  man  has  done 
as  much  for  the  city  as  he,  and  though  advancing  in  years,  his  zeal 
for  the  welfare  of  Winston  has  not  in  the  least  abated,  and  his  fond- 
est wish  is  to  live  long  enough  to  see  Winston  the  largest  town  in 
North  Carolina,  as  she  is  already  the  most  progressive  and  flourishing. 

Another  quality  which  Col.  Alspaugh  possesses  has  made  his 
name  familiar  to  the  people  of  this  section;  he  is  one  of  the  most 
liberal  and  public-spirited  citizens  in  the  state.  There  is  not  a  school- 
house  nor  a  church  in  the  community  built  by  subscription,  to  which 
he  has  not  been  a  large  contributor.  And  the  North  Carolina  con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  well  know  the  fact,  that  but 
for  his  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  education,  his  energy  and  skill  in  the 
management  of  difihcult  affairs.  Trinity  college  now  the  pride  of  the 
church  and  the  coming  glory  of  the  state  would  have  been  numbered 
among  the  things  that  were.  Rallying  to  its  support  in  the  hour  of 
despair  when  almost  all  others  had  abandoned  it  to  a  thraldom  of 
debt  that  seemed  impossible  to  be  removed,  he  has  lived  to  see  the 
last  dollar  of  its  indebtedness  canceled  and  a  large  nucleus  of  en- 
dowment created,  the  college  thoroughly  reconstructed,  re-organized 
and  rapidly  growing  into  one  of  the  broadest  and  most  comprehen- 
sive universities  of  the  south,  and  it  can  be  truly  said  of  him  that  he 
has  never  "turned  his  face  from  any  poor  man,"  but  he  is  ready  at  all 
times  to  aid  any  deserving  person  or  object.  In  addition  to  other  en- 
terprises which  might  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  his  services 
is  the  origin  of  the  Winston  graded  school,  the  city  water  works,  and 
electric  lights.  Another  trait  of  his  character  which  has  so  endeared 
him  to  the  citizens  of  this  city  is  the  interest  which  he  has  always 
manifested  in  young  men.  He  can  count  by  the  score,  the  number 
of  young  men  whom  he  has  given  a  start  in  life,  either  by  giving 
them  employment,  lending  them  money  or  endorsing  for  them  to  en- 
able them  to  procure  money  with  which  to  open  a  business  for  them- 
selves; and  it  is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  that  notwithstanding  the  large 
number  of  persons  he  has  habitually  aided  in  this  way,  he  has  very 
rarely  ever  lost  a  dollar  by  this  course,  though  at  times  the  parties  he 
assisted  have  been  comparatively  strangers. 

Col.  Alspaugh  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  (Royal 
Arcanum)  and  encampment.  He  has  been  married  twice,  the  first 
time  in  1861,  to  Olivia  G.  Stedman,  who  died  in  1869.  There  were 
no  children  by  this  marriage.  He  married  again  in  1872,  to  Celeste 
Tucker,  daughter  of  Thomas  Tucker,  of  Iredell  county,  and  to  them 
have  been  born  three  children:  Emma  Celeste,  John  W.,  Jr.,  and 
Violet  G.,  all  very  interesting  and  bright  children.  Col.  Alspaugh's 
father,  the  Rev.  John   Alspaugh,  was  born  in  1S04,  and  is  still  living. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  345 

His  father  was  admitted  to  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  1S24,  and  continued  in  active  service  of  the  church  as  a 
local  preacher  up  to  iSSo,  when  advancing  years  compelled  him  to 
give  up  his  regular  charge.  He  was  an  aggressive  and  popular 
preacher,  and  has  done  much  in  his  day  to  strengthen  the  Methodist 
church  in  Forsyth  county,  and  to  entitle  it  to  the  love  and  confidence 
of  the  people.  Rev.  John  Alspaugh  was  married  in  1825,  to  Eliza- 
beth Lashmit,  and  to  them  were  born  nine  children.  Two  of  his 
sons,  James  and  Albert,  gave  their  lives  to  the  Confederate  cause, 
James  dying  in  a  hospital  in  Charlottesville,  \'a.,  from  disease  con- 
tracted in  the  service,  and  Albert  was  killed  in  a  charge  at  the  head 
of  his  company,  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  The  Alspaughs  came 
originally  from  Germany,  Henry  Alspaugh,  the  grandfather  of  Col. 
J.  W.  Alspaugh,  came  to  this  country  from  Germany,  about  the  time 
of  the  Revolutionary  war,  settling  in  the  Wachovia  settlement,  now 
known  as  Salem.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  mater- 
nal grandfather,  Elias  Lashmit,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army 
and  was  severely  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House  dur- 
ing the  Revolution. 


PAUL  CARRINGTON  CAMERON 

was  born  on  the  25th  day  of  September,  1808,  at  Stagville,  in  the  then 
county  of  Orange,  now  Durham  county,  N.  C.  His  father  was  Judge 
Duncan  Cameron,  of  whom  a  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
H  is  early  boyhood  was  passed  at  Fairntosh,  the  residence  of  his  lather, 
and  at  school  in  the  vicinity.  His  first  preceptor  was  an  old,  country 
school-master,  who  taught  at  the  farm  known  as  Ellerslie,  two  miles 
from  Fairntosh.  He  was  then  placed  under  the  charge  of  Willie  P. 
Mangum,  a  resident  of  the  family  of  Judge  Cameron,  as  a  law  stu- 
dent, as  was  also  at  the  same  time,  William  H.  Haywood,  the  only 
law  students,  with  the  e.xception  of  his  son,  that  Judge  Cameron  ever 
had,  the  two  names  afterward  prominent  in  public  life  and  both  hon- 
oring seats  in  the  senate  of  the  United  -States.  Subsequently  he  was 
placed  under  Mr.  John  Rogers,  at  Hillsboro,  and  when  of  sufficient 
age,  was  sent  to  Dr.  McPheeters,  at  Raleigh,  a  gentleman  celebrated 
in  hisd  ay  as  a  teacher,  and  living  yet  in  affectionate  remembrance  as 
a  good  man  and  able  divine.  From  Raleigh  he  was  sent  tothe  cele- 
brated military  school  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  famous  as  "Capt.  Part- 
ridge's School,"  the  principal  having  been  a  Revolutionary  officer 
and  a  good  tactician,  his  school  in  its  best  days,  presuming  a  rivalry 
with  West  Point.  Here  Mr.  Cameron  early  developed  his  character 
as  a  leader,  for  he  was  soon  ranking  captain  of  the  four  companies  of 
cadets.  Leaving  this  school  with  an  honored  and  brilliant  record,  he 
entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  the  fall  of  1S25.  His 
appearance  must  have  been  a  very  striking  one,  being  clad  in  a  full 
suit  of  red  homespun;  his  head  was  fiery  red,  and  his  complexion 
beamed   with  a  ruddy  glow.      The  boys  promptly  dubbed   him   the 


346  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

"  Red  Bird,  "  which  title  he  as  promptly  resented  with  a  continued 
fusilade  of  red  brick-bats  with  such  effect  as  to  bring  about  his  expul- 
sion on  the  day  of  his  admission  to  the  university.  He  was,  however, 
taken  back.  His  pugnacity  was  a  bar  to  his  graduation.  One  morn- 
ing in  the  chapel,  while  President  Caldwell  was  conducting  prayers, 
Mr.  Cameron  engaged  in  a  fight  with  one  of  the  seniors,  much  to  the 
scandal  of  the  place  and  the  occasion.  The  faculty  thought  that  in 
the  interest  of  discipline,  the  expulsion  of  both  was  necessary.  Mr. 
Cameron  justified  his  own  conduct  and  so  did  his  father  and  friends. 
The  sentence  of  expulsion  was  not  executed;  but  after  spending  two 
years  at  the  university,  he  left  and  entered  Washington  (now  Trinity) 
college,  Hartford,  Conn.,  where  he  graduated  in  i82g.  Half  a  century 
later,  he  delivered  the  commencement  address. 

His  predilections  led  him  to  study  law,  a  calling  suited  to  his  tastes, 
the  character  of  his  mind,  and  the  ardor  of  his  temperament,  an 
avocation,  in  his  young  days  especially,  to  give  active  employment  to 
the  accumulated  stores  of  a  liberal  education  and  a  becoming  equip- 
ment for  the  future  attainment  of  those  high  political  honors  to  which 
his  position  might  justly  entitle  him  to  aspire.  He,  therefore,  read 
law  with  his  father,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  he  never  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  the  profession,  because  of  the  burden  which 
fell  upon  him  in  aiding  his  father  in  the  management  of  his  vast  and 
varied  interests.  This  duty  unavoidably  devolved  upon  him,  and  he 
cheerfully  sacrificed  the  ambitions  to  be  gratified  in  a  professional  or 
political  career,  to  the  more  obscure,  more  exacting,  more  responsible, 
but  not  less  useful,  life  of  the  intelligent  planter.  He  saw  in  the 
planter  something  more  noble  than  the  mere  tiller  of  the  soil;  in 
agriculture,  some  aim  higher  than  the  extraction  from  the  earth,  by 
the  rude  process  of  unskilled  labor,  those  products  in  all  ages  recog- 
nized as  indispensable  to  human  sustenance  and  comfort.  He  saw  in 
the  great  mainspring  of  commerce,  of  prosperity,  of  social  happiness, 
the  foundation  upon  which  was  laicl  the  great  superstructure  of 
human  advancement  and  enlightenment.  VX'^ith  such  views,  he  saw 
that  agriculture  was  an  avocation  that  must  be  advanced  by  intelli- 
gently applied  skill,  and  elevated  by  all  the  appliances  that  might  be 
exacted  from  science.  He  also  saw,  in  his  case,  that,  in  the  control 
of  such  wide  territory,  such  an  army  of  laborers,  and  such  magnitude 
and  variety  of  productions,  demanded  successful  direction  and  har- 
monious reconciliation  of  various  conditions,  there  were  required 
executive  and  administrative  qualifications  scarcely  inferior  to  those 
called  out  in  the  government  of  a  state  or  the  command  of  an  army. 
He,  therefore,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  agriculture,  both 
practical  and  theoretical,  with  earnestness  equal  to  that  which  had 
marked  his  acquisition  of  what  are  regarded  as  the  liberal  branches 
of  education.  He  became  the  model  of  a  farmer;  he  infused  his 
own  ideas  into  others;  he  became  president  of  the  first  agricultural 
society  organized  in  North  Carolina;  an  address  delivered  by  him 
before  the  society  at  Hillsboro  in  1830  was  so  replete  with  practical 
wisdom,  and  so  adorned  with  literary  excellence  that  it  was  called  for, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  347 

for  publication,  and  long  remained  as  a  model  of  its  kind,  a  guide  to 
those  who  chose  to  follow  in  his  enterprising  footsteps. 

Mr.  Cameron  exhibited  in  the  conduct  of  his  responsibilities,  for 
more  than  a  half  century,  an  administrative  and  financial  ability-,  an 
energy  and  integrity  which  would  have  secured  him  high  honors  in 
an)-  field  of  action.  His  career  was  characterized  by  the  simple, 
straightforward  devotion  to  what  he  conceived  to  be  duty  in  every 
relation  of  life.  As  a  son,  as  the  head  of  a  family,  as  a  citizen,  and 
as  a  guardian  of  i,qoo  slaves,  his  course  may  challenge  inquiry,  and 
would  doubtless  repay  it.  The  very  mistakes  of  such  men  are  instruc- 
tive. That  he  never  erred,  no  one  will  affirm;  that  he  has  ever  been 
able  to  please  everyone  in  the  conduct  of  his  multifarious  interests,  is 
equally  doubtful;  but  his  strict  sense  of  honor,  of  justice,  and  his  un- 
flinching adherence  to  what  appeared  to  him  at  the  time  right,  has 
never  been  called  into  question.  An  independent  thinker,  with  ex- 
panded observation,  he  acted  out  his  own  line  of  thought  with  fear- 
less confidence,  only  controlled  by  that  governing  principle  of  right 
and  duty  that  shaped  the  conduct  of  his  life.  With  a  mind  so  active 
as  his  was,  with  information  so  extensive,  with  the  prominence  and 
responsibility  of  his  station,  he  could  not  be  indifferent  to  the  strong 
influences  that  were  agitating  the  public  mind,  either  in  their  relation 
to  material  or  mental  welfare,  or  to  the  political  questions  in  which 
the  peace  of  the  country  or  the  safety  of  the  domestic  institutions  of 
the  south  were  involved.  He  was  active  and  zealous,  and  no  man  en- 
tered into  the  new  measures  undertaken  for  the  development  of  state 
interests  and  advancement  of  internal  improvements,  with  more  en- 
thusiasm than  did  Mr.  Cameron.  He  was  an  active  promoter  of  the 
building  of  the  North  Carolina  railroad,  designed  as  the  great  cen- 
tral artery  of  the  state  in  its  ultimate  perfected  railroad  system. 
When  the  work  on  it  was  begun  he  was  among  the  first  to  undertake 
a  large  contract,  and  he  was  the  first  contractor  to  turn  over  his  fin- 
ished work.  He  was,  for  a  number  of  years,  a  director  in  the  com- 
pany, and  when  Col.  Charles  F.  Fisher,  its  president,  resigned  that 
position  in  July,  1861,  to  take  command  of  the  Sixth  North  Carolina 
regiment,  on  the  point  of  marching  to  the  seat  of  war  in  Virginia,  he 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Cameron,  who  for  one  year  managed  the  affairs 
of  the  corporation  with  energy  and  ability,  and  with  much  self-sacri- 
fice in  his  private  affairs,  which  in  such  time  of  general  confusion  suf- 
fered from  enforced  neglect.  He  was  also  for  many  years  a  director 
of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  and  of  the  Raleigh  .S:  Augusta  Air  Line 
railroad  companies.  He  was  also  from  their  beginning,  a  stock- 
holder in  the  two  leading  banks  of  Raleigh,  the  Citizens'  and  the 
Raleigh  National.  He  became  also  largely  interested  in  the  cotton 
manufacture,  and  was  a  large  stockholder  and  director  in  two  of  the 
largest  factories  at  Rockingham,  Richmond  county,  a  large  stock- 
holder in  the  cotton  mills  at  Rocky  Moimt,  and  also  in  two  of  the 
largest  mills  in  Augusta,  Ga. 

As  a  politician  Mr.  Cameron  had  strong,  clear  and  decisive  views. 
He  has  grown  up  as  a  whig  of  the   old   school,  and  had  clung  tena- 


348  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ciously  to  his  party  principles  and  measures,  until,  as  the  portentious 
question  which  began  to  overcast  the  political  sky,  his  party,  in  its 
northern  wing,  gave  unmistakable  token  that  it  had  become  sectional- 
ized,  and  that  the  peace  of  the  whole  country  was  imperiled  and  the 
institutions  of  the  south  menaced  with  ruin  through  the  favor  ex- 
tended to  the  unconstitutional  purposes  of  the  abolitionists,  then,  with 
many  other  prominent  gentlemen  of  the  state,  he  promptly  and  unre- 
servedly surrendered  his  old  convictions  and  ranged  himself  in  line 
with  the  democratic  party;  and  to  that  party,  proved  by  the  test  of 
experience  to  be  pure,  honest  and  patriotic,  he  undeviatingly  adhered 
to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  did  not  want  political  preferment.  Once 
only  did  he  yield  to  the  call  of  his  countrymen;  in  1856  he  represented 
Orange  county  in  the  state  senate.  He  was  made  chairman  of  sev- 
eral important  committees  of  the  senate,  and  as  such  the  public  felt 
secure  that  the  business  in  hand  would  be  done,  and  well  done.  It 
was  in  such  duty  rather  than  a  frequent  speaker  on  the  floor  of  the 
senate,  that  he  gained  distinction  as  one  of  the  most  laborious,  useful 
and  able  members  of  that  body  to  which  he  belonged.  The  occasions 
were  rare  which  enforced  his  participation  with  public  political  life. 
Once,  again,  indeed,  he  took  prominent  place  as  chairman  of  the 
North  Carolina  delegation  to  the  democratic  convention  which  met 
at  St.  Louis  in  1876,  and  in  which  Mr.  Tilden  was  nominated  for  the 
presidency. 

But  it  was  his  interest  in  the  education  of  youth  that  brought  him 
Into  the  most  intimate  relations  with  the  intelligence  of  his  state. 
He  had  the  appreciation  of  the  educational  needs  of  the  people,  and 
was  the  earnest  advocate  of  every  liberal  measure  devised  to  supply 
them.  He  performed  his  part  of  the  noble  work  by  giving  his  care 
to  the  maintenance  of  such  leading  institutions  as  might  shed  abroad 
their  light  for  good  in  the  most  extended  beneficence.  In  the  decay 
of  the  old  Episcopal  school  for  boys,  established  in  Raleigh  in  1833, 
upon  the  sale  of  the  propert}',  Judge  Duncan  Cameron  became  the 
purchaser,  and  by  his  wish,  and  under  his  directions,  St.  Mary's  school 
for  girls  became  the  successor  of  the  Episcopal  school  for  boys. 
Upon  his  death,  Mr.  Cameron  succeeded  to  the  property;  and,  carry- 
ing out  with  filial  piety  the  wishes  of  his  father,  the  institution  under 
his  solicitous  care  and  liberal  provision,  has  thriven  without  hinder- 
ance,  and  now  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  a  half  century,  prosperous  in 
unchecked  vigor.  The  same  interest,  but  with  less  happy  issue, 
attached  to  the  Military  academ}^  established  near  Hillsboro  in  1S59, 
by  Col.  C.  C.  Tew,  and  prospering  as  such  through  the  war;  then, 
with  the  fate  that  darkened  all  southern  fortunes,  falling  into  decay. 
The  death  of  Col.  Tew,  who  fell  in  the  war,  made  necessary  as  soon 
as  it  was  practicable  to  effect  it,  a  settlement  of  his  estate.  A  sale  of 
the  institute  property  was  made,  and  Mr.  Cameron  became  the  pur- 
chaser. His  purpose  was  to  establish  a  school  for  boys  of  the  highest 
grade  in  relation  to  classical,  literary  and  business  education,  with  a 
military  feature  recognized,  but  subordinate.  With  this  view  he 
secured  for  its  conduct  two  gentlemen  of  the  highest  qualifications  to 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  349 

be  found  in  Xorth  Carolina —  Mr.  Ralpii  H.  Graves  and  Mr.  J.imes  H. 
Horner  —  both  natives  of  the  state,  both  graduates  of  its  university, 
and  both  educators  of  long  experience  and  repute.  The  school  was 
opened  under  the  brightest  auspices,  it  prospered  to  the  most 
sanguine  expectations.  Mr.  Graves  died  very  suddenly;  the  health 
of  Mr.  Horner  completely  failed  him,  and  he  was  forced  to  abandon 
his  work.  Competent  successors  for  two  men  so  remarkably  fitted 
for  their  duties  could  not  readily  be  found,  and  after  much  and  un- 
satisfactory efforts  to  that  end,  the  doors  of  the  school  were  closed 
and  so  remain  to  this  day. 

It  was,  however,  in  the  welfare  of  the  state  university  that  the  in- 
terest of  Mr.  Cameron  was  most  actively  enlisted.  To  this  object  he 
was  thoroughly  drawn  by  his  own  conception  of  duty.  His  grand- 
father—  Mr.  Richard  Bennehan  —  was  one  of  its  founders  and  earli- 
est benefactors.  His  father  and  his  uncle  were  faithful  trustees. 
He  was  a  student  under  President  Caldwell's  administration,  and,  as 
the  faculty  of  the  university,  recently  further  said,  in  tribute  of  his 
memory,  a  "  friend  and  counselor  under  Swain,  a  father  and  guide 
under  Battle."  But  it  was  in  the  dark  days  which  overshadowed  the 
university  after  the  war  that  his  interest  was  developed  in  its  fullest 
intensity.  Ruin,  material  and  financial,  menaced  its  existence.  Its 
decay  seemed  inevitable,  and  for  long  duration  the  dismal  catastro- 
phe seemed  certain.  Happily,  it  was  averted;  and  the  university 
once  again  lifts  its  head  as  the  great  central  light  for  the  intellectual 
illumination  of  the  commonwealth.  No  one  lent  his  aid  with  more 
readiness,  more  earnestness,  more  efficiency  than  Mr.  Cameron.  He 
took  upon  himself,  as  the  cherished  mission  of  his  latter  days,  the 
work  of  encouragement,  of  counsel,  of  supervision.  His  judicious 
and  liberal  pecuniary  advancement  to  the  work  of  repair  resulted  in 
the  renovation  or  completion  of  dilapidated  or  unfinished  buildings, 
and  secured  to  the  university  the  present  possession  of  structures 
ample  for  existing  needs,  and  worthy  of  the  spirit  and  purpose  that 
called  them  into  existence.  With  none  of  those  structures  is  the 
name  of  Mr.  Cameron  so  closely  identified  as  with  the  Memorial 
hall,  that  grand,  capacious  and  unique  monument  to  its  long-time 
president  of  the  university,  David  L.  Swain  —  to  all  its  great  and 
good  men  —  trustees,  professors,  alumni,  who  had  retlected  honor 
upon  their  alma  mater;  and  most  touchingly  and  appropriately  to 
those  of  the  latter  who  had  gone  forth  at  the  call  of  patriotic  duty, 
and  laid  down  their  lives  for  a  cause  sacred  to  them.  Upon  no  one 
does  the  honor  fall  with  more  distinguished  lustre  than  upon  Mr. 
Cameron. 

Mr.  Cameron  grew  to  regard  the  university  with  the  solicitude 
with  which  a  fond  father  watches  the  destiny  of  a  loved  and  hope- 
ful child.  His  visits  to  it  were  frequent,  often  on  business  more  often 
from  an  affectionate  wish  to  watch  its  gain  in  strength  and  growth 
in  usefulness.  It  need  not  be  suggested  that  he  was  never  absent 
from  any  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees,  or  ever  failed  to  respond 
to  any  invitation  to  attend    any  meeting  of  the  faculty,  to  which  he 


350  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

was  frequently  called  in  the  capacity  of  adviser.  At  every  commence- 
ment for  years  he  was  present,  the  most  conspicuous  figure  amid 
thousands,  his  majestic  person,  his  ruddy  countenance  aglow  with 
health  and  resolution.  His  strong  features,  his  noble  brow  and  pierc- 
ing eyes,  crowned  with  a  wealth  of  snow-white  locks,  formed  a  picture 
which  was  delightful  to  behold  and  which  could  not  be  easily  forgot- 
ten. At  the  annual  festivals,  he  was  often  called  upon  to  speak,  and 
he  performed  his  duty  with  readiness,  with  dignity  and  with  power; 
for  he  had  fine  gifts  as  a  public  speaker,  which  were  always  called 
into  play  whenever  he  spoke  on  commencement  or  other  occasions. 
In  fact  he  was  a  capital  public  speaker,  always  going  to  the  point, 
commanding  attention;  always  effective.  In  1885  he  delivered  the 
oration  at  commencement  on  the  dedication  of  Memorial  hall;  this 
was  in  his  seventy-seventh  year,  yet  his  address  was  characterized 
by  vigorous  thought,  deep  feeling,  scholarly  diction.  The  year  be- 
fore he  had  generously  supplied  the  funds  necessary  to  complete  the 
hall. 

An  evidence  of  the  public  estimate  of  the  value  of  Mr.  Cameron's 
services  to  the  universitj'  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  he  was  unanimously 
elected  chairman  of  the  Alumni  association,  and  continued  for  a  suc- 
cession of  years  against  his  earnest  protest,  as  not  being  a  graduate. 
In  his  habits  he  was  plain  and  unostentatious,  and  in  manners  some- 
what unconventional.  This  was  the  result  of  his  characteristic 
honesty  and  directness.  With  him  there  was  no  pretense;  no  eva- 
sion; no  subterfuge.  A  manly  courage  and  an  honest  heart  impelled 
him  to  speak  out  openly  what  he  thought;  to  act  out  fearlessly'  what 
his  judgment  counseled  as  right  and  proper.  What  was  apparent  to 
all  men  was  his  unflinching  honesty  of  purpose;  his  undeviating  sense 
of  justice;  his  exercised  inflexibility,  fairness  and  frankness.  He 
stood  among  people  an  unobtrusive,  yet  undeniably  a  great  man  — 
adequate  to  meet  any  demands  upon  any  one  or  all  of  his  dominating 
qualities.  He  was  possessed  of  a  rare  perpetuation  of  mental  facul- 
ties in  reference  to  the  current  public  and  local  affairs,  to  the  day 
of  his  final  illness  in  the  extremes  of  his  old  age.  He  watched  the 
course  of  public  events  with  intelligent  solicitude;  he  scanned  the 
public  prints  with  sharpness  of  criticism;  he  received  public  policy, 
or  the  measures  and  conduct  of  public  men,  with  just  and  keen  dis- 
crimination; he  observed  with  intelligent  eye  the  questions  in  which 
the  good  of  the  state  was  involved,  and  in  social  life  he  was  no  less 
the  same  careful,  accomplished  and  distinguished  man. 

Death  came  to  him  later  than  to  most  men.  Mr.  Cameron  died 
at  his  residence  in  Hillsboro,  January  6,  1891.  He  was  interred  in  the 
cemetery  of  St.  Matthews  church  adjacent  to  his  own  beautiful 
grounds,  and  under  the  evergreens  he  had  planted  and  nurtured.  The 
funeral  was  of  that  imposing  kind  appropriate  to  the  character  and 
disposition  of  the  deceased;  and  was  attended  by  the  governor  of  the 
state  and  other  officials  and  prominent  gentlemen,  of  Raleigh,  of 
Durham;  by  almost  the  entire  population  of  Hillsboro,  his  home,  and 
by  the  president,  some  of  the  faculty  and  a  deputation  of  students  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  35  I 

the  university.  Relatives  from  abroad,  as  well  as  the  members  of  his 
household,  swelled  the  solemn  and  imposing  cortege.  A  striking 
feature  of  the  solemnities  of  the  funeral  was  the  presence  of  a  large 
body  of  the  former  slaves  of  the  deceased;  some  of  them  grown  when 
they  became  freemen;  others,  children  at  the  time  of  liberation;  and 
many  of  them  continuing  in  his  service  until  his  death.  With  affec- 
tionate remembrance,  they  gathered  around  the  remains  to  render 
their  last  tribute  to  their  old  master  and  life-long  friend.  Surely 
there  is  some  vivifj-ing  spirit  in  slavery  which  could  thus  so  perpetu- 
ate in  all  their  freshness  and  strength,  loving  and  gentle  emotions,  in 
the  hearts  of  the  slaves,  sometimes  ignorantly  and  unjustly  assumed 
to  be  unnatural  and  impossible. 

Mr.  Cameron,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1832,  married  Anne, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Ruffin,  who  was  a  distinguished  jurist  and  chief- 
justice  of  North  Carolina.  He  passed  a  happy  wedded  life  of  a  little 
more  than  fifty-nine  years;  his  domestic  relations  were  most  happy. 
A  large  family  blessed  a  happy  union.  Two  children,  the  first-born, 
died  in  infancy;  a  daughter,  Alary,  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  four- 
teen, all  the  others  reached  maturity.  His  eldest  son,  Duncan, 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Col.  H.  B.  Short,  and  died  in  1886,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-seven,  leaving  three  children.  His  son,  Bennehan,  his 
daughter  Annie,  wife  of  Maj.  George  Collins;  Margaret,  wife  of  Capt. 
Robert  B.  Peebles;  Pauline,  wife  of  Mr.  William  B.  Shepherd,  and 
Mildred,  unmarried,  are  the  surviving  children.  Rebecca,  wife  of 
Maj.  John  W.  Graham,  died  some  years  ago,  leaving  si.x  children. 
Such  is  the  outline  of  the  life  of  one  whose  impression  upon  his  times 
will  not  soon  be  effaced,  whose  strong  personality  is  stamped  on  fea- 
tures not  to  be  forgotten,  and  whose  influence  for  good  will  long  act 
upon  those  who  fell  within  his  sphere.  The  lines  of  the  poet  Arm- 
strong furnishes  of  him  an  illustration  so  nearly  apt,  that  in  conclu- 
sion we  quote  them: 

"Though  old,  he  still  retained 
His  manly  sense,  and  energy  of  mind; 
Virtuous  and  wise  he  was,  but  not  severe; 
He  still  remembered  that  he  once  was  young; 
His  easy  presence  checked  no  decent  joy, 
Him  even  the  dissolute  admired;  for  he 
A  graceful  looseness  when  he  pleased  put  on, 
And  laughing,  could  instruct." 


HON.  JAMES  M.  WINSTEAD, 

of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  belongs  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  influential 
families  of  that  state,  whose  members  have  at  different  times  held 
high  positions  in  the  state  and  national  governments,  always  with'un- 
questioned  character  and  ability.  His  father,  Samuel  Winstead,  was 
born  in  Person  county,  N.  C,  where  he  died  in  1829,  having  been  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  all  his  life.  In  1804  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Sergeant,  and  by  her  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom  five  are  now 
living,  viz.:     Alexander,  born   June    11,  180Q,  now  of   Person  county; 


352  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

William  G.,  born  in  1S14;  Henry  J.,  born  in  1818;  Charles  S.,  born  in 
1822,  and  James  M.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  mother  died 
June  28,  1863,  being  seventy-nine  years  of  age.  James  M.  Winstead 
was  born  in  Person  county,  N.  C,  May  10,  1824,  and  received  his  ed- 
ucation in  the  schools  of  his  native  county.  At  the  age  of  thirteen 
he  was  employed  in  a  store  at  .Sergeantsville,  where  he  remained  for 
two  years.  He  then  went  to  Danville,  Va.,  and  after  two  years  spent 
in  a  store  at  that  place,  came  to  Madison,  N.  C,  where  he  clerked  for 
four  years.  After  this  he  returned  to  Person  county,  and  embarked 
with  his  brother  in  the  mercantile  business.  In  the  course  of  four 
years  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  this  business,  and  turned  his  attention 
to  speculating.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  was  engaged  in 
planting,  and  also  took  government  contracts.  In  1862  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  assistant  state  treasurers  and  government  deposi- 
taries under  the  Confederate  States. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Winstead  embarked  in  the  tobacco 
trade,  which  he  successfully  carried  on  until  1S70.  In  the  latter  year 
he  went  to  Greensboro  to  accept  the  position  of  chief  deputy  collector 
under  his  brother,  Charles  S.  Winstead,  who  was  United  States  col- 
lector of  internal  revenue.  This  position  he  held  for  seven  years, 
being  practically  in  charge  of  the  office.  In  1878  he  visited  the  city 
of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  there  established  and  successfully  managed  a 
wholesale  drug  business  for  four  years.  He  subsequently  returned  to 
Greensboro,  and  in  1887,  on  the  organization  of  the  People's  Five 
Cents  Savings  bank,  was  elected  its  president,  and  in  1889  became 
cashier  and  director  of  the  Piedmont  bank.  These  positions  he  still 
holds;  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of  E.  D.  Winstead  &  Co.,  of 
Milton,  N.  C,  manufacturers  of  tobacco,  and  president  of  the  Henry  P. 
Scales  Tobacco  company,  of  Atlanta,  Ga.  In  1875,  h^  married  Mrs. 
Maria  A.  Scales,  daughter  of  Pleasant  Black,  a  successful  merchant 
of  Madison,  N.  C.  Mr.  Winstead  was  independent  in  politics  until 
prohibition  became  a  political  issue  in  North  Carolina.  Then,  actu- 
ated by  what  he  believed  a  controlling  principle  of  individual  conduct, 
he  joined  the  prohibition  party,  and  became  its  candidate  for  congress 
in  1886.  The  large  and  complimentary  vote  he  received  from  the 
best  element  of  both  the  old  political  parties,  showed  the  high  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held.  It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  so  long  and 
active  a  life,  joined  with  such  high  qualities  of  head  and  heart,  have 
brought  wealth  and  position:  and  that  he  is  universally  regarded  as 
one  of  the  ablest  and  safest  business  men  of  his  state,  exercising  a 
widespread  influence  even  beyond  its  borders. 

F.  W.  KERCHNER. 

The  gentleman  who  forms  the  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been 
closely  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Wilmington  for 
twenty-six  years,  and  is  noted  for  his  thorough  business  qualifications,' 
sterling  integrity  and  liberality,  and  during  a  business  career  of  many 
years,  he  has  fully  sustained  his   reputatiom     Col.    F.   W.   Kerchner 


XORTII  CAROLINA. 


OOO 


occupies  a  prominent  position  here  as  promoting  most  materially 
the  mercantile  importance  of  this  city  and  port.  The  importance  of 
the  cotton  trade  of  Wilmington,  and  its  great  influence  upon  the 
prosperity  of  the  community  has  been  a  frequent  subject  of  comment, 
but  not  until  each  separate  venture  in  this  line  of  trade  is  examined, 
is  the  true  magnitude  of  the  industry  understood  and  appreciated, 
and  in  this  connection  we  must  chronicle  the  establishment  of  Col. 
Kerchner's  business,  which  he  established  in  1865  just  after  the  close 
of  the  war;  afterward  associating  with  him  in  business  Messrs. 
Calder  Bros.,  which  firm  transacted  a  large  wholesale  grocery  and 
commission  business,  and  also  dealing  in  cotton  and  fertilizers,  until 
November,  1886,  when  the  firm  dissolved,  and  Col.  Kerchner  contin- 
ued the  cotton  and  commission  business,  in  which  enterprising  indus- 
try he  commands  the  confidence  and  trade  of  inHuential  merchants 
throughout  North  and  South  Carolina. 

Col.-F.  \V.  Kerchner  is  the  efficient  and  enthusiastic  president  of 
the  chamber  of  conimerce,  which  position  he  holds  with  honor  and 
credit  to  himself,  and  the  satisfaction  of  the  community.  He  was 
formerly  a  citizen  of  Baltimore,  but  since  his  adoption  of  this  city  as 
his  home,  in  1S65,  he  has  always  been  alive  to  her  interests  and  con- 
tributed materially  to  her  progress  and  advancement,  assisting  with 
brains  and  means  to  elevate  all  worthy  industries,  animating  others 
by  his  examjjle  and  efforts.  He  is  a  worthy  citizen  and  holds  a  high 
position  in  the  public  estimation.  He  is  a  director  in  several  of  the 
enterprises  he  has  established,  and  still  takes  an  active  part  in  all  of 
them.  Through  his  intimate  business  knowledge  he  has  given  ma- 
terial assistance  to  all  of  them  and  they  have  proven  successful.  He 
was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  cause  of  the  south  during  our  Civil 
war,  and  he  gave  liberally  of  his  time  and  his  means  to  insure  its 
success,  and  frequently  at  great  personal  risks  to  himself.  He  is  now 
at  the  head  of  a  wholesale  hardware  house,  of  Cleaves  Hardware 
company,  one  of  the  most  reliable  houses  in  North  Carolina,  and  do- 
ing a  large  and  lucrative  business.  There  are  few  men  better  known 
in  the  state  than  F.  \V.  Kerchner,  his  genial  manner  and  generous 
impulses  have  made  him  troops  of  friends  and  he  has  a  faculty,  a 
very  happy  one  it  is  too,  of  retaining  friendships  when  once  formed. 
He  is  now  in  the  vigor  of  life  and  with  every  prospect  for  a  long  and 
useful  career. 

CHARLES  W.  RANEY. 

Among  the  many  intelligent  and  enterprising  business  men  of 
Vance  county,  N.  C,  may  be  found  the  name  of  Charles  VV.  Raney. 
Mr.  Raney  has  been  a  resident  of  North  Carolina  since  his  fourth 
year,  having  been  brought  to  Granville  county  from  Virginia  by  his 
parents  al:)out  the  year  1843.  He  was  born  in  .Mecklenburg  county, 
Va.,  on  the  5th  of  Deceml)er,  1839.  In  1861  he  left  the  .South  Lowell 
academy,  in  Orange  county,  to  enlist  in  the  Confederate  army,  having 
joined  Company  B,  Twelfth  North  Carolina  infantry,  in  April  of  that 
B — 2% 


354  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

year.  Until  1S62  he  remained  with  that  company,  when  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Fifth  North  Carolina  cavalry,  and  served  until  the  sur- 
render at  Appomatox.  The  battles  of  Hanover  Court  House,  Reams' 
Station  and  numerous  other  engagements  found  him  at  his  post.  In 
1864  Mr.  Raney  was  detailed  as  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  Assistant 
Inspector-General  Dabney,  and  he  remained  in  that  capacity  until 
the  end  came.  After  the  war  he  went  to  Kittrell,  N.  C,  and  until 
1870  was  engaged  in  agriculture.  In  the  latter  year  he  became  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  Kittrell  Springs  hotel,  at  Kittrell,  and  after 
one  year  spent  in  the  hotel  business,  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
trade  at  the  same  place.  In  1S75  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  cotton 
industry,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  that  business  with  marked 
success.  He  owns  large  farming  interests  in  Vance  count}^  carries 
on  an  extensive  guano  enterprise  and  gins  some  1,200  bales  of  cotton 
per  year.  Mr.  Raney  was  united  in  marriage  in  1866,  to  Miss  Sallie  C, 
daughter  of  George  Kittrell,  who  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
prominent  farmers  in  that  portion  of  the  state.  Mr.  Raney  is  a 
Mason.  It  is  to  such  men  that  Vance  county  owes  its  increasing  pros- 
perity and  importance  as  a  great  farming  community  and  coming 
commercial  center. 

JONATHAN  McGEE  HECK. 

The  Heck  family,  noted  from  its  earliest  history  for  its  devotion  to 
religious  and  political  liberty,  came  to  the  new  world  seeking  both  in 
1727.  J ohann  Jacob  Heck,  son  of  Johann  Jost  and  Eva  Maria  Heck,  with 
400  other  members,  as  their  ancestors  had  been  before  them  since 
1560,  of  the  German  Reform  church,  left  his  home  in  the  German 
platinate  and  found  shelter  in  the  hospitable  province  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. Moving  westward  the  little  colony  reached  the  county  of  Bercks 
(Berks)  and  here  built  their  new  homes,  around  their  little  church,  fit 
emblem  of  that  religion  for  which  they  had  sacrificed  so  much.  Here 
Johann  Jacob  Heck  married  his  wife  Judith,  and  here  was  born  to 
them  in  1754  their  son,  Johann  Jost  Heck.  The  baptismal  certificate 
of  his  birth,  still  in  the  possession  of  the  famil}',  is  a  curious  old  doc- 
ument, illustrative  of  the  state  of  the  art  of  drawing  and  illuminated 
penmanship  in  the  colony.  Johann  Jost  Heck  was  in  the  prime  of 
his  young  manhood,  when  the  first  drum  calls  of  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution echoed  through  the  land,  and  found  him  ready  to  answer  its 
dread  summons.  Joining  the  army,  he  fought  under  Gen.  Washing- 
ton at  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  and  followed  his  varying  fortunes 
until  the  glorious  victory  at  the  surrender  of  Yorktown.  After  the 
declaration  of  peace  he  and  his  young  wife,  Rachel,  moved  westward, 
living  a  few  years  in  Mar^'land,  but  finally  settling  in  that  part  of 
Virginia  (since  the  war  West  Virginia),  which  afterward  became 
Monongalia  county.  Among  the  first  to  reach  this  then  far  west  there 
was  many  a  hard  battle  to  be  fought  with  wild  nature  and  with 
wilder  savages.  Nevertheless,  indomitable  energy  prevailed  and  the 
land  which  became  valuable  under  his  management  is  still  the  prop- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  355 

erty  of  the  Heck  famil3\  Here  his  ten  children  were  born.  The 
eldest,  Jacob  Jost,  born  in  1792,  had  not  reached  his  majority  when 
again  the  alarm  of  war  made  the  young  republic  shudder.  Young  as 
he  was.  he  was  one  of  the  first  volunteers  of  the  war  of  1S12.  But  a 
more  deadly  enemy  than  British  bullets  was  to  cut  short  the  young 
soldier's  career.  He  died,  one  of  the  fever's  many  victims,  in  Norfolk, 
Va.  The  eldest  born  fallen,  his  next  brother,  Adam,  a  mere  lad,  was 
ready  to  take  his  place  and  was  marching  to  the  front  when  the  glad 
news  of  peace  flew  over  the  land.  George  Heck,  seventh  son  of 
Johann  Jost  Heck,  and  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  1S03  and  was  married  to  Susan  McGee  in  1S27.  A  quiet  man,  of 
great  power  of  purpose,  breadth  of  thought,  religious  conviction  and 
personal  strength,  the  unwritten  life  of  George  Heck  is  one  of  those 
which  goes  to  make  our  country  what  it  is  to-day  —  the  greatest  of 
nations. 

His  second  son,  Jonathan  McGee  Heck,  was  born  May  5,  1831. 
Educated  in  the  best  schools  which  the  neighborhood  afforded,  he 
sought  higher  education  in  Rector  college,  then  one  of  the  best 
schools  of  all  that  region.  Leav'ing  college,  he  determined  to  enter 
the  profession  of  the  law,  and  for  this  purpose  studied  law  with  Hon. 
Edgar  G.  Wilson,  of  Virginia,  in  Morgantown,  the  county  seat  of 
Monongalia  county.  Admitted  to  the  bar,  he  had  soon  a  large  and 
growing  practice,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  was  common- 
wealth's attorney.  On  March  10,  1859,  he  was  married  to  Mattie  A. 
Callendine,  daughter  of  Martin  B.  and  Anna  Callendine,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  the  Scudder  family  of  New  Jersey.  Elected  colonel  of 
the  militia,  it  was  one  of  his  chief  pleasures  to  perfect  his  regiment  in 
military  e.xercises,  especially  that  company  called  for  him  the  "  Heck 
Riflemen."  But  sterner  deeds  of  war  were  near,  though  they  litttle 
thought  how  near,  and  already  this  border  land  between  north  and 
south  was  torn  with  internecine  dissension.  From  the  first,  CoL 
Heck  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  states,  and  believed 
he  owed  his  first  allegiance  to  the  state  of  Virginia.  With  growing 
anxiety  he  watched  the  course  of  events,  every  personal  interest  of 
home  and  property  being  with  the  north,  but  every  conviction  of 
duty  to  his  country  being  with  the  south.  The  final  crash  came,  and 
leaving  his  young  wife  and  child  and  the  handsome  home  which  he 
had  provided  for  them,  renouncing  all  his  former  ambitions  and  ac- 
cumulated wealth,  he  came  to  Richmond,  and  once  and  forever  cast 
his  lot  with  that  of  the  southern  states.  Before  the  Virginia  troops 
were  transferred  to  the  Gonfederacy  he  received  his  commission  of 
colonel  from  Gov.  Letcher,  of  Virginia.  He  was  then  sent  by 
Gen.  R.  E.  Lee  to  the  valley  of  Virginia  to  raise  and  equip 
a  regiment.  This  he  succeeded  in  doing  winning  much  praise 
from  his  superiors  in  rank  for  his  promptness  and  determina- 
tion. Perhaps  a  finer  body  of  men  was  never  collected  than  this 
Thirty-first  regiment,  but  it  may  be  well  to  add,  as  a  matter  of  his- 
tory, that  \'irginia  was  obliged  to  arm  them  with  old  flintlock  mus- 
kets.    With  this  regiment  he  marched  to  meet  the  large  army  under 


J5c 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Gen.  McClellan,  which  was  then  marching  into  Virginia  from  Ohio. 
After  the  battle  of  Rich  Mountain  he  was,  with  otliers,  paroled  by- 
Gen.  McClellan,  and  for  some  unaccountable  reason,  was  held  under 
parole  long  after  those  with  him  were  allowed  to  return  to  active  ser- 
vice. During  this  period  he  was  sent  by  the  soldiers  from  his  section, 
to  the  Virginia  convention,  where,  with  many  of  her  bravest  and  best, 
he  was  a  signer  of  the  celebrated  declaration  of  secession.  As  soon 
after  as  his  parole  would  allow,  he  again  gave  his  best  efforts  to  ac- 
tively pushing  forward  the  cause  he  had  espoused,  his  organizing  and 
mechanical  ability  making  him  very  successful  in  the  collection  and 
manufacture  of  the  munitions  of  war  for  the  Confederate  government. 
Having  been  allowed  through  the  personal  kindness  of  Gen.  McClel- 
lan, to  bring  his  family  through  the  enemy's  lines,  he  located  with 
them  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  where  with  the  exception  of  two  years,  he  has 
ever  since  resided.  Having  purchased  the  large  and  then  far-famed 
health  resort,  Jones's  Springs,  in  Warren  count3^  he  with  generous- 
hearted  liberality  threw  it  open  to  the  many  homeless  refugees,  who 
were  then  seeking  refuge  in  North  Carolina. 

Crushed,  but  not  broken  by  the  issue  of  the  war  and  the  fearful 
period  of  ''reconstruction,"  he  set  to  work  from  the  wreck  of  old 
things  to  create  for  himself  a  new  fortune,  and,  as  far  as  in  him  lay, 
for  his  country  a  new  south.  With  Hon.  K.  P.  Battle,  Dr.  W.  J.  Haw- 
kins and  Capt.  I^.  B.  Williamson,  like  liberal-minded  men,  he  formed 
a  company  whose  purpose  was  the  peopling  of  the  deserted  fields  of 
the  south  with  northern  emigrants.  Thus  while  raising  the  fallen 
fortunes  of  their  loved  south,  they  hoped  to  hasten  the  healing  of  the 
yawning  chasm  war  had  torn  between  the  two  sections.  For  this  pur- 
pose they  began  the  edition  of  a  paper,  opened  a  land  office  in  New 
Yorlc,  and  would  have  been  eminently  successful  but  for  the  rife 
rumor  of  confiscating  all  southern  lands.  Finding  that  for  the  present 
they  could  expect  no  help  but  in  the  south's  own  ability  to  regain  her 
lost  position,  this  attempt  was  abandoned  and  Col.  Heck  and  his 
partners  returned  to  North  Carolina.  Here  he  became  interested  in 
southern  farming  and  mineral  land,  and  in  the  latter  his  chief  wealth 
now  consists,  owning  large  and  valuable  iron  property  in  North  Caro- 
lina, copper  in  Virginia,  and  coal  in  Tennessee.  As  his  fortunes  rose  he 
was  a  liberal  contributor  to  many  causes  for  his  town  and  state;  he 
with  one  other  gentleman  giving  the  money  to  build  the  handsome 
library  and  society  halls  at  the  Wake  Forest  college,  helping  to  estab- 
lish a  female  college  in  Raleigh,  assisting  in  the  re-organization  of  the 
state  agricultural  association,  offering  a  handsome  house  and  property 
for  a  North  Carolina  Confederate  soldiers'  home,  etc.  A  Baptist  and 
member  of  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Raleigh,  he  has  been  honored 
by  his  denomination  by  being  made  president  of  the  Baptist  state 
convention,  state  Sunday-school  convention,  etc.  Blessed  with  a  large 
family,  his  sons  are:  George  C.  Heck,  John  M.  Heck,  William  Harry 
Heck  and  Charles  M.  Heck,  and  his  daughters  are:  Mary  Lou  Heck 
(Mrs.  W.  H.  Pace),  Minnie  Callendine  Heck  (Mrs.  B.  G.  Cowper), 
Mattie  A.  Heck  (Mrs.  J.  D.  Boushall),  Fannie   E.  Scudder   Heck, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  357 

Susie  McGee  Heck  and  Pearl  Chadwick  Heck.  While  in  the  state 
of  his  adoption  Col.  Heck  has  never  sought  or  held  any  political  office; 
it  is  but  just  to  sa}'  that  few  men  have  had  her  interests  more  at  heart, 
few  made  her  welfare  more  their  first  thought,  and  few  who  will  leave 
a  deeper  impress  for  noble  manhood  and  unfaltering  integrity  upon 
her  annals. 

FRANCIS  HAWKS  CAMERON 

was  born  in  Hillsboro,  Orange  county,  X.  C,  June  i,  1839,  and  re- 
ceived his  early  education  at  Caldwell  institute,  at  that  place.  He 
then  attended  the  academy  at  Newbern  for  two  years,  and  in  1855 
entered  the  L'nited  States  service.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
he  was  stationed  north  on  coast  survey  duty,  but  upon  the  bombard- 
ment of  Fort  Sumter  he  promptly  resigned  his  position  in  the  Federal 
service  and  returning  home  in  April,  1S61,  at  once  tendered  his  services 
to  the  Confederate  authorities,  receiving  the  commission  of  lieuten- 
ant in  the  regular  service.  His  first  duty  under  the  Confederac}'  was 
at  Pensacola,  Fla.,  under  Gen.  Bragg,  who  was  then  organizing  what 
was  afterward  known  as  the  Army  of  the  West.  It  was  while 
stationed  at  Pensacola  that  Lieut.  Cameron  volunteered  for  duty  and 
served  on  the  e.xpedition  commanded  by  Col.  Stevens,  of  the  engineer 
corps,  who  performed  the  dangerous  work  of  placing  obstructions  in 
the  harbor  and  blocking  the  channel  immediatel}'  under  the  guns  of 
forts  Pickens  and  Barrancos.  In  the  fall  of  1861  he  was  assigned  to 
duty  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Port  Royal  and  many  other  minor  engagements. 

Harly  in  1S62,  Lieut.  Cameron's  command  (First  battalion  of 
Marines)  was  ordered  to  Virginia,  and  was  in  the  engagement  at 
Urury's  Bluff,  when  the  monitors  were  successfully  repulsed.  Then 
in  the  seven  days'  fight  around  Richmond,  and  in  numerous  engage- 
ments on  James  river,  at  Harrison's  Landing,  Bermuda  Hundreds, 
and  at  the  second  battle  of  Drury's  Bluff,  when  Gen.  Benjamin  F. 
Butler  was  repulsed,  and  his  attempts  to  capture  Richmond  defeated. 
In  this  last  named  battle,  Cameron  commanded  the  left  wing  of  the 
Confederate  skirmish  line,  and  though  unsupported  and  greatly  out- 
numbered by  the  enemy  in  his  front,  who  several  times  nearly  suc- 
ceeded in  turning  his  flanks,  he  stubbornly  held  his  ground,  and 
succeeded  in  repulsing  every  attempt  made  to  force  his  line.  After 
this  campaign,  Lieut.  Cameron  was  in  command  of  "Camp  Beall,"  at 
Drury's  Bluff,  for  some  months.  He  was  then  at  the  opening  of 
the  last  campaign,  and  with  his  command  and  other  forces,  covered 
the  retreat  of  Lee's  army  at  High  Bridge,  when  the  rear  guard  suf- 
fered so  severely.  His  command  formed  part  of  the  rear  guard  dur- 
ing the  entire  retreat  to  Appomatox,  and  suffered  heavily,  losing  over 
eighty  per  cent,  in  killed  wounded  and  prisoners.  On  the  morning 
of  the  loth  of  April,  they  were  at  the  front  and  took  part  in  thi;  last 
forward  movement  made  by  the  Confederate  army,  a  few  hours  be- 
fore its  surrender. 


358  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

With  the  return  of  peace  Mr.  Cameron  settled  in  Wilmington, 
engaging  in  the  insurance  business.  In  1S73  having  married  Miss 
Haywood  of  Raleigh,  he  moved  to  tlie  state  capital,  where  he  has 
since  resided,  continuing  in  the  insurance  business,  in  which  but  few 
men  in  the  state  are  better  known,  or  have  a  larger  acquaintance. 
In  1878,  he  was  elected  captain  of  the  Raleigh  light  infantry,  and  the 
next  year,  1879,  he  was  appointed  inspector-general  of  North  Carolina 
by  Gov.  Jarvis,  which  office  he  held  until  the  spring  of  1891,  when  he 
tendered  his  resignation.  During  this  time  he  manifested  a  deep 
interest  in  the  state  guard,  which  indeed  may  be  said  to  owe  its  ef- 
ficiency and  perpetuation  to  his  zeal  in  its  behalf.  As  the  inspector- 
general,  he  visited  every  company  frequently,  and  his  inspections 
were  rigid,  requiring  a  strict  compliance  with  the  regulations.  He 
has  not  hesitated  to  cause  some  of  the  favorite  companies  to  be  drop- 
ped from  the  roll,  and  his  enforcement  of  proper  discipline  while 
highly  creditable  to  himself  has  been  most  salutary  in  promoting  the 
efficiency  of  the  corps.  At  the  time  of  his  resignation,  he  was  oldest 
in  commission  of  the  inspector-generals  of  the  states  in  the  Union, 
and  was  confessedly  one  of  most  zealous  and  efficient  of  them.  His 
resignation  called  from  the  members  of  the  state  guard  many  ex- 
pressions of  regret. 

In  1878  Col.  Cameron  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention 
of  the  board  of  trade  that  convened  in  New  Orleans,  where  he 
represented  North  Carolina  with  intelligence  and  credit.  Col.  Cam- 
eron is  a  gentleman  of  the  nicest  sense  of  honor,  and  of  the  highest 
social  standing.  Associated  from  his  boyhood  with  military  officers 
of  the  regular  service  he  has  cherished  those  refinements  of  conduct 
and  carriage  for  which  many  of  these  gentlemen  were  noted.  In  1871 
Col.  Cameron  married  Margaret  N.  Haywood,  a  daughter  of  the  late 
United  States  Senator  Haywood,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  to  them  were 
born  two  sons.  His  first  wife  dying  in  1879,  he  was  married  again  in 
1S81  to  Miss  Eugenie  L.  Weaver,  of  Selma,  Ala.,  and  by  whom  he 
has  had  several  children.  Col.  Cameron,  while  much  occupied  by 
his  attention  to  his  insurance  business  which  keeps  him  much  away 
from  home  inspecting  agencies,  settling  claims,  etc.,  has  not  been 
neglectful  of  other  duties.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order, 
being  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  and  for  years  was  vestryman  in 
Christ  church  parish,  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.  He  was  also  for  some  years 
a  director  and  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  North  Car- 
olina insane  asylum,  at  Raleigh,  and  for  three  successive  terms  was 
elected  president  of  the  southern  chamber  of  life  insurance  and  of 
the  local  board  of  underwriters  at  Raleigh. 

As  his  name  indicates.  Col.  Cameron  is  of  Scotch  descent.  His 
father,  Mr.  John  Cameron,  was  born  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  about  the 
year  181 2,  and  came  to  North  Carolina  when  quite  a  child  with  his 
parents  who  were  the  owners  of  considerable  landed  property  in 
Orange  county  when  they  settled.  He  was  educated  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  and  was  a  gentleman  of  fine  attainments  and 
elegant  scholarship.     He  married  in  1837,  Frances,  daughter  of  Fran- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  359 

cis  Hawks,  Esq.,  of  Newbern,  a  lady  of  rare  social  and  intellectual 
attainments,  and  had  by  her,  two  children:  Francis  Hawks  Cameron 
and  John  AI.  Cameron.  He  died  at  his  residence  "  Lochiel,"  near 
Hilisboro,  N.  C,  in  August,  1883.  Mrs.  Cameron  died  in  1857.  The 
grandfather  of  Col.  Cameron  was  William  Cameron,  who  was  born 
in  Virginia,  and  came  to  North  Carolina  about  1825,  locating  in 
Orange  county,  where  he  was  an  extensive  planter.  He  married 
Annie,  only  daughter  of  Hon.  Daniel  Call,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  jurists  of  his  day,  and  for  many  years  a  partner  in 
the  practice  of  the  law  with  his  distinguished  brother-in-law,  the 
late  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  of  Virginia.  Mr.  William  Cameron's 
father  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Cameron,  who  belonged  to  the  clan 
Cameron,  and  who  emigrated  from  .Scotland  to  America  about  1745, 
after  the  battle  of  Culloden,  settling  near  Petersburg,  Va.  There 
Blandforch  church  was  soon  after  built,  the  material  being  brought 
from  England,  and  he  was  appointed  rector  of  it.  He  was  a  minister 
of  the  established  church,  a  man  of  great  learning  and  unusual  piety 
and  was  a  preacher  of  renown  in  his  time.  He  married  Miss  Ann 
Owen  Nash,  a  niece  of  Gen.  Francis  Nash,  of  Revolutionary  fame, 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Germantown. 

The  mother  of  Col.  Cameron,  iicc  Frances  S.  Hawks,  was  a  sister 
of  Bishop  Cicero  Hawks,  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Missouri,  and  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Francis  L.  Hawks,  rector  of  Calvary  church.  New  York,  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  and  distinguished  ministers  of  the  Episcopal  church; 
and  also  of  Rev.  Dr.  William  N.  Hawks,  for  many  years  rector  of  the 
Episcopal  church  at  Newbern,  and  afterward  at  Columbus,  Ga., 
where  he  died.  We  should  mention  that  the  brothers  of  William 
Cameron,  the  grandfather  of  Col.  Cameron,  were  Judge  Duncan 
Cameron,  for  many  years  a  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  North 
Carolina,  and  then  pr;isident  of  the  State  bank  of  North  Carolina; 
and  Judge  J.  A.  Cameron,  who  was  a  member  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Florida  for  many  years;  and  who  was  lost  at  sea  many  years  ago, 
on  the  ill-fated  steamer,  Pulaski;  and  Dr.  Thomas  N.  Cameron,  of 
Fayetteville,  N.  C.  With  an  ancestry  and  relations  so  distinguished, 
as  might  be  expected.  Col.  Cameron  has  maintained  through  life  a 
highly  honorable  character  and  is  known  among  the  gentlemen  of 
the  state  as  no  less  upright  in  his  business  dealings  than  chivalrous 
and  polished  in  his  social  intercourse. 

JAMES  R.  YOUNG, 

one  of  the  most  successful  and  efficient  insurance  men  of  Vance 
county,  N.  C.  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  having  been  born  at  Ox- 
ford, on  the  17th  of  February,  1853.  In  1870  he  was  graduated  from  the 
Hampden-Sidncy  college  in  Virginia,  and  after  graduating  returned 
to  Oxford  and  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  drug  store  of  T.  D.  Craw- 
ford &  Co.,  with  whom  he  remained  for  about  eighteen  months.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  time  Mr.  Young  removed  to  Henderson  — 
about   1S73 — 'I'lJ  opened  a  drug  store  in  partnership  with    D.   Y. 


360  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Cooper  and  H.  Lassiter,  the  tirm  existing  until  1SS2.  In  1S81  Mr. 
Young  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Vance  county  superior  court,  and 
served  in  that  honorable  position  until  December,  1S90.  In  1877  he 
became  interested  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business  in  a  small 
way,  but  has  since  succeeded  in  building  up  a  large  and  constantly  in- 
creasing business.  Mr.  Young  is  active,  not  only  in  state  but  relig- 
ious wfork.  He  is  a  stirring  Sunday-school  worker,  and  is  also  one  of 
the  most  prominent  workers  in  the  state  in  the  Young  Mens'  Christ- 
ian association,  being  president  of  the  state  convention  in  iSqg.  Mr. 
Young  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  also  of  the  Masonic  or- 
der. His  father.  Dr.  Peter  Wesley  Young,  was  born  in  Granville 
county,  N.  C,  in  1832.  He  was  graduated  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  During  the  late  war  he  served 
in  the  army  of  northern  Virginia  from  its  commencement  until  the 
surrender  at  Appomatox,  having  'been  surgeon  of  the  brigade  com- 
manded by  Ex-Gov.  Scales,  of  North  Carolina.  In  1852  he  married 
Miss  Jane  Cooper,  daughter  of  J.  C.  Cooper,  of  Granville  county, 
N.  C.  The  father  died  in  1886.  His  father  was  David  Young,  of 
Granville  county,  N.  C.  He  was  a  merchant  during  his  active  life, 
and  died  in  Granville  county  about  1850. 


JOHN  W.  THOMPSON, 

one  of  the  most  popular  citizens  of  Wake  county,  is  now  clerk  of  the 
superior  court  for  that  county.  He  was  born  in  Wake,  August  27,  1850, 
and  after  attending  the  local  schools  was  duly  entered  at  Wake 
Forest  college.  Leaving  that  institution  in  1868  he  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business  at  Wake  Forest,  and  was  afterward  in  the  lumber 
business.  Mr.  Thompson,  springing  from  an  influential  family  and 
being  an  ardent  democrat,  soon  attained  local  prominence  in  party 
councils  and  in  1880  he  served  with  fidelity  and  efficiency  as  the 
chairman  of  the  county  executive  committee.  In  the  following  year 
he  was  appointed  to  the  responsible  position  of  steward  and  purchas- 
ing agent  of  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum,  which  position  he 
held  until  1889,  when  he  preferred  charges  against  the  superintend- 
ent, Dr.  Grissom,  for  improper  conduct,  and  a  trial  resulted  that 
excited  more  interest  throughout  the  state  than  any  other  trial  that 
has  ever  occurred  within  her  borders.  Mr.  Thompson's  conduct 
throughout  the  affair  was  highly  commended  as  honorable 
and  manly  and  patriotic.  On  his  retirement  from  the  asylum, 
Mr.  Thompson  acted  as  general  manager  of  the  Manhattan 
Life  insurance  company,  for  North  Carolina;  but  the  people  desired 
his  services  in  a  public  capacity,  and  in  the  very  exciting  political 
year  of  1890,  when  the  farmers'  alliance  was  in  full  control  of  the 
county  and  party  spirit  ran  high,  Mr.  Thompson  was  selected  over 
the  president  of  the  county  alliance  for  the  nomination  of  clerk,  and 
in  November,  he  was  triumphantly  elected  over  a  republican  nominee 
who  had  held  the  position  for  twelve  years,  whom  many  supposed  it 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  36 1 

was  quite  impossible  to  beat.  This  important  office  he  now  fills  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  public,  being  well  equipped  to  discharge  its  re- 
sponsible functions,  having  served  for  several  years  in  the  capacity  of 
a  justice  of  the  peace.  In  P'ebruary,  1874,  Mr.  Thompson  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Sallie  J.  Ellington,  daughter  of  J.  McC.  Ellington,  of 
Chatham  county,  and  to  them  have  been  born  five  children:  Lillian, 
Daisy,  Herbert  C.,  John  S,  and  Francis  V.  Thompson.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son is  a  gentleman  of  kindly  disposition  and  pleasing  address.  He 
is  full  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  and  seeks  to  do  good  to  his  fel- 
lowmen.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  Raleigh 
commandery  No.  4,  K.  T.,  Enoch  council,  Raleigh  chapter  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  and  is  past  master  of  William  G.  Hill  lodge.  No.  218,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.  He  is  also  an  Odd  Fellow,  being  a  member  of  Seaton  Gales 
lodge,  64,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Raleigh.  In  1888  Mr  Thompson  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  convention  of  the  j-oung  men's  national  democratic  club, 
which  met  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  in  July  of  that  year,  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  proceedings  of  that  body.  He  was  honored  by  being 
selected  as  vice-president  of  the  convention  for  the  state  of  North 
Carolina. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Thompson,  was  Michael  Thompson,  who  was 
born  in  Wake  county,  N.  C,  in  1816.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stood 
high  in  his  county,  for  many  years  being  a  magistrate.  He  married 
Martha  J.  Crenshaw,  daughter  of  William  Crenshaw,  Esq.,  and  to 
them  were  born  ten  children,  of  whom  five  survive:  Isabella  C. 
Thompson,  Glovenia  M.,  wife  of  James  S.  West,  Esq.,  of  Raleigh; 
John  W.  Thompson,  and  Dr.  S.  W.  Thompson,  of  Wake  county,  and 
James  C.  Thompson,  of  Raleigh.  Mr.  Michael  Thompson  died  in 
1877,  and  his  widow  survived  him  but  a  year. 


WILLIAM  J.  HICKS 

is  one  of  those  self-made  men,  who  by  application  and  native  ability, 
have  risen  to  prominence  in  their  calling.  He  was  born  in  Spottsyl- 
vania  county,  Va.,  February  18,  1S27.  During  his  youth  he  enjoyed 
no  educational  advantages,  but  after  attaining  manhood  he  went  to 
school  during  the  winter  season,  when  his  work  was  interrupted.  In 
1849  he  engaged  in  the  quarrying  and  stonecutting  business  in  Louisa 
City,  Va..,  and  so  continued  for  two  years,  gaining  valuable  experience 
that  was  to  stand  him  in  good  stead  in  after  life.  He  was  led,  how- 
ever, to  learn  the  millwright  and  carpenter's  trades,  and  worked  in 
that  line  some  three  years,  when  he  was  engaged  by  a  New  York 
firm  to  put  up  its  machinery  in  their  gold  mine,  near  Greensboro,  in 
Guilford  county,  N.  C.  This  led  to  his  residence  in  that  part  of  the 
state  for  a  couple  of  years,  when  he  was  employed  in  putting  ma- 
chinery in  the  Neuse  papermill,  on  Neuse  river.  Wake  county.  When 
that  had  been  satisfactorily  accomplished,  he  located  permanently  in 
Raldgh,  where  he  has  since  resided.     He  at  first  followed  the  busi- 


362  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ness  of  contractor  to  build  houses,  and  while  so  engaged,  was  early  in 
1862,  selected  to  erect  a  powdermill  near  Raleigh,  and  he  remained  as 
superintendent  of  the  mill,  making  powder;  which  was  the  best  small- 
arm  powder  by  far,  that  the  Confederate  States  had,  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  then  engaged  in  the  resin  business  for  a  year  or  so, 
when  he  again  undertook  the  work  of  a  contractor,  and  was  so  en- 
gaged until  August,  1869.  At  that  time  he  was  appointed  by  the 
directors  of  the  penitentiary,  to  be  superintendent  and  assistant  archi- 
tect of  that  work.  The  location  near  Raleigh  was  determined  on,  and 
ground  was  soon  broken  for  the  buildings.  Col.  Hicks's  judgment 
and  experience  were  relied  on  to  a  large  degree  in  deciding  on  the 
details  of  construction,  and  without  injustice  to  others  it  may  be  said 
that  the  North  Carolina  penitentiary  was  more  his  creation  than  that 
of  any  other  person.  In  1872  he  was  elected  warden  and  architect  of 
the  penitentiary,  which  position  he  has  ever  since  held,  establishing 
himself  year  by  year  more  firmly  in  the  confidence  of  the  authorities 
and  of  the  state  legislature. 

Col.  Hicks'  sound  judgment  has  led  to  his  being  consulted  on  va- 
rious occasions  and  matters  not  connected  with  this  work;  and  he 
has  for  years  been  a  member  of  the  state  agricultural  society.  He  has 
ever  been  an  active  worker  in  the  advancement  of  Raleigh's  prosper- 
ity, and  he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Raleigh  Wagon  company  and  in  the 
Raleigh  Savings  bank,  of  which  indeed  he  was  a  director  until  he 
resigned  that  position.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order, 
being  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  nine  degrees  in  the  York 
rite,  and  he  has  filled  all'the  chairs  in  the  council  and  the  chapter. 

Col.  Hicks  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  and  stands  high 
among  the  people  of  Raleigh  for  a  consistent  walk  in  life.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  one  who  has  been  in  continuous  office  under  the 
state  government  for  twenty  years  is  associated,  politically,  with  the 
dominant  party,  and  Col.  Hicks  is  a  democrat  in  his  political  faith. 
Col.  Hicks  was  married  in  1858  to  Julia  L.  Harrison,  daughter  of  Col. 
John  R.  Harrison,  of  Raleigh,  and  to  them  have  been  born  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  five  survive,  viz.:  John  M.  W.  Hicks,  of  New  York; 
William  B.  Hicks,  of  Moore  county,  N.  C;  Julia  F.,  wife  of  Dr.  A.  J. 
Buffalo,  of  Raleigh;  Elizabeth  W.  and  Bertha  M.  Hicks.  The  father 
of  our  subject  was  Martin  Hicks,  a  native  of  Spottsylvania  county,  Va., 
born  in  1797.  He  was  a  farmer.  He  married  about  1813,  Nancy,  a 
daughter  of  Robert  Pendleton  of  the  same  county,  by  whom  he  had 
eight  children,  of  whom  but  two  now  survive — Francis  R.  Hicks  and 
Col.  Hicks.  He  died  in  1849,  his  wife  having  died  about  1825.  Col. 
Hicks'  grandfather  was  Peter  Hicks,  who  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
where  he  was  born  about  1750.  He  was  of  English  descent,  his  father 
being  born  in  England  in  1720  and  coming  to  Virginia  in  early  man- 
hood. He,  too,  was  a  farmer;  he  was  also  high  sheriff  of  Spottsylvania 
county  for  a  number  of  years,  and  he  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  He  attained  a  great  age  and  passed  away  in  1844,  much 
esteemed  and  venerated  in  his  community. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  ^6^ 


O^O 


R.    D.    SPAIGHT. 

Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  governor,  was  born  in  Newbern,  N.  C, 
March  25,  175S.  His  father,  Richard  Spaight,  in  provincial  times,  was 
secretary  and  clerk  of  the  crown.  His  mother  was  the  sister  of  Ar- 
thur Dobbs,  for  more  than  ten  years  governor  of  the  province.  He 
was  left  an  orphan  at  a  tender  age,  and  was  sent  abroad  to  be  edu- 
cated when  only  nine  years  old.  He  pursued  his  academic  studies  in 
Ireland,  entered  the  Universitj'  of  Glasgow,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  177S.  He  returned  to  his  native  land  to  hnd  it  in  the  midst  of  a 
war  for  its  separation  from  the  mother  country.  Though  not  of  age, 
he  immediately  volunteered  in  the  service  of  his  country',  and  was 
appointed  aide  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Richard  Caswell.  He  was  pres- 
ent with  that  general  at  the  battle  of  Camden,  August  16,  17S0.  He 
was  a  brave  andgallant  soldier,  but  he  had  talents  which  so  aptly  fitted 
him  for  a  legislator  that  he  was  elected  as  a  member  of  the  general 
assembly  to  represent  the  Newbern  district.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1782  and  17S3.  He  was  then  chosen  a  member  of  congress  and  ap- 
pointed upon  a  committee  to  devise  a  temporary  form  of  government 
for  the  western  territory.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  to 
frame  the  Federal  constitution,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  and 
useful  members  of  that  body;  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  state  convention  which  met  at  Hillsboro,  Jul}' 21,  1788,  to 
consider  the  constitution  he  had  aided  in  framing,  and  was  an  ardent 
advocate  of  its  adoption  by  the  state,  although  he  had  identified  him- 
self with  the  Jeffersonian  democracy  and  believed  in  the  sovereignty 
of  the  states.  But  he  could  not  prevail  upon  the  convention  to  adopt 
the  constitution.  All  tliis  time  he  was  in  correspondence  with  Gen. 
Washington  upon  the  subject,  and  it  was  through  a  visit  to  North 
Carolina  of  Gen.  Washington,  on  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Spaight,  that 
by  their  combined  counsels,  the  state  reconsidered  its  action,  and  on 
the  21st  of  November,  1789,  adopted  the  constitution.  This  was  one 
of  the  triumphs  of  cool,  dispassionate  and  conciliator)'  measures  to 
effect  an  object  which  was  not  practicable  by  the  exercise  of  less 
judgment  and  good  sense. 

In  1792  Mr.  Spaight  was  again  elected  to  the  general  assembly,  by 
which  Ijody  he  was  immediately  chosen  governor  —  the  first  native 
citizen  that  had  ever  before  held  that  office.  While  holding  the 
office  of  chief  magistrate  he  was  chosen  a  presidential  elector,  and 
again  in  1797  he  held  that  office.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  con- 
gress in  1797,  holding  the  office  for  two  terms,  when  he  was  again  re- 
turned to  the  state  senate.  This  proved  to  be  his  last  election.  In 
those  days  politics  ran  high,  legislative  discussions  were  earnest  and 
often  acrimonious.  In  a  dispute  of  this  nature  Gov.  Spaight  and 
John  Stanly,  political  opponents,  became  involved  in  an  excited  con- 
troversy; Stanly  sent  a  taunting  and  offensive  challenge  to  his  ad- 
versary, which  was  accepted.  The  duel  occurred  September  5,  1802, 
and  Spaight  was  mortally  wounded,  surviving  but  a  single  day  after 


364  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  rencontre.  This  tra<?ic  and  truly  lamentable  occurrence  de- 
prived the  state  and  the  nation  of  one  of  their  wisest  and  most  bril- 
liant statesmen  and  counselors,  and  threw  a  beloved  family  into  the 
deepest  mourning.  At  his  funeral  his  eulogist,  Rev.  T.  P.  Irving,  said 
of  him: 

"Uniform  in  his  conduct,  respectful  to  authority,  and  influential  in 
his  example,  hospitality  was  conspicuous  trait  of  his  character.  The 
stranger  was  welcome,  treated  with  cordiality  and  entertained  with 
kindness.  His  charity  was  universal.  For  the  tale  of  sorrow  he  ever 
had  a  tear  of  relief.  He  was  an  effectionate  husband,  an  indulgent 
father,  and  a  compassionate  master,  consistent  in  his  hours  of  study 
and  recreation,  no  irregularities  disturbecl  his  course,  or  improper 
mdulgence  his  repose."  Gov.  Spaight  married  Miss  Polly  Leach 
who  bore  him  three  sons  and  one  daughter;  the  latter,  Margaret  be- 
came the  wife  of  Hon.  John  R.  Donnel,  one  of  the  state  judges.  Two 
sons  died,  one  in  infancy  and  one  unmarried,  Richard  Dobbs,  the 
second  son,  was  a  leading  statesman,  member  of  the  legislature,  of 
congress  and  governor  of  the  state.     He  too  died  unmarried. 

CHARLES  B.   ROOT, 

one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  at  Montague, 
Mass.,  October  31,  1818.  He  was  given  good  educational  advantages 
and  was  a  student  in  the  academy  at  Greenfield,  Mass.,  until  his  seven- 
teenth year,  when  he  went  to  New  York  city,  but  almost  immediately 
after  removed  to  Raleigh,  N.  C.  Arriving  in  Raleigh  in  1S37,  he  en- 
gaged in  trade.  For  five  years  he  had  charge  of  the  business  owned 
by  Bernard  Dupuy,  whom  he  subsequently  bought  out.  In  i860  Mr. 
Root  sold  the  concern,  and  never  again  engaged  in  business.  Im- 
mediately after  the  war,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Raleigh  gas 
company',  and  for  eighteen  3'ears  served  in  that  capacity.  In  1884  he 
was  elected  city  tax  collector  of  Raleigh  and  still  holds  that  office. 
He  has  served  as  a  county  commissioner,  having  been  chairman  of 
the  board,  for  many  3'ears  he  has  been  a  magistrate  and  for  fifteen 
years  was  a  city  alderman.  For  two  years  he  was  mayor  of  Raleigh, 
having  been  elected  to  that  office  by  the  democratic  party,  of  which 
he  has  ever  been  a  firm  adherent.  Mr.  Root  was  married  in  184S,  to 
Miss  Anna  Freeman  Gales,  daughter  of  Weston  R.  Gales,  of 
Raleigh,  and  a  niece  of  Joseph  Gales,  editor  of  the  old  N^ational 
Intclliocnccr.  Three  children  are  the  fruit  of  this  happy  union:  Love 
Gales,  wife  of  Dr.  V.  E.  Turner,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  and  Charles,  also 
of  Raleigh,  and  another  child  now  deceased.  Mr.  Root  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  state.  His  whole  career 
has  been  marked  by  great  ability  and  sterling  integrity.  He  is  de- 
scended from  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished  of  the  New 
England  families. 

His  father  was  Elihu  Root,  who  was  born  in  Montague,  Mass.,  in 
1767.  He  was  a  speculator,  and  engaged  in  various  pursuits,  although 
principally  interested  in  agriculture.     He  filled  nearly  all  the  munici 


NORTH  CAROl.KN'A.  365 

pal  offices  of  Montague,  and  was  generally  esteemed  throughout 
the  community.  In  1S04  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sophia  Gunn, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Gunn,  who  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  Their 
children  were  five,  but  one  of  whom  now  survives.  The  father  died 
in  1S5Q,  and  the  mother  in  1821.  Elihu  was  the  son  of  Moses,  a 
native  of  Montague,  Mass.,  where  he  was  born  in  1742.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  large  landed  proprietor.  His  death  occurred  Decem- 
ber 17,  1817.  His  father  was  Capt.  Joseph  Root,  also  a  native  of 
Montague,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  in  1713.  He  died  April  24, 
1781.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph,  born  July  3,  1686,  in  Northampton; 
died  February  16,  1710.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Root,  whose  Inrth 
occurred  at  Northampton  on  the  15th  of  January,  1664,  where  he 
died  October  23,  1690.  His  father  was  also  named  Joseph.  The 
latter  was  a  native  of  the  state  of  Connecticut,  having  come  into  the 
world  in  Hartford,  that  state,  in  1637.  His  demise  occurred  Janu- 
ary 28,  1691.  All  these  honored  sires  were  farmers,  and  were  active 
in  the  development  of  the  New  England  states.  As  tillers  of  the 
soil  they  helped  form  the  backbone  of  the  community,  and  as  large 
land  owners  had  a  voice  in  the  formation  of  the  country.  Thomas 
Root  was  born  in  England  January  16,  1605,  and  sought  a  new  home 
in  America  in  1637.  He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  where  he  became  a  leading  spirit.  He  died  on  his  farm 
in  1694. 

JOHN  M.  HORAH, 

one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  citizens  of  Salisbury,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  that  city  March  18,  1824.  His  father  was  William  H.  Horah, 
also  a  native  of  Salisbury,  and  he  was  the  son  of  Hugh  Horah,  who 
was  likewise  born  in  the  same  city.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry  Horah, 
a  native  of  Ireland  who  came  to  this  country  in  an  early  day,  not 
later  than  1750,  settling  in  Salisbury,  where  he  lived  many  years,  de- 
voted, it  is  believed,  to  farming.  Henrj'  Horah  had  two  sons  and  one 
daughter,  I  high,  Henry  and  Esther,  who  married  William  Brandon. 
Hugh  Horah  was  a  silver-smith  by  occupation,  and  lived  and  died  in 
Salisbury,  leaving  one  son,  William  H.  Horah,  who  was  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  early  occupation  was  that  of  a  silver- 
smith, but  for  many  years  afterward  he  was  cashier  of  the  state  bank 
at  Salisbury,  which  was  wound  up  in  1833  or  1834.  He  then  engaged 
as  a  clerk  in  the  Cape  Fear  bank,  a  branch  being  established  at  Salis- 
bury. He  was  the  father  of  twelve  children,  and  died  in  1863.  In 
1814  or  1815  Mr.  William  H.  Horah  was  married  to  Louisa  Furr. 
John  M.  Horah  was  reared  in  Salisl)ury,  here  acquiring  an  academic 
education,  and  beginning  his  business  life  at  the  age  of  eighteen  as  a 
clerk  in  a  store.  In  1846  he  went  into  the  branch  bank  of  Cape  Fear 
at  Salisbury,  as  clerk.  This  bank  was  wound  up  in  1864  or  1865,  ^nd 
he  then  engaged  as  clerk  with  S.  H.  Wiley,  internal  revenue  collector 
for  seven  years,  during  which  he  established  a  first  class  reputation  as 
a  business  man.     In  1874  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  superior  court 


J 


66  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


for  Rowan  county,  and  retained  that  office  for  sixteen  years,  dis- 
charging his  duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  pubhc.  He  is  now  a  deputy  clerk  in  the  same  office.  Mr.  Horah 
is  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  and  is  highl}^  respected  by  his  fellow 
citizens.  In  1S47  Mr.  Horah  was  united  In  marriage  with  Miss 
MargaVet  S.  Ballard,  and  by  her  has  had  three  children,  a  daughter 
and  two  sons.  His  family  are  all  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
He  would  have  joined  the  Confederate  army  in  defense  of  his  state 
during  the  Civil  war,  but  was  examined  and  rejected  because  of  phy- 
sical disability. 

JAMES  H.  RAMSAY, 

the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch,  was  born  in  Rowan  county,  N.  C, 
February  q,  1855.  He  is  the  son  of  Dr.  James  G-  Ramsay,  a  sketch  of 
whom  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  His  early  life  was 
spent  upon  the  farm  of  his  father  in  Rowan  county,  where  he  gained 
a  thorough  academic  education.  He  spent  one  year  as  a  teacher  In 
his  native  county,  and  In  1S75,  accepted  a  position  as  bookkeeper 
and  general  manager  of  the  mercantile  business  of  Ford  &  Fowler, 
and  bookkeeper  for  the  tobacco  manufacturing  business  of  Ford  & 
Company  of  South  River,  N.  C.  In  iSSo  he  engaged  as  bookkeeper 
for  Merroney  I3ros.,  general  merchants  at  Salisbury.  In  18S1  he  took  a 
clerkship  in  the  office  of  the  internal  revenue  collector  for  the  western 
district  of  North  Carolina,  at  Statesville.  Eighteen  months  later  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Arthur  as  postmaster  at  Salisbury,  which 
position  he  held  till  in  July,  1S85,  when  he  was  superceded  bj'  the  ap- 
pointee of  the  Cleveland  administration.  Mr.  Ramsay  returned  to 
the  occupation  of  bookkeeper  for  Merroney  Bros.,  of  Salisbury,  with 
whom  he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1S86,  when  he  became  interested 
In  the  tobacco  manufacturing  business  In  which  he  continued  until 
i88q.  He  was  then  re-appointed  postmaster  at  Salisbury  under  the 
Harrison  administration,  and  is  now  the  efficient  and  acceptable  in- 
cumbent of  that  office.  His  many  and  excellent  business  qualifica- 
tions make  him  a  fit  officer  for  that  position  and  his  upright  character 
as  a  private  citizen  makes  him  popular  with  all.  Though  never  an 
active  partisan,  his  politics  are  republican,  with  which  party  he  has 
always  been  identified.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity; 
having  attained  the  degree  of  Master  Mason.  Mr.  Ramsay  enjoys  In 
a  high  degree  the  esteem  and  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

COLONEL  JOHN  D.  TAYLOR. 

This  gentleman,  one  of  the  most  worthy  of  the  many  estimable 
citizens  of  Wilmington,  was  born  in  that  city  March  24,  1831.  He  is 
the  son  of  the  late  John  A.  Taylor  and  Catherine  M.  Taylor,  his  wife. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  New  York,  but  removed  to 
Wilmington  In  1820,  where  he  married  and  lived  many  years,  and 
died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  carrying  with  him  to  the  grave  the  respect  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  367 

the  entire  community.  He  was  an  active  and  successful  business 
man,  and  for  man)-  years  acted  as  agent  for  a  line  of  mail  steamers 
plying  between  Wilmington  and  Charleston.  His  only  son,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  notice,  received  a  classical  education  and  was  graduated 
at  the  university-  of  the  state  in  1853.  Shortly  afterward  he  visited 
Europe  and  spent  four  months  in  travel,  principally  on  the  continent. 
Upon  his  return  home  he  engaged  in  rice  planting  in  the  adjoining 
counties  of  Brunswick  and  Bladen,  and  served  until  the  early  part  of 
1862,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  K,  Thirty-sixth 
North  Carolina  state  troops,  artillery  service.  His  merits  were  soon 
discovered,  and  he  was  rapidly  promoted,  soon  reaching  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel,  in  which  position  he  did  the  state  much  service. 
When  the  evacuation  of  Wilmington  took  place  in  1S65  he  joined  Gen. 
Joe  Johnston's  army,  and  was  badly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Benton- 
ville,  losing  an  arm  in  that  engagement.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  he 
resumed  the  planting  of  rice,  which  he  continued  until  1878,  when  he 
was  appointed  to  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  New 
Hanover  county  to  fill  an  unexpired  term.  In  1884  he  was  elected 
cit)^  clerk  and  treasurer,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  three  years, 
giving  very  general  satisfaction.  In  1890  he  was  elected  superior 
court  clerk,  which  office  he  now  holds. 

Col.  Taylor  was  happily  married  in  1859  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Walker, 
and  has  been  blessed  with  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  who  are  all 
living.  His  eldest  son  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  I.  C.  Stevenson  & 
Taylor,  wholesale  grocers,  who  carry  on  a  large  and  profitable  busi- 
ness; his  second  son,  Walter,  is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hodges  & 
Taylor,  general  insurance  agents,  representing  companies  of  first  class 
standing.  There  are  few  men  more  popular  and  more  deservedly  so 
than  Col.  Taylor.  Of  genial  manners  and  pleasant  address  he  en- 
dears himself  to  all.  He  is  one  of  those  men  to  whom  one  in  trouble 
would  go  and  not  hesitate  to  unbosom  himself  ireely,  for  he  would 
feel  assured  of  warm  sympath)',  kindly  advice  and  generous  assist- 
ance. It  is  doubtful  if  he  has  an  enemy  in  the  world,  and  he  enjoys 
the  fullest  confidence  of  all  classes,  irrespective  of  color  or  "  previous 
condition  of  servitude."  He  is  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  of 
great  amiability  of  character,  and  above  all  a  Christian  gentleman, 
the  highest  type  of  a  true  manhood. 

JOHN  PORTER. 

In  1663,  John  Porter,  a  member  of  the  Virginia  house  of  burgesses 
from  lower  Norfolk  count}',  was  arrainged  before  the  house  for  being 
"  loving  to  the  Ouakers"  and  being  at  their  meetings.  He  was  also 
charged  with  being  "against  the  baptism  of  children."  As  Bancroft 
tells  us,  he  was  expelled  —  the  house  resolving  that  he  was  well  af- 
fected towards  the  Quakers.  Afterward  John  Porter  with  his  wife  Mary, 
and  children,  among  them  being  Edmund  and  John  Porter,  Jr.,  removed 
to  Chowan  precinct  where  he  established  himself  as  a  merchant, 
trading  to  Boston,   at   least,   and  accumulated   wealth.     In  the  Albe- 


368  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

marie  region  he  became  a  man  of  first  consequence,  not,  however, 
ordinarily  taking  part  in  political  matters.  His  daughter  Sarah  mar- 
ried John  Lillington,  and  his  son  John  married  .Sarah  Lillington  and 
by  these  marriages  his  family  became  connected  with  the  Swanns, 
Moseleys,  Moores  and  Lillingtons. 

In  1704,  when  Lord  Granville  undertook  to  enforce  the  act  of  the 
British  parliament,  requiring  all  officers  to  take  certain  oaths  and  e.\- 
cluding  Quakers  from  holding  places  under  government  and  under- 
took to  set  up  a  state  church  in  Carolina,  John  Porter  sent  his  son 
Edmund  to  England  to  co-operate  with  John  Ashe,  who  was  sent 
from  South  Carolina,  to  secure  a  redress  of  grievances.  Col.  Daniel, 
the  deputy  governor  for  North  Carolina,  was  as  a  result  of  that  mis- 
sion dismissed;  and  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson,  governor,  residing  at 
Charleston,  then  sent  Col.  Carey  as  deputy  governor.  Col.  Carey, 
however,  followed  in  Daniel's  footsteps,  and  in  1706,  John  Porter  him- 
self went  to  England,  to  have  the  matter  settled.  He  obtained  a 
commission  suspending  the  power  of  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson  to  ap- 
point a  deputy  governor  for  North  Carolina,  and  removing  Col. 
Carey,  and  also  new  deputations,  appointing  Porter  and  his  friends 
deputies  of  the  lords  proprietors,  to  act  as  members  of  the  council, 
and  with  power  for  the  council  to  choose  a  president  among  them- 
selves. In  fact,  the  entire  management  of  public  affairs  of  the  col- 
ony was  committed  to  Mr.  Porter.  Thus  equipped  with  full  power. 
Porter  reached  home  in  October,  1707.  At  first  he  had  Glover,  one 
of  the  councilors,  chosen  president  of  the  council;  but  Glover  soon 
began  to  ignore  these  instructions;  and  calling  together  the  council- 
ors. Porter  set  aside  Glover's  election,  and  Carey  agreeing  to  obey 
them,  he  caused  Carey  to  be  proclaimed  president  and  governor. 
Glover  would  not  submit;  and  so  the  two  contending  presidents 
agreed  to  submit  the  matter  to  an  assembly,  to  be  elected  on  a  day 
agreed  on. 

At  that  election  the  Carey  or  Porter  party  was  entirely  successful. 
The  election  of  Edward  Moseley,  one  of  the  Porter  party  was,  how- 
ever, contested;  but  the  assembly  seated  Moseley  and  chose  him 
speaker.  Porter  himself  was  elected  a  member  and  took  the  oaths, 
but  some  Quakers  were  chosen  who  merely  affirmed  as  had  always 
been  the  practice  under  the  constitution  of  the  colony.  Glover  then 
declared  that  the  assembly  was  not  a  lawful  body  and  that  he  would 
not  submit  to  its  judgment  as  he  had  agreed  to  do.  He  and  Col. 
Pollock  fled  to  Virginia.  Col.  Carey  continued  to  administer  the  af- 
fairs of  the  colony  until  the  arrival  of  Edward  Hyde,  who  was  sent 
out  to  be  governor  of  North  Carolina,  but  whose  commission  had 
not  reached  him.  Carey  and  Porter  and  all  others  in  the  fall  of  the 
year  17 10,  joined  in  asking  Hyde,  who  was  cousin  to  the  queen,  to 
become  president  of  the  council  and  to  take  the  administration,  which 
he  did.  But  he  at  once  fell  under  the  influence  of  Col.  Pollock  and 
the  Glover  party,  and  would  not  allow  Quakers  to  hold  office  unless 
they  took  the  oaths,  excluding  them  from  the  assembly,  which  thus 
was  dominated  by  the  Glover  faction.     Carey  and  Porter  and  Moseley 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  369 

were  arrested,  but  the  former  managed  to  escape  and  Carey  fortified 
himself  in  a  strong  position.  Hyde  marched  against  him  without 
success.  Carey  then  raised  a  force  and  sailed  from  the  Pamlico  sec- 
tion toward  Edenton,  but  his  expedition  came  to  naught,  and  in  July, 
Carey  and  Porter  abandoned  opposition  and  went  to  Virginia  to  take 
shipping  for  England.  There  they  were  arrested  by  the  governor  of 
Virginia  and  sent  to  England.  Porter  remained  in  England,  and  a 
few  nmnths  afterward  died  at  Bridgewater,  where  his  will  was  proved 
in  the  summer  of  1712.  His  wife  remained  in  Carolina,  dying  there 
in  1717.  He  left  Edmund,  John,  Matthew,  Joshua  and  Sarah  and 
Eliza. 

Edmund  Porterwas  a  strong  supporter  of  Careys,  and  left  the  col- 
ony at  the  same  time.  It  is  said  that  he  went  to  Scotland  and  engaged 
in  rebellion  there,  perhaps  in  1715.  Later  he  returned  to  the  colony 
and  was  an  active  manager  of  public  affairs,  was  judge  of  the  court 
of  admiralty,  and  was  a  member  as  the  royal  council,  which  post  he 
held  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1739. 

John  Porter,  the  second,  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  the  year  1664, 
and  was  admitted  as  a  lawyer  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  North  Caro- 
lina, soon  after  becoming  of  age.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Gov.  Alexander  Lillington,  and  in  the  year  171 1,  was  residing  near  the 
present  town  of  Beaufort,  he  being  a  vestryman  of  St.  Thomas  Par- 
ish, which  included  Bath.  In  the  same  vicinity  lived  John  Lillington, 
who  had  married  his  sister  Sarah,  the  mother  of  Gen.  Alexander 
Lillington.  In  the  Indian  massacre  of  September,  171 1,  the  Indians 
burnt  both  their  residences,  and  Col.  Porter's  family  barely  escaped. 
A  negro  had  their  infant  son,  John,  near  the  house  when  the  Indians 
came  up.  One  of  the  band  seized  the  child  and  was  in  the  act  of 
dashing  its  brains  out  against  a  tree,  when  Mrs.  Porter  rushed  out 
and  rescued  him.  Capt.  Patrick  Manle  was  in  the  house,  and  together 
with  Col.  Porter  made  defense  from  the  front,  while  the  family  pre- 
pared to  leave  by  the  rear.  They  succeeded  in  reaching  a  boat  at  the 
landing  and  found  safety  on  a  vessel  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Captain 
Manle,  who  married  Eliza  Porter,  afterward  fought  bravely  in  the 
Indian  war. 

Col.  Porter  was  a  member  of  the  assembly  of  1715,  and  afterward 
moved  to  New  Hanover,  where  he  died  in  1734,  leaving  John  Porter 
(the  third),  born  in  ijog,  and  Mary  Porter,  born  in  171 2.  This  Mary 
Porter  became  the  second  wife  of  Col.  Maurice  Moore  and  was  the 
mother  of  Judge  Maurice  Moore,  Gen.  James  ^loore  and  Rebecca, 
the  wife  of  Gen.  John  Ashe. 

John  Porter  (the  third)  resided  at  Porter's  Neck,  New  Ilanoyer 
county  and  was  a  wealthy  merchant.  He  was  one  of  the  original  in- 
corporators of  the  town  of  Wilniington,  and  an  active  man  of  busi- 
ness. He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Col.  Maurice  Moore.  He  died 
in  1744,  leaving  fohn  .Swann  Porter  and  several  daughters,  who  all 
died  unmarried  except  Mary,  who  married  Gov.  Sam  /\she,  and  was 
the  mother  of  Col.  John  Baptista  Ashe  and  Col.  Sam  Ashe. 
B — 24 


370  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


JOHN  M.  SMITH, 

one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Rockingliam,  slieriff,  tax  collector  and 
treasurer  of  Richmond  county,  N.  C,  was  born  in  that  county,  De- 
cember, 1856.  His  parents  were  Calvin  and  Lucy  Smith,  both  natives 
of  South  Carolina.  Calvin  Smith  was  a  farmer  and  mechanic,  and 
was  well  and  favorably  known  in  Marlborough  county,  S.  C.  His 
death  occurred  in  1867,  when  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight 
years.  His  wife  survived  him  many  years,  dying  November  3,  iSgo, 
aged  seventy-eight  years.  John  M.  Smith  is  the  only  child  of  these 
parents.  The  mother's  first  husband  was  Nelson  Stevens,  by  whom 
she  became  the  mother  of  seven  children,  four  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing. At  the  age  of  eleven  years,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  began  the 
turpentine  business  and  assisted  very  materially  in  the  support  of  his 
mother  and  her  daughters.  He  learned  the  cooper's  trade  and  con- 
tinued in  that  business  until  1876.  He  then  worked  on  the  railroad 
as  a  section  hand  for  a  year,  when  he  was  promoted  to  station  agent 
at  Sand  Hill.  Here  he  remained  until  he  was  elected  sheriff  in  1SS2, 
when  he  resigned  his  position  on  the  railroad.  At  the  election  in 
1884  he  was  defeated  for  the  office.  He  then  was  employed  by  the 
same  railroad  company  as  book-keeper  at  Hamlet.  In  18S6  he  was 
again  elected  sheriff  and  was  re-elected  in  1888  and  in  1890.  His 
present  term  of  office  will  not  expire  till  1892.  That  he  has  admin- 
istered the  office  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constituents  and  all  con- 
cerned is  amply  demonstrated  by  his  continuous  re-elections  to  the 
same  office.  As  a  private  citizen,  Mr.  Smith  is  numbered  among  the 
most  responsible,  worthy  and  enterprising  of  the  community  in  which 
he  lives.  He  was  married  in  1881  to  Miss  Catura  L.  Newton,  daugh- 
ter of  Cornelius  D.  Newton,  of  Marlborough  county,  S.  C.  The  home 
of  this  couple  has  been  brightened  by  the  birth  of  four  children  whose 
names  are  Holland,  Nellie  V.,  Carl  and  Rub^'  L.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  re- 
publican in  politics  and  was  appointed  alternate  delegate  from  his 
district  to  the  national  conventions  held  in  Chicago  in  1884  and  18S8, 
the  former,  which  nominated  James  G.  Blaine,  and  the  latter  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  for  president. 

J.  W.  SCOTT,  JR., 

mayor  of  the  village  of  Sanford  and  a  dealer  in  furniture,  was  born 
in  Chatham  county,  March  8,  1863.  He  is  the  son  of  J.  W.  Scott,  Sr., 
and  Kate  L.  Scott,  both  natives  of  North  Carolina  and  still  living. 
The  father  is  a  speculator  and  one  of  the  wealthy  and  prominent 
business  men  of  Moore  county.  He  is  widely  known  and  highly  re- 
spected; is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  his  community,  and  gives 
much  attention  to  politics.  He  is  not,  however,  an  office  seeker. 
Mr.  Scott  operates  principally  in  buying  and  selling  lands,  but  deals 
in  other  commodities  whenever  opportunity  offers.  He  is  a  member 
and  an   elder  in  the   Presbyterian  church  to  which   his  wife  also  be- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  371 

longs.  They  have  five  children  living:  Marj-  W.,  wife  of  T.  M. 
Cross;  J.  \V.  Jr.;  Katie;  Charles  L.,  who  is  baggage  master  on  the 
C.  F.  c\:  Y.  \'.  railroad,  and  Samuel  V.  The  last  named  and  Katie 
are  still  inmates  of  the  parental  home.  J.  W.  Scott.,  Jr.,  was  edu- 
cated at  the  academy  at  Haywood,  there  completing  an  English 
course.  He  was  prepared  to  enter  the  sophomore  class  in  college, 
but  his  health  failing,  the  prosecution  of  a  further  educational  course 
was  abandoned.  He  began  business  for  himself  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years  as  editor  of  the  Moore  Gazette,  published  at  Carthage.  He 
continued  in  this  position  for  four  years,  selling  out  the  concern  in 
February,  1887.  He  then  resumed  the  printing  business  at  Sanford, 
in  which  he  remained  one  year,  and  then  embarked  in  the  furniture 
traffic,  in  which  he  is  at  the  present  time  engaged.  The  business  is 
done  under  the  firm  name  of  the  Sanford  Furniture  company,  and  a 
fair  degree  of  success  has  attended  the  operation.  Mr.  Scott  has  the 
only  house  in  the  county  which  handles  furniture  exclusively.  He  is 
also  agent  for  the  Manhattan  Life  Insurance  company,  beside  repre- 
senting several  fire  insurance  companies.  In  this  line  he  is  working 
up  a  good  trade. 

Mr.  Scott  is  not  of  the  standstill  class  of  men,  but  possesses 
energy  and  push,  and  is  numbered  among  the  most  enterprising  men 
of  the  county.  He  was  chosen  one  of  the  policemen  of  the  town  of 
Sanford  in  1889,  holding  the  position  for  one  year.  In  1890  he  was 
elected  mayor  of  Sanford  by  a  handsome  majority,  and  he  makes  an 
excellent  and  highly  popular  executive  official.  I\Ir.  Scott  was  united 
in  marriage  in  1885,  with  Miss  Kate  J.,  daughter  of  Dr.  E.  M.  Hower- 
ton,  of  Clarksville,  Va.  Their  home  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of 
two  children:  Edward  W.  and  Jessie.  Mrs.  Scott  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Scott  enjoys  the  confidence,  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Sanford  Loan  Improvement  company,  and  was  the  originator  of  the 
enterprise.  He  thus  stands  to  the  front  in  all  the  leading  affairs  which 
promote  the  prosperity  and  advancement  of  his  town.  His  public 
spirit,  and  broad  ideas  of  business  methods  are  a  beneficence  in  the 
community  in  which  he  lives. 

GOV.  WILLIAM  HAWKINS. 

One  of  the  most  popular  men  of  his  time  in  North  Carolina  was 
William  Hawkins,  of  Granville  county,  who  at  the  early  age  of  thirty- 
four  years,  was  called  to  the  gubernatorial  chair  during  the  troubles 
with  Great  Britain,  and  was  twice  re-elected,  serving  from  1811  to 
1814.  He  was  known  as  the  war  governor  of  North  Carolina.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  influential  family  bearing  his  name,  whose  his- 
tory has  been  intimately  connected  with  iniblic  affairs  in  North  Car- 
olina for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half.  He  was  the  son  of  Philemon 
Hawkins  and  Lucy,  and  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  Granville 
county,  October  20,  1777.  Having  received  a  finished  collegiate  edu- 
cation, he  read  law  with  Judge  Williams,  of  Williamsboro,  Granville 


372  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

count3^  who  was  the  father-in-law  of  Judge  Henderson.  But  before 
entering  on  the  practice,  his  uncle,  Benjamin  Hawkins,  who  had  been 
a  member  of  the  Continental  congress,  and  later  one  of  the  first  sen- 
ators elected  by  North  Carolina  to  the  Federal  congress,  and  who 
was  then  general  agent  for  all  Indians  south,  urgently  desired  him  to 
come  to  the  agency  at  Fort  Hawkins,  near  Macon,  Ga.,  as  his  assist- 
ant. In  conformity  with  this  request,  young  William,  in  December, 
1797,  repaired  to  the  agency  and  spent  two  years  assisting  his  uncle, 
who  became  very  much  attached  to  him,  and  being  unmarried,  pur- 
posed making  him  his  heir. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  Col.  Hawkins  discovered  that  William 
was  restless  in  the  wilderness  and  seeing  few  others  than  Indians  and 
he  provided  him  with  means  and  induced  him  to  go  to  Philadelphia, 
Penn.,  and  spend  two  years  studying  law  and  reviewing  some  of  his 
former  studies,  especially  French,  so  as  to  perfect  himself  in  that 
language  both  by  study  and  in  the  society  of  the  numerous  promi- 
nent Frenchmen  then  residing  in  that  city.  After  two  years  profitably 
passed  at  Philadelphia,  then  the  seat  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, William,  in  the  winter  of  1801,  returned  to  North  Carolina  and 
was  appointed  by  Gov.  Turner,  in  1802,  to  settle  some  disputes  with 
the  Tuscarora  Indians.  In  1804,  becoming  enamoured  of  Miss  Ann 
Boyd,  of  Mecklenburg  county,  Va.,  he  was  married  to  her  and  re- 
linquished all  idea  of  returning  to  Georgia,  settled  on  a  fine  planta- 
tion on  Nutbush  creek,  near  Williamsboro,  Granville  county,  and  near 
the  old  homestead  where  his  father  resided.  Here,  in  1804,  he  built 
his  residence,  which  became  a  seat  of  refined  hospitality  and  social 
culture.  In  180Q,  1810  and  181 1,  he  represented  Granville  county  in 
the  house  of  commons,  and  so  highly  esteemed  was  he  for  personal 
worth  and  so  warmly  was  he  appreciated  by  the  public  men  of  that 
period,  that  he  was  elected  governor  by  the  legislature  of  181 1,  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-four,  being  the  youngest  governor  ever  elected  in 
North  Carolina.  His  term  was  continued  by  re-election  as  long  as 
the  constitution  permitted,  and  covered  the  very  interesting  period 
of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain.  He  was  active,  able  and 
patriotic  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  executive  office  during 
the  war,  and  his  administration  reflected  credit  alike  on  himself  and 
on  the  people  of  the  state.  With  zeal  he  applied  himself  to  meas- 
ures of  defense  and  he  rendered  the  Federal  government  all  the  aid 
possible.  During  his  administration  the  new  governor's  mansion  at 
the  foot  of  Fayetteville  street,  Raleigh,  was  prepared  for  occupancy, 
and  he  was  the  first  governor  to  reside  in  it. 

About  the  end  of  his  term  as  governor,  his  uncle  Benjamin,  who 
was  then  advancing  in  years,  felt  the  growing  need  of  an  assistant  in 
his  affairs  at  Fort  Hawkins,  Ga.,  and  asked  Gov.  Hawkins  to  prevail 
on  his  younger  brother,  Capt.  Philemon  Hawkins,  who  had  graduated 
at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1809,  and  who  was  then  a  cap- 
tain of  artillery  in  the  United  States  army,  to  resign  his  commission 
and  come  to  his  aid.  This  he  did,  and  Capt.  Hawkins  on  reaching 
Fort   Hawkins,  in  181 5,  found   his  uncle   in  feeble   health,  and  in  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  373 

succeeding  year,  1816,  Col.  Benjamin  Hawkins  died.  As  remarked 
before.  Col.  Hawkins  had  as  far  back  as  1797,  intended  to  make  his 
nephew,  Gov.  Hawkins,  his  heir,  but  later  he  married  and  children 
were  born  to  him.  Gov.  Hawkins  knowing  the  extreme  punctilious- 
ness of  his  uncle,  thereupon  wrote  to  him  that  he  recalled  with  grate- 
ful recollection  all  of  his  past  favors  and  his  expressed  intention  to 
make  him  his  heir,  but  that  circumstances  had  changed  and  his  chil- 
dren were  the  natural  objects  of  his  bounty,  and  he  protested  his  own 
unwillingness  to  share  in  his  estate,  and  released  him  from  all  moral 
obligation.  Col.  Hawkins  had  not  seen  him  in  many  years,  but  in  his 
will  he  provided  that  his  estate,  which  was  considered  a  large  one 
(over  $200,000)  for  that  time,  should  be  divided  among  his  wife,  his 
six  children  and  his  nephew  William,  share  and  share  alike,  and  made 
his  nephew  William  sole  executor. 

Gov.  Hawkins  accepted  the  trust,  qualified  as  executer,  and  set- 
tled up  the  estate;  but  would  retain  nothing  either  of  the  bequest, 
or  commissions,  or  in  compensation  for  his  own  expenses  in  the  rnat- 
ter.  A  year  or  two  later,  in  May,  1819,  Gov.  Hawkins  himself  died, 
at  Sparta,  Ga.,  at  the  age  of  forty-two.  He  left  eight  children.  One 
of  the  sisters  of  Gov.  Hawkins,  Sarah,  married  Col.  Polk,  of  Raleigh, 
and  her  son  Leonidas,  was  the  bishop-general  of  the  Confederate 
army;  a  son  of  his,  Dr.  Polk,  obtained  eminence  in  his  profession  in 
New  York  city,  and  died  near  Asheville,  N.  C,  in  the  summer  of  1891. 
Two  other  sisters  married  Haywoods,  of  Raleigh,  and  one  married 
Mr.  Little,  of  Halifax.  The  four  sisters  were  left  widows  with  large 
estates,  and  with  large  families,  and  they  were  each  made  sole  execu- 
trix, and  settled  up  their  trusts  with  great  credit  to  themselves.  The 
first  wife  of  Hon.  Louis  I).  Henry  was  another  sister  of  Gov. 
Hawkins. 

JAMES  McNIGHT  MORROW 

was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  S.C.,  April  12,  1831.  His  father,  Allen 
Morrow,  was  also  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  and  he  was  the  son  of 
James  Morrow,  a  Virginian  by  birth,  but  who  early  emigrated  from 
Virginia,  and  settled  in  Lancaster  district,  S.  C.  He  was  of  Irish 
descent  and  had  five  sons  and  four  daughters.  His  wife  was  Miss 
Watson  who  came  from  \'irginia  of  which  state  she  was  a  native. 
Allen  Morrow,  the  father  of  James  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Agnes  Potts,  of  Union,  N.  C,  formerly  a  part  of  MeckUmburg 
county.  She  was  of  Irish  lineage.  James  was  her  only  child,  and  she 
died  while  he  was  an  infant.  For  a  second  wife  Allen  Morrow  mar- 
ried Clarissa  A.  .Spears  of  Mecklenburg  county,  and  they  had  two 
sons  and  three  daughters.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  in 
which  he  achieved  both  prominence  and  success.  He  had  no  politi- 
cal aspirations,  preferring  the  honor,  respect  and  independence  which 
ever  crown  a  faithful  devotion  to  that  calling.  He  died  in  Lancaster 
district.  James  McXight  Morrow  was  reared  amid  the  scenes  o 
plantation    life,  acquiring  a  liberal  English    eilucation   at    the  hig 


374  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

school  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  father's  homestead.  He  remained 
with  his  father  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  then  left  his  home 
to  grapple  with  the  realities  of  life  on  his  own  account.  He  first 
secured  the  position  of  clerk  in  which  occupation  he  was  engaged 
three  years.  In  1855  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Margarete  Potts, 
of  Lancaster  county,  where  he  settled  on  a  farm.  He  foHowed  farm- 
ing till  1869  in  which  year  he  sold  his  farm,  and  removed  to 
Charlotte,  N.  C. 

Mr.  Morrow  abandoned  farming  in  consequence  of  the  free  labor 
system,  which  resulted  from  the  Civil  war.  A  lameness  in  his  left 
foot  and  ankle  unfitted  him  for  the  active  work  of  the  farm,  and 
when  depriv^ed  of  slave  labor  he  was  practically  compelled  to  give  up 
farming.  He  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  grocery  store  of  E.  M.  Holt 
&  Co.,  a  wholesale  and  retail  establishment  in  Charlotte.  In  this  ca- 
pacity he  continued  for  two  years,  when  he  engaged  as  bookkeeper 
for  R.  M.  Miller  &  Sons,  wholesale  and  retail  grocers,  where  he  re- 
mained for  four  years.  Then  he  engaged  in  the  same  capacity  for 
Joseph  McLaughlin  during  a  term  of  nine  years.  He  then  took  a 
like  position  with  T.  R.  Magill,  in  the  same  business,  and  this  engage- 
ment lasted  about  four  years.  In  1886  Mr.  Morrow  was  elected  clerk 
of  the  superior  court  of  Mecklenburg  county,  and  in  1890  was  re- 
elected for  a  second  term.  In  November,  1886,  his  wife  died,  leaving 
him  three  children;  February  13,  1890,  he  married  as  his  second  wife, 
Miss  jBettie  H.  Williams,  of  Charlotte.  Mr.  Morrow  is  a  member  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  church  at  Charlotte,  of  which  he  is  an  influen- 
tial communicant.  He  enjoys  the  highest  respect  as  a  private  citizen, 
and  as  a  court  official  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  and  most  effi- 
cient clerks  ever  entrusted  with  the  duties  of  that  office. 


CORNELIUS    HARNETT, 

a  Revolutionary  patriot,  was  born  in  1723,  probably'  in  the  Albemarle 
section  of  North  Carolina,  as  his  father,  Cornelius  Harnett,  was  set- 
tled there  about  that  time.  In  1726  his  father  was  residing  on  the 
lower  Cape  Fear,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  on  that  river.  Cor- 
nelius Harnett,  the  elder,  was  a  friend  of  Gov.  Burrington  during 
his  first  term  as  governor  in  1724,  and  on  his  return  as  the  represen- 
tative of  the  crown,  Burrington  brought  with  him  a  commission  for 
Harnett  to  be  of  the  council.  Harnett,  however,  joined  Ashe  in  his 
opposition  to  Burrington,  and  aided  in  defeating  the  adoption  of  all 
prerogative  measures.  Of  the  early  life  of  the  son,  but  little  is  known. 
He  received  a  good  education;  was  a  gentleman  of  elegant  manners 
and  refined  appearance.  He  was  a  genius  in  music,  and  a  writer  of 
force  and  elegance.  In  the  stamp  act  troubles  of  February,  1766,  he 
was  a  leader  in  the  movement  to  secure  the  release  of  the  captured 
vessels.  And  from  that  time  onward  he  bore  a  conspicuous  part  as  a 
whig  patriot.  So  beloved  was  he  by  the  people  of  Wilmington  that 
the  legislature  enacted  that  his  residence  at  Hilton,  some  distance 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  375 

from  the  town,  should  be  attached  to  the  town,  so  that  he  might  rep- 
resent the  town  in  the  assembly. 

When,  in  1773,  Josiah  Ouincy  visited  the  Cape  Fear  to  ascertain 
the  temper  of  the  people,  he  spoke  of  Mr.  Harnett  as  the  Samuel 
Adams,  of  North  Carolina.  He  boldly  espoused  the  cause  of  his 
country,  and  took  rank  with  the  foremost  men  of  the  colony.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  safet}';  was  a  leading  member  of 
the  provincial  congresses;  was  chosen  president  of  the  committee  of 
thirteen,  in  whom  the  administration  was  lodged  before  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution,  and  drew  up  the  resolution  declaring  for  inde- 
pendence and  separation  in  April,  1776.  When  Clinton  arrived  in 
the  Cape  Fear  in  the  spring  of  1776,  Harnett  with  Howe  was  hon- 
ored by  being  excepted  from  the  general  offer  of  pardon.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  that  framed  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
and  doubtless  manj'  of  those  fine  state  papers  of  that  period  which 
are  so  creditable  to  North  Carolina  were  his  productions.  He  served 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  congress  in  1777,  1778,  1779  and  the 
early  months  of  17S0.  He  signed  the  articles  of  confederation.  In 
that  body  he  had  but  few  superiors.  In  1781  Maj.  Craig  occupied 
Wilmington,  and  as  soon  as  the  fleet  entered  the  river  Mr.  Harnett, 
who  was  then  at  Hilton,  sought  safety  in  Onslow  county.  A  detach- 
ment of  dragoons  was  sent  to  capture  him,  and  being  seized  with  an 
attack  of  the  gout,  he  was  unable  to  escape.  Carried  to  Wilmington 
after  rough  treatment  he  was  paroled  — but  his  malady  was  fatal,  and 
he  died  April  20,  1781.  He  was  not  a  believer  in  Christianity;  and 
his  tombstone  bears  an  epitaph  written  by  his  own  hand  when  near 
his  end: 

"  Slave  to  no  sect,  he  took  no  private  road. 
But  looked  through  Nature,  up  to  Nature's  God." 


J.  W.  COBB, 

the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  York  county,  S.  C,  Septem- 
ber 30,  1855.  His  father,  Dr.  B.  M.  Cobb,  was  a  native  of  Lincoln 
county,  N.  C,  born  in  1822  and  of  English  lineage.  He  was  the  son 
of  John  Cobb,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Catawba  county,  N.  C,  and 
was  by  occupation  a  farmer.  He  had  five  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Dr.  B.  M.  Cobb  was  reared  in  his  native  county,  receiving  there  a 
liberal  English  education.  He  studied  medicine  under  Dr.  Caldwell, 
in  Lincolnton,  and  afterward  attended  the  Medical  university  at 
New  York  city  and  Jefferson  medical  college,  of  Philadelphia,  from 
which  two  institutions  he  graduated.  He  began  practice  in  Lincoln 
county  and  for  several  years  pursued  his  practice  in  that  county, 
Gaston  and  Catawba  counties.  In  1S48  he  removed  to  Fort  Mills. 
York  county,  S.  C,  where  he  remained  till  1868.  He  married  Cath- 
erine Lonergau,  born  in  Ireland  in  1825,  and  who  came  to  this  coun- 
try with  her  parents  in  1830.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Edward  Lon- 
ergau, and  died  in  1888,  leaving  si.x  sons  and  two  daughters.     J.  W. 


376  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Cobb  was  the  fifth  in  succession  of  births.  He  was  reared  in  York 
county,  N.  C,  and  received  a  fair  English  education  at  Fort  Mills. 
In  June,  1870,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  came  to  Charlotte  and  accepted 
a  position  as  clerk  in  a  store,  where  he  remained  about  six  years.  In 
1876  he  was  employed  in  the  county  register's  office  as  clerk,  where 
he  remained  till  1884.  He  was  then  elected  register  of  deeds,  and 
for  every  term  of  two  years  since,  he  has  been're-elected  to  the  same 
office.  His  superior  qualifications  as  a  clerk,  his  long  experience  and 
his  sterling  characteristics  as  a  citizen  have  amply  equipped  him  for 
the  position  he  has  so  long  and  so  satisfactorily  filled.  He  began  life 
in  straightened  circumstances,  financially,  but  by  excellent  business 
habits,  unimpeachable  integrity,  unerring  judgment  and  an  indomit- 
able perseverance,  he  has  fairly  won  success.  October  15,  1885,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Grooce,  of  Charlotte,  and  their  union 
has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  three  children.  Thej'  are  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  church. 

THOMAS    A.    WATTS, 

ex-sheriff  of  Iredell  county,  was  born  on  the  farm  where  he  now  re- 
sides, in  the  township  of  Shiloh,  Iredell  county,  N.  C,  May  5,  1S37. 
His  family  was  of  the  purest  Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  his  ancestors 
moved  from  Pennsylvania  to  North  Carolina  at  an  early  day.  His 
father  was  Fielding  Watts,  his  paternal  grandfather  William  Watts, 
and  his  mother  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  William  Steele  and  Bettie 
Watts.  His  ancestors  were  prominent  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Iredell  county,  his  father  being  an  elder  in  the  Concord 
church,  and  two  of  his  uncles  were  clergymen  in  that  denomination 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  North  Carolina  synod.  Before  the  war  he 
and  his  connections  were  whigs  and  union  men.  Thomas  A.  Watts 
was  the  fourth  son  of  his  father.  When  the  war  began  he  was  major 
of  the  North  Carolina  militia,  and,  by  order  of  Gov.  Vance,  was  or- 
dered to  remain  at  home  on  protective  duty.  During  the  war  he  was 
captain  of  one  of  the  two  companies  of  Iredell  county  home  guards, 
but  did  not  go  into  active  service.  Immediatel}'  after  the  war  he  was 
appointed  by  provisional  Gov.  Holden,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  re-establishing  the  county  government.  He 
was  subsequently  elected  by  the  people  and  served  until  August,  1874, 
when  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Iredell  county,  defeating  his  cousin, 
J.  A.  F.  Watts,  who  had  the  support  of  the  old  sheriff  and  most,  if 
not  all,  of  the  other  county  officers.  He  was  elected  by  a  vote  of 
more  than  three  to  one.  At  the  next  election  in  1876,  Mr.  Watts  was 
elected  without  opposition,  and  was  again  elected  in  the  same  way  in 
1878.  In  1880  S.  C.  Hager  was  the  republican  candidate,  and  Mr. 
Watts  was  elected  by  more  than  1,500  majority,  while  the  democratic 
majority  on  the  presidential  and  gubernatorial  tickets  was  only  743. 
Prohibition  was  the  leading  issue  in  1881,  and  Sheriff  Watts  took  an 
active  part  in  the  campaign  on  that  side.  The  ticket  was  defeated 
by  more  than  two  to  one. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  377 

In  18S2  a  great  effort  was  made  by  the  republicans  and  certain 
anti-prohibition  democrats  to  defeat  Mr.  Watts  for  sheriff.  His  op- 
ponent was  \V.  F.  Sharpe,  a  man  of  spotless  character,  but  Mr.  Watts 
was  elected  bj'  a  majorit}'  of  822,  while  the  democratic  majority  on 
the  state  ticket  was  only  543.  He  declined  a  nomination  in  1884,  and 
retired  from  the  political  field.  During  his  incumbency  of  the  office 
of  sheriff,  county  scrip  was  worth  100  cents  to  the  dollar,  and  through- 
out his  official  career  he  retained  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the 
people.  In  1S8S  Mr.  Watts  was  elected  chairman  of  the  democratic 
county  executive  committee,  a  preferment  which  was  again  accorded 
him  in  1890.  He  has  been  a  leader  in  the  democratic  party  in  his 
county  ever  since  the  war,  and  his  qualities  as  an  organizer  have 
earned  for  him  the  name  of  "the  Samuel  J.  Tilden  of  Iredell  county." 
January  11.  1865,  Mr.  W'atts  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mar- 
garet E.  Morrison,  and  they  have  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  nine 
children,  four  sons  and  five  daughters,  one  of  whom  is  deceased. 
Mr.  Watts  now  divides  his  occupation  between  farming  and   milling. 

DR.  MOSES  JOHN  DeROSSET. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  one  of  the  patriots  of  the  Cape 
Fear  section  in  the  days  of  the  stamp  act  troubles.  He  was  the 
brother  of  Lewis  Henry  DeRosset,  who  represented  the  borough  of 
Wilmington  in  the  assembly  in  1752,  and  was  in  the  winter  of  that 
year  made  a  member  of  the  upper  house,  which  position  he  continued 
to  hold  until  the  Revolution,  and  who  is  described  as  a  gentleman  of 
elegant  culture  and  refinement.  Dr.  Moses  John  DeRosset,  who  re- 
ceived his  degree  of  M.  D.  doubtless  at  some  English  university,  was 
an  officer  in  the  troops  raised  in  1754,  to  go  to  the  aid  of  X'irginia 
against  the  threatened  invasion  of  the  French  and  Indians.  He  was 
the  mayor  of  Wilmington,  in  1765,  and  was  in  thorough  sympathy 
with  the  people  in  their  movements  against  the  stamp  act.  When 
it  was  known  that  an  effort  would  be  made  to  enforce  the  odious  law 
the  people  of  that  town  rose  equal  to  the  emergency.  On  the  igth  of 
October,  1765,  they  had  a  public  demonstration,  burnt  "a  certain  hon- 
orable gentleman  "  in  effigy,  drank  toasts  to  liberty,  property  and  no 
stamp  duty,  and  confusion  to  Lord  Bute  and  all  his  adherents.  On 
the  31st  of  that  month  they  again  assembled  and  paraded  with  an 
effigy  of  liberty,  which  they  put  in  a  coffin  and  marched  in  a  solemn 
procession  to  the  churchyard,  a  drum  in  mourning  beating  before 
them  and  the  town  bell  muftlecl,  ringing  a  doleful  knell.  But  before 
committing  the  body  to  the  ground,  they  thought  it  advisable  to 
feel  its  pulse,  when  finding  some  remains  of  life  they  returned  to  the 
bonfire  and  placed  the  effigy  before  it  in  a  large,  two-armed  chair, 
and  concluded  the  evening  with  great  rejoicings  on  finding  that 
liberty  had  still  an  existence  in  the  colonies.  On  the  16th  of  Novem- 
ber, \\'illiam  Houston,  the  stamp  master,  came  to  town  from  Duplin 
county,  and  the  people  took  him  to  the  court  house  and  made  him 
resign  his  commission,  and  they  had  further  proceedings  of  the  same 


3/8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

character  as  on  previous  occasions.  Houston's  resignation  and  de- 
claration not  to  execute  the  law  were  left  with  Major  DeRosset. 

Gov.  Tryon,  who  was  a  man  of  great  policy  and  address,  sought 
to  have  the  law  executed  at  least  in  part  but  without  avail.  Shortly 
afterward  two  vessels  came  into  the  harbor  without  having  stamps  on 
their  clearing  papers,  and  were  seized  by  the  British  war  ships  in 
port.  These  war  ships  were  supplied  with  provisions  from  the  town 
but  the  town  authorities  determined  they  should  have  no  more  sup- 
plies until  the  seized  vessels  were  released.  The  people  embodied 
and  marched  to  Brunswick  to  secure  a  redress  of  grievances.  The 
war  ships  were  being  starved  for  the  want  of  provisions.  A  boat 
sent  to  Wilmington  to  obtain  supplies  was  captured;  the  crew  was 
put  in  jail,  and  the  people  marched  in  procession  through  the  streets, 
hauling  the  captured  boat  in  triumph.  Without  supplies,  and  with  a 
large  force  of  armed  people  occupying  the  town  of  Brunswick, 
where  the  governor  and  provincial  officers  resided,  the  British  captains 
saw  no  other  course  open  than  to  3'ield  to  the  demands  of  the  people, 
and  being  starved  out,  they  surrendered  the  vessels  they  had  seized, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  Gov.  Tryon.  Without  doubt  this  proceeding 
on  the  part  of  the  people  was  open,  flagrant  war,  and  during  the 
whole  course  of  the  matter  Dr.  DeRosset,  as  mayor  of  the  corpora- 
tion, bore  his  part  with  firmness  and  credit.  His  correspondence 
with  Gov.  Tryon  was  firm,  manly,  highly  honorable  and  worthy  of 
the  patriots  whose  action  shed  such  glorious  lustre  upon  the  annals  of 
Wilmington  and  of  the  Cape  Fear  country.  There  was  no  evasion 
or  palliation  suggested  for  any  act. 

In  reply  to  the  communication  of  the  governor,  desiring  to  know 
why  bread  was  not  allowed  to  be  supplied  to  the  ships,  he  says:  "An 
agreement  was  entered  into  not  to  supply  his  majesty's  ships  with 
any  more  provisions,  unless  the  particular  restrictions  on  this  port 
were  taken  off,"  etc.  "As  to  the  boatmen  being  put  in  gaol,  it  was 
done  by  the  people,  who  had  collected  themselves  together  to  pro- 
cure a  redress  of  their  grievances,  and  to  prevent  their  going  down; 
and  not  only  they,  but  every  other  person  going  to  Brunswick  were 
stopped."  That  is,  no  communication  was  to  be  allowed  with  the 
enemy  at  Brunswick  —  the  governor,  the  provincial  officers  and  his 
majesty's  ships  of  war!  After  the  stamp  act  was  repealed  a  wave  of 
popular  rejoicing  passed  over  the  country,  and  the  borough  of  Wil- 
mington made  an  address  of  appreciation  to  Gov.  Tryon.  To  this 
he  replied,  making  reference  to  some  personal  disrespect  shown  him, 
which  called  out  an  answer,  signed  among  others,  by  the  mayor. 
The  following  extract  shows  the  spirit  of  it:  "  If  oppressed  by  the  late 
act  some  commotions  of  the  country  seemed  to  threaten  a  departure 
from  moderation,  your  excellenc}',  we  hope,  will  not  impute  these 
transactions  to  any  other  motive  than  a  conviction  that  moderation 
ceases  to  be  a  virtue  when  the  liberty  of  British  subjects  is  in  dan- 
ger." Of  all  the  manly  spirits  of  his  time,  none  excelled  in  character, 
attainments  and  patriotic  ardor,  the  young  soldier  of  1754,  who  now 
had  become  the  head  of  the  chief  town  corporation  of  the  provhice. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  379 

Unhappil}-  for  his  country,  Mayor  DeRosset  died  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary' struorgle  came  on.  He  left  one  son,  Arniand  John  DeRosset; 
and  his  widow  married  Adam  Boyd,  who  before  the  Revolution, 
printed  The  Mercury  newspaper  at  Wilmington,  and  who  afterward 
was  a  chaplain  in  the  Xorth  Carolina  line,  and  in  17S7  was  ordained 
an  Episcopal  minister,  and  served  in  Augusta,  Ga.,  from  1790  to  1799. 
Dr.  Armand  John  DeRosset  was  born  November  17,  1767.  He  ma- 
triculated at  Princeton,  1784.  Four  years  later  he  became  a  pupil  of 
the  celebrated  Dr.  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  and  received  his  diploma  in 
1790.  In  1S22  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  bank  of  Cape  Fear, 
which  position  he  retained  until  the  day  of  his  death.  No  man  was 
more  esteemed  in  the  community.  He  resided  his  whole  life  in  the 
brick  building  at  the  intersection  of  Market  and  Third  streets  within 
the  shadow  of  the  Episcopal  church  (St.  James),  of  which  he  was  one 
of  the  supporting  pillars.  He  died  April  i,  1S59,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
two  years.  His  mantle  descended  on  his  son.  Dr.  Armand  John 
De  Rosset,  Jr..  who  was  born  in  1807,  graduated  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  1824,  A.  B.,  and  during  a  life  of  more  than  four 
score  years,  has  ever  been  an  ornament  to  his  native  town,  as  his 
ancestors  were  before  him. 

DAVID  A.  JENKINS. 

There  have  been  few  characters  in  North  Carolina,  more  favor- 
ably known  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  David  A.  Jenkins.  He 
was  a  native  of  Gaston  county,  and  was  born  April  5,  1822,  the  eldest 
child  of  Aaron  and  Mary  Jenkins.  Aaron  Jenkins  who  died  August 
13,  1891,  was  a  native  of  Rowan  county  and  his  wife  was  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  Jenkins,  a  native  North  Carolinian  and  a  granddaughter 
of  Col.  Hamright  who  commanded  the  American  forces  at  the  fam- 
ous battle  of  Kings  Mountain.  David  A.  Jenkins  was  reared  in  his 
native  county  and  attended  the  old  field  schools  where  he  gained  a  fair 
English  education,  and  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen  years  he  began 
teaching  school.  Subsequently  he  chopped  wood,  which  he  sold  to 
the  proprietors  of  the  Fullenwidcr  furnace  and  received  in  return, 
goods  manufactured  at  this  furnace,  selling  the  same.  In  his  early 
life  he  did  farm  work  and  split  rails  for  little  compensation,  and  by 
means  of  hard  toil  and  economy,  became  prosperous  and  highly  re- 
spected. Mr.  Jenkins  was  united  in  marriage  early  in  life  with  Miss 
Lodema,  daughter  of  Jesse  Holland.  To  this  union  were  born  ten 
children,  all  living  with  the  e.xception  of  two.  Mr.  Jenkins  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  constable  and  subsequently  to  that  of  magistrate,  in 
the  latter  position  serving  many  years.  Although  he  was  devoted  to 
the  southern  people,  their  customs  and  habits,  he  foresaw  the  inex- 
pediency of  secession,  which  meant  war,  and  was  bitterly  opposed  to 
it.  But  when  war  came,  he  being  a  magistrate,  was  exempted  from 
active  field  duty.  .Mr.  Jenkins  accepteel  the  reconstruction  act  and 
was  from  the  close  of  the  war  identified  with  the  republican  party. 
In  1866,  both  republicans  and  democrats  solicited  and  supported  him 


"jSo  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


o 


for  the  legislature,  to  which  body  he  was  elected  and  served  faith- 
fully for  two  years. 

In  1868  Mr.  Jenkins  became  the  republican  candidate  for  treasurer 
of  the  state,  and  was  elected  to  that  position.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1872,  serving  two  terms  of  four  years  each.  He  was  a  wise  and  cau- 
tious official,  and  being  a  man  of  keen  financial  judgment  and  ability, 
his  administration  of  the  office  of  state  treasurer  met  with  the  uni- 
versal approbation  and  support  of  the  entire  state.  During  his  last 
term  in  this  position,  Mr.  Jenkins  removed  his  family  to  Charlotte 
for  a  time,  later  returning  to  his  native  county  and  locating  at  Gas- 
tonia,  where  he  built  a  handsome  residence  and  retired  to  private 
life.  In  1S80  Mr.  Jenkins  was  urged  by  his  admiring  friends  to  be- 
come the  republican  candidate  for  governor  of  the  state,  but  owing 
to  the  then  recent  death  of  his  wife,  he  declined  to  enter  the  canvass. 
Upon  his  refusal  to  make  the  race  for  the  governorship,  his  son,  A.  D. 
Jenkins,  was  by  the  republican  convention  unanimously  nominated 
for  treasurer  of  the  state,  and  though  not  elected,  carried  his  own 
county  which  was  largely  democratic,  and  reduced  the  democratic 
majority  of  the  state.  In  1881  Mr.  Jenkins  supported  the  prohibition 
party.  In  all  his  political  career  he  was  highly  esteemed,  and  the 
confidence  of  the  people  was  his.  He  was  given  the  name  of  "  Hon- 
est Dave  Jenkins,"  which  sobriquet  was  ever  afterward  applied  to 
him.  Faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  a  financier  of  repute, 
and  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  and  strong  force  of  character,  he  was 
ever  an  honest  servant  of  his  constituents  in  the  halls  of  legislation, 
and  other  official  positions.  His  death  occurred  at  Gastonia,  Sep- 
tember 10,  18S6.  Nir.  Jenkins  was  an  active  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  in  his  death  there  ended  a  long,  active  and  exemplary 
life. 

REV.  JAMES  H.  CORDON,  D.  D., 

was  born  at  Washington,  N.  C.,  July  9,  1851,  and  was  educated  at 
Bingham's  school  in  Orange  county,  N.  C.,  where  he  completed  his 
studies  in  187 1,  including  a  post-graduate  course  of  a  year  at  that  in- 
stitution. Being  elected  register  of  deeds,  in  Beaufort  count}',  N.  C., 
in  1872,  he  served  two  years,  in  that  capacity,  during  which  time  he 
studied  law  under  Hon.  Edwin  G.  Reade,  who  was  then  a  justice  of 
the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Cordon  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1874,  and  opened  a  law  office  in  Washington,  N.  C,  where 
he  practiced  for  about  three  years.  During  that  period  Mr.  Cordon 
became  greatly  interested  in  the  subject  of  religion,  and  uniting  with 
a  highly  moral  character  a  conscientious  purpose  to  discharge  all 
duties,  his  convictions  led  him  to  long  for  a  closer  walk  with  the 
Saviour.  With  warm  religious  fervor  he  undertook  the  work  in  life 
whereinto  he  was  called,  and  abandoning  the  law,  he  in  1877  joined 
the  North  Carolina  conference  of  the  M.  E.  church,  south.  He  was 
first  sent  to  the  Mattamuskeet  circuit  where  he  continued  three  years. 
During  that  time  he  was  ordained  a  deacon,  at  Winston  in  1S79,  and 


^%---^^  {ITt-.^  J^^^^^ 


/^^-J ,       (^^^J-:Z<t-<S'^W/^^^^,_^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  381 

two  3'ears  later  he  was  ordained  elder.  After  leaving  the  Alatta- 
muskeet  circuit,  he  was  stationed  four  years  on  the  South  Edgecombe 
circuit,  when  he  was  transfered  to  the  Statesville  station.  Two  years 
of  delightful  ministry  at  Statesville  were  followed  by  an  equal  term 
at  Wilson,  when  he  was  stationed  at  Raleigh,  as  the  pastor  of  the 
leading  congregation  in  the  conference  —  the  Edenton  street  church. 
The  congregation  now  numbers  730,  and  Dr.  Cordon  most  faith- 
fully, and  acceptably  serves  this  large  congregation  who  accord  to 
him  unbounded  affection  and  esteem. 

Mr.  Cordon  is  a  member  of  Seaton  Gales  lodge,  No.  64,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  has  held  all  the  chairs  in  the  subordinate  lodge,  and  belongs  to 
Litchford  encampment,  I.  O.  O.  F.  Dr.  Cordon  was  grand  master 
of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina  during  the  year 
from  May,  1888,  to  May,  18S9,  and  was  elected  grand  representative 
to  the  sovereign  grand  lodge  in  1890,  and  still  holds  that  office.  He 
also  belongs  to  William  G.  Hill  lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  to  Raleigh 
chapter.  Royal  Arch  Masons.  The  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred 
on  Dr.  Cordon  in  1890  by  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  recog- 
nition of  his  eminence  in  his  profession  and  his  purity  of  life.  Dr. 
Cordon  was  married  November  19,  1872,  to  Mattle  Telfair,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Telfair,  of  Washington,  N.  C.,  and  niece  of  Gov.  D.  G. 
Fowle,  and  to  them  were  born  ten  children,  of  whom  five  now  sur- 
vive, as  follows:  Mary  Stewart  Cordon,  Laura  Cordon,  Etta  Cordon, 
Nanny  Cordon  and  James  H.  Cordon,  Jr. 

Dr.  Cordon's  father,  William  S.  Cordon,  was  born  in  1S12,  in 
Beaufort  county,  N.  C,  where  the  family  for  several  generations  had 
resided.  He  was  a  farmer  during  his  early  life,  and  for  the  last 
twenty-one  years  of  his  life  he  was  clerk  of  the  court  and  register  of 
deeds,  and  during  that  time  he  never  had  but  two  opponents,  and  of 
these  it  is  said  that  one  received  six  votes  in  the  county,  and  the  other 
twelve.  He  was  a  decided  whig  all  his  life.  He  was  a  Presbyterian 
and  in  1S42  was  married  to  Nancy  Satchwell,  daughter  of  James  and 
Elizabeth  Satchwell,  of  Beaufort  county,  N.  C,  and  to  them  were 
born  three  children,  of  whom  two  now  survive,  as  follows:  Laura  S., 
wife  of  II.  F.  Price,  of  Wilson,  N.  C;  Rev.  James  H.  Cordon,  of 
Raleigh,  N.  C.  Dr.  Cordon's  father  died  in  1866,  and  his  mother 
in  1882. 

HON.    GEORGE    W.    SANDERLIN,   LL.    D., 

was  born  in  Camden  county,  N.  C,  on  the  22d  day  of  Pebruary,  1843. 
His  father  was  by  name  Maxcy  Sanderlin,  Esq.,  who  was  a  native  of 
Camden  county,  N.  C,  being  born  in  that  county  in  the  year  1798. 
He  was  a  successful  planter  by  occupation,  and  was  respected  as  a 
gentleman  of  honor,  integrity  and  industry.  He  was  of  Scotch  line- 
age, his  ancestors  being  among  the  Scotch  settlers  (jf  the  state,  many 
of  whose  noble  and  excellent  families  trace  their  origin  to  that  noble 
race  of  the  Scotchman,  ever  characteristic  for  his  high  sense  of  honor, 
for  his  integrity,  patriotism  ap-"'    for  his  unswerving  nature  and  supe- 


382  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

rior  intelligence.  For  many  years  Maxcy  Sanderlin  lived  in  Camden, 
his  native  county,  but  in  1848  removed  to  Pasquotank  county,  and 
died  in  that  county  in  1874,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-six  years. 
In  the  year  iSiS  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Martha  Sanderson, 
daughter  of  Caleb  Sanderson,  who  was  a  respected  citizen  of  Curri- 
tuck county,  N.  C.  Unto  the  above  union  were  born  thirteen  children 
and  on  the  12th  day  of  December,  1862,  the  beloved  mother  was 
called  away  in  death  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Like  her  husband  she 
was  of  Scottish  ancestry,  and  her  life  was  one  of  devotion  and  piety. 
These  parents,  Maxcy  Sanderlin  and  wife,  in  their  thirteen  children 
gave  blessing  to  their  humble  though  useful  and  exemplary  lives, 
and  of  these  thirteen  children  we  are  most  interested  in  the  life  of 
George  W.,  whose  honored  name  introduces  this  sketch. 

Hon.  George  W.  Sanderlin,  LL.  D.,  was  prepared  for  college  in 
the  schools  of  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C,  and  then  entered  Wake  Forest 
college,  which  college  he  left  in  /\ugust,  1861,  to  enter  the  Con- 
federate arm}'.  However,  after  returning  from  army  service  he  was 
given  a  diploma  as  a  graduate  from  this  college,  being  recognized  as 
a  member  of  the  graduating  class  of  1862.  Dr.  Sanderlin  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  Company  E,  Thirty-third  regiment  North  Carolina  vol- 
unteers, commanded  by  Col.  C.  M.  Avery.  He  soon  received  well- 
merited  promotions,  first  to  sergeant  and  successively  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  a  captain,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  was  in  com- 
mand of  his  regiment.  On  the  battlefield  of  Newbern  Mr.  Sanderlin, 
in  consequence  of  his  gallantry  on  the  field  was  promoted  from  first 
sergeant  to  third  lieutenant,  by  Col.  C.  M.  Avery.  On  this  battlefield, 
March  14,  1S62,  Mr.  Sanderlin,  in  performing  the  duty  assigned  by 
his  colonel,  bravely  surmounted  the  Confederate  breastworks,  and 
heroically  underwent  heavy  firing  from  the  advancing  column  under 
Gen.  Reno,  of  the  Federal  army.  On  the  third  day  of  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  Lieut.  Sanderlin  led  his  company,  together  with  two 
others,  in  a  charge  against  the  Federal  breastworks  near  Cemetery 
Hill,  and  captured  and  held  them  for  some  ten  minutes,  but  not  being 
reinforced,  was  compelled  to  fall  back.  It  was  a  brilliant  charge,  and 
Col.  Avery  at  once  made  Mr.  Sanderlin  a  captain.  Capt.  Sanderlin 
took  an  active  part  in  many  hard  fought  fields,  participating,  among 
others,  in  the  following  important  battles  of  the  war:  Newbern, 
Hanover  Court  House,  seven  days'  fight  around  Richmond  (includ- 
ing the  battles  of  Mechanicsville,  Gaines'  Mills,  Cold  Harbor  and 
Malvern  Hill),  and  other  important  battles  were  Cedar  Run,  War 
renton  Springs,  second  Bull  Run,  second  Manassass,  Chantill}',  Va., 
Harper's  Ferrj',  Sharpsburg,  Antietam,  first  Fredericksburg,  second 
Fredericksburg,  Wilderness,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Hagers- 
town,  Falling  VV^aters,  Snicker's  Gap,  Mine  Run,  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,  second  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Petersburg,  Fussel's  Mill  (in 
front  of  Richmond),  Burgess's  Mill,  Jones'  Farm,  Belfield  and  Hare's 
Hill. 

Mr.  Sanderlin  commanded  300  sharpshooters  on  the  skirmish  line 
at  Petersburg  on  the  morning  the  break  was  made,  April  2,  1S65,  re- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  ^8^ 

pelling  with  his  small  force  entrenched  in  rifle  pits,  three  attacks  of 
3,000  Federal  troops,  at  Jones'  farm.  An  hour  afterward  the  Fed- 
erals broke  the  Confederate  lines  at  Burgess'  Mill,  two  miles  to  the 
right  of  Jones'  farm,  where  the  Federals  had  unsuccessfully  made  the 
attack  on  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  line  commanded  by  Capt. 
Sanderlin.  At  Appomatox  Court  House  Capt.  Sanderlin  was  with 
his  regiment  fighting  in  the  front  ranks,  when  Gen.  Custer  rode  into 
his  regiment  and  announced  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee;  and  thus  it 
is  observed  that  Mr.  Sanderlin  continued  in  gallant  and  active  service 
in  the  defense  of  the  Confederacy  till  the  disaster  at  Appomatox 
Court  House  ended  the  greatest  of  civil  conHicts.  It  is  true  that  Mr. 
Sanderlin  saw  the  hardest-fcught  of  battles  and  when  Gen.  Maxcy 
Gregg,  of  South  Carolina,  fell  at  the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg, 
Mr.  Sanderlin  was  near  by  in  line  of  battle;  and  he  was  also  near 
Gen.  L.  O' Brian  Branch,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  when  that  brave  and 
gallant  soldier  and  able  general  fell,  at  Antietam,  and  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  when  "Stonewall"  Jackson  was  killed,  Mr.  Sanderlin  was 
stationed  within  a  few  paces  of  him  in  command  of  the  skirmishing 
line.  Mr.  Sanderlin  was  three  times  wounded,  receiving  a  slight 
wound  at  each  of  the  battles  of  Xewbern,  Richmond  and  Petersburg. 
He  served  four  years  and  participated  in  as  many  as  forty  battles; 
was  one  time  in  a  hospital:  was  never  taken  prisoner,  and  was  given 
but  one  furlough,  this  being  for  a  brief  time  in  January',  iS65,but  during 
his  absence  no  fighting  was  done  by  his  regiment;  in  fact  he  missed 
scarcely  a  skirmish,  fight  or  march  in  which  the  army  of  northern 
Virginia  participated,  and  when  the  dreadful  war  was  ended  Mr. 
Sanderlin  had  made  a  brilliant  and  most  excellent  record  as  a  soldier; 
and  as  gallant  as  were  the  spirits  of  that  fine  command  of  which  he 
was,  there  were  none  who  displayed  more  devotion,  a  more  unflinch- 
ing courage  than  Capt.  George  \V.  Sanderlin.  Maj.-Gen.  R.  F.  Hoke, 
at  one  time  lieutenant-colonel  commanding  the  Thirty-third  North 
Carolina  regiment;  and  who  was  afterwards  known  as  the  "  Hero  of 
Plymouth  "  has  said  of  Capt.  Sanderlin,  who  was  at  one  time  a  mem- 
ber of  the  above  regiment:  "  1  know  his  war  record  thoroughly.  I 
know  that  he  was  always  present  for  duty  and  always  true  to  duty." 
On  the  close  of  the  war  Capt.  Sanderlin  returned  to  Elizabeth  cit}', 
N.  C,  and  at  once  began  to  arrange  for  completing  his  education. 
He  had  intended  studying  the  law,  but  feeling  called  to  the  ministry 
he  entered  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  seminary-  at  Greenville, 
S.  C,  where  with  honor  he  graduated  in  1867,  two  years  later.  He 
graduated  in  ten  of  the  eleven  schools  of  this  seminary,  completing 
the  course  in  Hebrew  in  the  brief  period  of  ten  months.  During  his 
academical  and  collegiate  courses,  Mr.  .Sanderlin  graduated  in  seven 
different  languages;  and  as  both  a  classical  and  scientific  scholar  he 
has  a  wide  and  well  earned  reputation.  After  leaving  the  seminary 
Dr.  Sanderlin  returned  to  North  Carolina,  and  for  one  year  contin- 
ued general  Sabbath  school  work.  In  the  spring  of  186S  he  was  or- 
dained to  preach,  being  ordained  in  the  chapel  of  Wake  Forest 
college,  hh(i/fi/a  vialcr,  President  W'ingate,  Reverend  Doctors  Roj'all, 


384  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Prichard  and  others  participating  in  the  services.  Subsequently  Dr. 
Sanderlin  assumed  pastoral  charge  of  the  church  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C, 
and  for  three  3'ears  continued  the  able  and  beloved  pastor  of  this 
church,  resigning  in  consequence  of  a  purpose  of  making  a  tour  of 
Egypt  and  Palestine,  in  company  with  the  distinguished  Dr.  John  A. 
Broadus  (once  his  preceptor)  who  awaited  him  at  Rome.  But,  miss- 
ing the  only  steamer  by  which  he  could  meet  Dr.  Broadus,  Dr.  San- 
derlin was  compelled  to  abandon  the  trip.  About  this  time,  while  in 
Baltimore  he  preached  with  such  effect  in  the  P"ranklin  Square  Bap- 
tist church  of  that  city,  the  pulpit  of  which  had  but  recently  been  va- 
cated by  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.  Hawthorne,  now  of  Atlanta,  that  subsequent 
to  his  return  to  North  Carolina  he  received  a  unanimous  call  to  that 
church.  Entering  upon  duties  of  pastor  in  JNIarch,  1S71,  he  remained 
there  until  in  1876,  when  the  arduous  work  having  undermined  his 
health,  he  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the  pastoral  charge  of  this 
church  and  from  the  active  ministry  as  w^ell. 

Dr.  Sanderlin  now  settled  near  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  and  turned  his 
attention  to  agriculture,  remaining  for  some  time  on  his  plantation. 
He  Soon  became  well  known  to  the  agricultural  world,  becoming  a 
voluminous  writer  for  the  farming  journals  of  the  country.  Taking  an 
advanced  interest  in  agriculture  and  agricultural  journalism,  he  finally 
became  the  agricultural  editor  of  the  Kiiisfon  Free  Press,  and  also  an 
able  contributor  to  other  papers.  His  articles  on  "Upland  Rice  Cul- 
ture" attracted  widespread  attention,  and  gave  origin  in  the  state  to 
an  agricultural  crop  that  has  since  become  an  important  product,  now 
yielding  more  than  $1,000,000,  annually.  Dr.  Sanderlin  became  widely 
and  favorably  known  throughout  the  state,  and  in  1888  he  was  pressed 
by  his  niany  friends  throughout  the  state  to  accept  the  nomination 
for  state  auditor,  and  finally  consented  to  become  a  candidate.  He 
soon  won  reputation  as  an  able  speaker  and  campaigner.  He  spoke 
from  the  Seaboard  to  the  Tennessee  line  with  great  and  pleasing 
effect;  and  so  generous  was  his  campaign  and  so  great  his  personal 
popularity  that  he  was  deservingly  and  fittingly  elected;  and  in  Jan- 
uary, iSSq,  he  was  inaugurated  state  auditor.  It  is  needless  to  make 
mention  of  his  wise  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  office,  more 
than  to  say  that  in  every  report  submitted  on  the  condition  of  state 
government  b}'  different  committees  this  department  has  been  es- 
pecially commended. 

He  is  a  man  of  high  sense  of  honor;  a  man  of  wisdom  and  excel- 
lent executive  ability,  and  many  are  his  friends  throughout  the  state 
anxious  to  promote  and  elevate  him  to  the  highest  and  most  hon- 
ored position;  and  his  name  is  very  prominently  mentioned  as  a 
candidate  for  governor  in  the  approaching  campaign  of  1892,  and 
there  seems  to  be  a  general  sentiment  throughout  the  state,  that  he 
be  made  the  gubernatorial  candidate.  Dr.  Sanderlin  has  continued 
his  interest  in  church  work  and  in  education.  While  not  in  the  active 
ministerial  work,  he  still  preaches  on  occasions,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  eloquent,  learned  and  profound  divines  of  the  state.  He  is 
vice-president  of  the  North  Carolina  Baptist  state  convention,  and  a 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  ^8 


J« 


prominent  member  of  the  mission  and  Sundaj'-school  board  of  the 
North  Carolina  convention.  Dr.  Sanderlin  has  ever  taken  a  manifest 
interest  in  education,  and  he  has  been  for  some  time  a  trustee  of 
Wake  Forest  college.  Recentlj'  he  received,  on  the  same  day,  the 
degree  of  LL.  D.  from  Wake  Forest  and  Judson  colleges.  He  is  a 
prominent  Mason,  Odd  Fellow  and  Knight  of  Pjthias.  On  the  23d 
of  I-'ebruar}',  iS6q,  Dr.  Sanderlin  and  Miss  Eliza  \V.  Wooten,  daugh- 
ter of  Council  Wooten,  of  Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  were  united  in  mar- 
riage, and  their  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  six  children, 
of  whom  four  are  living.  Dr.  Sanderlin  resides  with  his  family  in 
Raleigh,  his  duties  as  state  auditor  requiring  his  residence  there. 
The  living  children  are,  Beulah,  Georgia,  Pattie,  and  Rosalie. 

REV.  DR.  DAVID  CALDWELL. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  one  of  the  great  educators  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  on  the  22d  of 
March,  1725,  of  highlj'  respectable  parents.  He  graduated  at  Prince- 
ton in  1 76 1,  and  the  next  year  offered  to  be  taken  on  trial  as  a  can- 
didate for  gospel  ministr}-.  He  served  after  getting  his  license, 
August  18,  1763,  at  various  points  in  New  Jersey,  and  on  May  16,  1765, 
he  was  appointed  to  labor  one  year  in  North  Carolina,  and  was  then 
ordained.  In  1766,  he  married  in  North  Carolina,  Rachel,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead,  of  Mecklenburg  county,  and  in 
1767  opened  a  school  in  what  is  now  Guilford  county,  which  was  one 
of  the  earliest  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  as  it  became  the  most 
famous.  He  was  instrumental  in  bringing  more  men  into  the  learned 
professions  than  any  other  educator  of  his  day  in  the  southern  states. 
Manj-  of  them  became  eminent  as  statesmen,  lawyers,  judges,  phy- 
sicians and  ministers.  F'ive  of  his  pupils  became  governors  of  differ- 
ent states  and  many  more  members  of  congress;  others  adorned  the 
bench,  the  bar  and  the  pulpit.  No  man  had  a  greater  reputation  as 
a  teacher  or  was  more  beloved  by  his  pupils.  The  number  of  his 
scholars  ran  from  fifty  to  sixty,  drawn  from  great  distances.  Later 
in  life  he  studied  medicine  and  added  the  practice  of  that  science  to 
his  duties.  P'rom  the  organization  of  Orange  presbytery  he  acted  as 
stated  clerk  till  1776.  When  the  synod  of  North  Carolina  held  its 
first  meeting  in  1788,  he  was  its  leading  member.  Pie  continued  to 
be  a  beloved  and  esteemed  minister  until  his  death,  August  2-5,  1S24, 
being  then  in  his  ninetieth  year.  The  University  of  North  Carolina, 
in  recognition  of  his  learning,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  D.  D., 
and  he  was  greatly  esteemed  throughout  the  state  for  the  excellence 
of  his  character,  his  purity,  piety  and  patriotism. 

.Soon  after  his  arrival  in  North  Carolina,  the  regulation  troubles 
broke  out  in  his  immediate  section,  and  many  persons  connected 
with  the  congregations  he  served  were  I'nvolved.  He  sympathized 
greatly  with  the  people  in  their  troubles,  but  counseled  against  vio- 
lence, and  in  1771  sought  to  be  a  peace-maker,  addressing  the  people 
and  urging  them  against  intemperate  measures,  lie  was  a  member 
B— 25 


386  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  the  State  convention  of  1776  that  framed  the  state  constitution, 
and  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  of  17S8  that  decHned  to  ac- 
cept or  ratify  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  he  acting  with 
the  majority  of  the  convention. 

REV.  FRANK  L.  REID,  D.  D. 

Dr.  Reid  was  born  in  Roclcingham  county,  N.  C,  June  16,  1S51. 
He  is  the  second  son  of  Rev.  Numa  F.  Reid,  D.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Ann  E. 
Reid,  and  the  grandson  of  Rev.  James  Reid.  The  grandfather  and 
father  were  members  of  the  Nortli  CaroHna  annual  conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  at  the  time  of  their  decease. 
Dr.  Reid  being  the  son  of  an  itinerant  Methodist  preacher,  was 
reared  as  it  were  "on  the  wing,"  his  father  having  occupied  many  of 
the  most  prominent  stations  in  the  conference,  and  having  been  in 
charge  of  several  districts  as  presiding  elder.  Dr.  Reid  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  entered  the  freshman  class,  half  advanced  at  Trinity 
college,  North  Carolina.  In  May,  1S70,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  at 
a  quarterly  conference  over  which  his  father  presided  as  presiding 
elder,  and  of  which  the  late  Rev.  Braxton  Craven,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
was  secretary.  He  graduated  and  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.  at 
Trinity  college,  June  16,  1870,  the  day  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age. 
He  was  soon  thereafter  elected  principal  of  Kernersville  high  school 
at  Kernersville,  N.  C,  where  he  taught  until  the  close  of  the  year. 
He  joined  the  North  Carolina  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  south,  at  Greensboro,  N.  C,  in  December,  1870,  and  was 
appointed  to  Madison  circuit  in  his  native  county  by  special  petition  of 
the  board  of  stewards  of  that  pastoral  charge.  He  served  this 
charge  three  years.  Dr.  Reid's  grandfathers  were  James  Reid  and 
James  Wright.  His  grandmothers  were  Martha  Edwards  (pater- 
nal) and  Ella  Wall  (maternal),  all  of  Rockingham  county.  There 
is  an  unusual  line  of  succession  connected  with  the  social  life  of  the 
Reid  family;  a  grandfather  of  Dr.  Reid,  his  father,  two  brothers  and 
he  married  in  Rockingham  county;  a  sister  also  married  a  native  of 
that  county.  Dr.  Reid's  grandfather  served  the  circuit  in  Rocking- 
ham county,  and  went  to  Louisburg;  about  twenty  years  after  his 
father  served  the  same  charges  in  succession,  as  did  Dr.  Reid  him- 
self about  twenty  years  after  his  father. 

Dr.  Reid  was  married  June  3,  1S73,  to  Miss  Minnie  E.  Cardwell, 
daughter  of  James  L.  and  Sarah  F.  Cardwell,  of  Rockingham  county. 
From  this  marriage  four  children  have  been  born,  namely:  W^  Fuller, 
Minnie  LeGrande,  Lola  McGee  and  Annie  Field,  all  of  whom  are 
living.  In  January,  1874,  he  took  charge  of  the  Louisburg  station  by 
appointment  of  Bishop  Keener,  and  served  the  charge  four  years,  the 
whole  of  the  legal  limit.  While  there  his  health  failed  and  he  con- 
tracted a  throat  disease,  which  affected  his  pulpit  ministrations  and 
forced  his  retirement  from  active  pastoral  duties.  He  was,  in  1S77, 
elected  president  of  the  Louisburg  female  college,  which  position  he 
resigned  in  June,  1S7S,  as  a  necessity  for  absolute  rest  and  restoration 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  387 

of  health.  His  season  of  rest  was  short,  however.  In  October,  1878, 
he,  with  Rev.  \V.  S.  Black,  D.  D.,  purchased  the  Ra/cizh  Christian 
Advocate,  the  organ  of  the  North  Carolina  conference,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  south.  On  the  igth  of  December,  1884,  he  pur- 
chased Dr.  Black's  interest  and  became  the  sole  owner  and  editor  of 
the  Advocate,  and  so  continues.  He  was  appointed  pastor  of  Eden- 
ton  street  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  in  the  city  of  Raleigh, 
N.  C,  in  October,  iSSi,  on  the  death  of  Rev.  A.  A.  Boshamer,  the 
pastor,  and  presiding  elder  of  the  Raleigh  district  on  the  death  of 
Rev.  X.  H.  D.  Wilson,  D.  D.,  in  May,  18S8.  He  received  the  honor- 
ary degree  of  master  of  arts,  from  Trinity  college,  in  1S73,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  and  of  doctor  of  divinity  from  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  in  the  year  1890,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  south,  held  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  May,  1890,  and  was  ap- 
pointed a  delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  Methodist  conference  to  be 
held  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  October,  iSqi. 

Dr.  Reid  became  a  Mason  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  has  twice 
been  grand  chaplain  of  the  grand  lodge  of  North  Carolina,  which  of- 
fice was  filled  by  his  grandfather,  James  Reid,  and  by  his  father.  He 
has  attained  to  the  degree  of  Royal  Arch,  and  is  a  true  exponent  of 
the  principles  of  Masonry,  both  in  precept  and  example.  He  has 
filled  important  civil  positions,  principally  as  a  director  of  the  state 
penitentiary,  and  during  his  term  as  such  he  was  secretary  of  the 
board,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  of  finance.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  committee  of  Raleigh,  and  after  serving  one  term 
was  re-elected,  but  soon  resigned  on  account  of  feeble  health.  While 
Dr.  Reid  is  prominently  known  and  esteemed  in  his  state  as  an  able 
minister  of  the  gospel  and  as  possessing,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the 
culture  and  qualities  necessary  in  the  work  of  a  successful  educator, 
yet,  in  the  broad  field  of  editorial  work,  in  the  publication  of  the 
Raleigh  Christian  Advocate,  are  his  distinguished  abilities  more 
generally  recognized  throughout  the  southern  Methodist  church. 

REV.  C.  T.  BAILEY, 

editor  and  proprietor  of  the  BiUical  Recorder,  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  James  City  county,  near  Williamsburg,  Va.,  October  24,  1835. 
His  father,  the  late  William  Moody  Bailey,  a  quiet  and  successful 
farmer,  was  the  son  o^  Anselm  J.  Bailey,  a  Scotchman,  who  settled 
first  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia,  in  Accomac  county,  and  in  mid- 
dle life  removed  to  New  Kent  county,  where  he  died  in  1840.  Mr. 
William  M.  Bailey  married  when  quite  a  young  man  and  raised  a 
family  of  ten  children,  five  boys  and  five  girls.  Their  names  were 
Robert  Wesley,  William  M.,  Jr.,  James  Morris,  Christopher  Thomas, 
John  Goodall,  Mary  J.,  Ann  E.,  Sarah  Alice,  Amanda  and  Louisa.  A 
son  named  Lemuel  Park  died  in  infancy.  In  1850,  Mr.  Bailey,  the 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  removed  to  Williamsburg  in  order 
to  educate   his  younger  children.      The   city  at  that   time  had   in  it 


o 


88  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


schools,  surpassing  all  others  in  the  state,  excepting  the  state  univer- 
sity at  Charlottesville.  William  and  Mary  college,  one  of  the  oldest 
and  best  colleges  in  America,  was  in  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  un- 
der the  presidency  of  Bishop  Johns.  Christopher  John  Dickinson 
Prior,  a  teacher  of  national  reputation,  had  a  large  and  prosperous 
school  for  boys  and  young  men  and  drew  patronage  from  many  of 
the  states  of  the  south,  while  Profs.  Morrisett  and  Peyton  had  charge 
of  the  Williamsburg  academy.  There  was  also  a  good  college  or 
seminary  for  girls  under  the  management  of  the  Episcopalians,  and 
a  special  school  for  young  ladies  under  the  management  of  the  Misses 
Clopton,  daughters  of  Judge  Clopton.  Before  his  removal  to  Will- 
iamsburg, Mr.  Bailey  had  sent  his  children  to  such  schools  as  he  and 
his  neighbors  secured  in  the  country. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  after  finishing  the  course  in  the  acad- 
emy under  Profs.  Morrisett  and  Peyton,  studied  law  under  Prof. 
Minor,  of  William  and  Mary  college,  and  at  that  time  fully  expected 
to  follow  that  profession,  but  he  had  made  a  profession  of  religion  in 
his  seventeenth  year,  and  being  often  called  upon  by  his  father  to  at- 
tend the  meetings  at  the  colored  Baptist  church,  in  order  to  make 
the  meeting  lawful, ^nd  so  prevent  interruptions  by  the  town  consta- 
ble, and  as  the  pastor  of  the  church  could  not  read,  it  fell  to  him  as  a 
duty  to  read  the  scriptures  for  the  preacher.  From  this  he  was 
gradually  led  into  preaching  to  the  people,  and  after  a  while  found 
himself  a  preacher  without  intent  or  design.  His  father  died  in  1S55, 
and  his  mother,  a  devout  Christian,  earnestly'  exhorted  him  to  give 
up  the  law  and  go  to  Richmond  college  in  Richmond,  Va.,  then  un- 
der the  presidency  of  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Ryland,  now  living  in  Lexing- 
ton, Ky.  Dr.  Ryland  had  in  his  early  ministry  baptized  Mrs.  Bailey. 
In  the  fall  of  1856,  young  Mr.  Bailey  entered  Richmond  college  as  a 
student  for  the  ministry.  He  spent  three  years  there  and  failed  to 
graduate,  as  he  refused  to  stand  the  final  e.xaminations  in  Latin,  hav- 
ing had  a  personal  difficulty  with  Dr.  Dabney,  who  was  the  teacher 
in  that  department.  He  and  Dr.  Ryland  were  warmly  attached  to 
each  other,  and  continue  so  to  this  day.  Dr.  Ryland  has  been  for 
some  years  a  regular  correspondent  of  his  paper,  and  made  its  pages 
bright  by  his  wisdom  and  piety.  On  leaving  college  In  June,  1859,  on 
the  advice  of  the  late  Dr.  J.  B.  Jeter,  Mr.  Bailey  accepted  a  call  to  a 
very  poor  church  In  Surrey  county,  Va..  at  that  time  one  of  the  most 
destitute  counties  in  the  state.  His  salary  was  $75  a  year.  On  the 
call  of  this  church  he  was  ordained  in  the  Baptist  church  at  Williams- 
burg, Rev.  Dr.  William  M.  Young,  then  pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  William 
Martin  and  Rev.  William  A.  Crandall,  taking  part  in  the  services. 
On  returning  to  Surrey  county  to  enter  his  life'swork,  he  made  it  a  point 
to  visit  all  the  members  of  his  charge.  They  were  widely  scattered 
and  many  of  them  very  poor,  but  he  spent  a  day  or  a  night  with  every 
family  that  could  afford  to  have  him  do  so.  By  reason  of  this  his  $75 
salary  was  amply  sufiiclent  to  meet  his  wants.  Here  the  war  found 
him;  his  heart  was  with  the  south,  and  he  accepted  the  issue.  Much 
of  the  time  between  1861  and  iS6s   he  was  with   the   Sixteenth  infan- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  389 

tr)'  and  the  Thirteenth  \  ir>iinia  cavahy.  many  of  the  members  of 
these  regiments  being  from  Surrey  and  Sussex  counties,  Va.,  and  some 
of  them  were  members  of  the  Moore's  Swamp  church,  in  Surrey 
county,  and  the  Antioch  church  in  Sussex  county,  where  he  preached. 

Mr.  Bailey  got  badlj'  whipped  bj'  the  war,  and  upon  its  close  in 
April,  1S65,  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  states,  and  accepted 
the  situation,  returning  to  the  work  of  the  pastorate.  Three  of  his 
brothers,  Robert,  James  and  William  fill  soldiers'  graves  far  away 
from  the  resting  place  of  their  parents.  In  May,  1865,  the  churches 
of  all  that  section  of  Virginia  being  dismantled  and  scattered,  he  in 
company  with  his  schoolmate.  Dr.  A.  E.  Owen  of  Portsmouth,  Va., 
set  out  on  a  voluntary  mission  to  encourage  the  churches  of  that  as- 
sociation, and  held  meetings  in  the  counties  of  Brunswick,  Greens- 
ville, Southampton,  Surre}',  Sussex  and  Isle  of  Wight,  and  greatly 
aided  in  re-establishing  the  cause.  They  were  young  men,  each  own- 
ing a  horse,  and  nothing  else  of  worldly  goods;  their  books  had  been 
captured  by  the  Federal  raiders,  but  all  the}'  asked  was  something  to 
eat,  and  a  place  to  lodge  at  night.  On  the  21st  of  November,  1865, 
Mr.  Bailey  married  Miss  Annie  S.,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Rev. 
Josiah  C.  Bailey  of  Greenville  county,  Va.,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  E.  Owen  of- 
hciating.  He  and  his  wife  were  not  related  to  each  other,  he  being 
of  Scotch  descent,  and  she  of  English.  During  this  year  Mr.  Bailey 
removed  to  North  Carolina,  and  became  principal  of  the  Reynoldson 
academy  in  Gates  county,  and  pastor  of  two  churches,  one  in  Virgi- 
nia, and  the  other  in  North  Carolina.  From  Reynoldson  he  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Edenton,  where  he 
spent  four  happy  years.  In  1871  he  was  called  to  Warrenton,  N.  C, ' 
and  spent  five  years  at  bus}-,  happy  work  as  pastor.  These  churches 
paid  him,  as  pastor,  four  hundred  and  five  hundred  dollars  respec- 
tively, and  so  much  did  they  improve  and  develop  under  his  ministry 
that  each  of  them  was  enabled  to  give  his  successor  v'jii.ooo  and 
house  rent. 

In  1875  Mr.  Bailey  was  advised  by  his  brethren  to  buy  the  Biblical 
Recorder,  the  organ  of  the  Baptists  of  North  Carolina.  This  paper 
had  been  regularly  published  since  1S35,  and  had  had  as  editors  such 
men  as  Rev.  Thomas  Meredith,  Rev.  J.  J.  James,  Mr.  J.  H.  Mills  and 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  D.  Mufham,  four  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  state,  but  at 
that  time  had  only  about  2,000  subscribers.  He  bought  the  paper  and 
entered  upon  his  work  as  editor  July  i,  1875,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  D.  Hufham  as 
associate.  The  Recorder  under  his  management  has  now  become  the 
best  established  paper  in  North  Carolina,  with  6,000  regular  subscrib- 
ers. As  editor  he  came  to  the  paper  at  a  most  auspicious  time,  and 
has  b(;en  privileged  to  see  not  only  his  subscription  list  trebled,  but 
the  Baptists  of  the  state  more  than  trebled  in  numbers.  The  college 
at  Wake  Forest  increased  its  endowment  from  $33,000  to  over 
$200,000,  and  the  contributions  of  the  churches  for  missions,  home, 
foreign  and  state,  raised  from  $5,000  to  more  than  $So,ooo.  Mr. 
Bailey  as  editor  cannot  be  said  to  possess  anything  like  genius  other 
than  great  capacity  for  work.     He  is  cheerful,  full  of  fun  and  humor 


3gO  '  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

likes  to  tell  or  hear  a  good  joke  about  as  well  as  Senator  Vance  or  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lafferty,  of  X^irginia,  does,  and  is  generally  in  a  good  humor. 
He  loves  his  brethren  and  his  work  and  has  no  favorites.  He  has 
been  for  years  pastor  of  poor  county  and  village  churches,  and  knows 
how  to  sympathize  with  all  such.  He  is  fair  to  all  men  and  makes  it 
a  special  point  to  not  only  be  fair  but  generous  to  all  who  differ  from 
him.  While  a  Baptist  and  honestly  believing  that  he  is  right,  he  can 
and  does  treat  other  denominations  with  respect.  The  first  article  in 
his  creed  is  "This  is  a  jrcc  country  y  His  disposition  to  joke  has 
greatly  annoyed  some  of  his  friends,  and  even  damaged  him  with 
many  of  the  solemn  and  straight-faced  brethren  of  his  own  and  other 
denominations.  He  is  generous  in  his  views,  and  makes  it  a  point  to 
subscribe  to  the  building  of  all  Baptist  churches  and  every  worthy 
cause.  He  gives  to  every  one  who  asks  him  for  help  without  refer- 
ence to  class  or  creeds.  He  is  strictly  honest,  fair  and  open  in  all 
of  his  dealings,  pa3's  his  debts  promptl)-  and  expects  others  to  do  the 
same.  He  has  no  use  for  w'hat  he  calls  "side  shows"  in  religion,  and 
hates  proud  hypocrisy  and  double  dealing;  has  no  use  for  cranks  and 
fanatics  in  or  out  of  the  church,  believes  with  all  his  soul  in  libert}'  of 
conscience  for  himself  and  for  all  mankind,  and  bears  no  malice.  He 
can  readil}'  forgive  an  injury  and  will  laugh  at  a  joke  on  himself  as 
heartily  as  on  another  fellow,  and  has  great  pity  for  the  man  who 
cannot  do  this.  Rev.  Bailey  has  four  children:  a  daughter,  Mrs. 
W.  N.  Jones,  and  three  sons;  C.  T.,  Jr.,  graduated  from  Wake  Forest 
college  in  June,  i^Sg,  in  his  eighteenth  year,  and  is  now  business  man- 
ager of  the  Recorder:  Josiah  William,  now  a  student  in  Wake  Forest 
college,  and  Edmunds  Lamar,  a  student  in  the  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical college  at  Raleigh.  The  youngest  son,  Bayard  Yates,  died 
when  only  eighteen  months  old.  Wake  Forest  college  conferred  the 
degree  of  doctor  of  divivity  upon  Mr.  Bailey  some  years  ago,  but 
he  neither  accepted  nor  declined  it,  and  has  never  used  it. 

REV.  MATTHIAS  MURRAY  MARSHALL,  D.  D., 

an  eloquent  preacher  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  divines  in  North 
Carolina,  was  born  in  Pittsboro,  Chatham  county,  N.  C,  August  13, 
1841,  and  after  attending  the  academic  department  of  the  schools  in 
his  native  town  and  at  Graham,  N.  C,  entered  Trinity  college,  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  in  December,  1858,  and  studied  there  until  May,  1861, 
when  the  war  called  him  home.  He  at  once  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
the  Confederate  army  and  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant,  but  his 
health  becoming  impaired  he  soon  retired  from  the  army  and  entered 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  graduating  with  honors  in  June, 
1863.  Two  years  afterward  he  received  the  degrees  of  A.  M.  and  A.  B. 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  in  1874  the  degree  of 
D.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  William  and  Mary  college,  Will- 
iamsburg, Va.  In  December,  1863,  Dr.  Marshall  entered  the  ministry 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  being  ordained  deacon  at  Eman- 
uel  church,   Warrenton,   N.   C,   by   the   Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  Atkinson, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  391 

bishop  of  the  diocese,  and  immediately  afterward  he  was  sent  as  chap- 
lain to  the  Seventh  regiment  North  Carolina  troops  in  the  army  of 
northern  Virginia.  His  health,  however,  became  precarious,  and 
after  a  short  service  in  the  field,  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  and 
was  sent  to  Kittrell  Springs  as  minister  in  charge  of  the  Episcopal 
church  there  and  as  chaplain  of  the  Confederate  hospital  at  that 
place.  He  remained  in  the  acceptable  discharge  of  these  duties  until 
1865,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to  Christ  church,  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C, 
where  during  the  next  two  years  he  faithfully  ministered  to  his 
charge  and  endeared  himself  to  his  parish. 

On  September  3,  1S65,  he  was  ordained  priest  b}'  Bishop  Atkinson, 
and  in  July,  1S67,  he  accepted  a  call  to  Emanuel  church,  Warrenton. 
Here  he  spent  seven  years,  increasing  in  reputation,  beloved  by  his 
congregation  and  highly  esteemed  by  all  the  citizens  of  the  commu- 
nity, irrespective  of  their  religious  affiliations.  In  1S74,  on  the  death 
of  the  learned  and  beloved  Dr.  Mason,  for  many  years  the  rector  of 
Christ  church,  Raleigh,  the  vestr}'  of  that  congregation  unanimously 
called  Dr.  Marshall  to  take  charge  of  that  parish.  There  for  seven 
teen  3'ears,  he  has  served  his  congregation  with  fidelity  and  great  ac- 
ceptability'. On  one  occasion,  when  his  health  was  impaired,  his 
throat  giving  him  serious  trouble,  he  felt  impelled  to  tender  his  res- 
ignation; but  his  congregation  appreciated  his  excellence  so  thor- 
oughly and  were  so  attached  to  him,  that  they  gave  him  a  year's 
leave  of  absence,  with  a  liberal  provision  for  his  family  while  he 
should  be  away,  in  hopes  of  a  restoration  of  his  health.  The  rest 
proved  beneficial,  and  his  trouble  has  been  removed.  Dr.  Marshall 
has  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  much  substantial  work  done  in 
Christ  church  parish  since  his  connection  with  it.  The  large  church 
debt  has  been  paid,  and  many  improvements  have  been  made  under 
his  advice.  He  has  always  urged  that  the  pew  system  should  be 
abandoned,  and  he  has  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  this  so  fully 
.accomplished  that  Christ  church  is  now  virtually  a  free  church.  He 
also  was  a  warm  advocate  for  the  division  of  the  diocese,  and  this 
has  likewise  been  accomplished. 

Although  Dr.  Marshall's  sermons  are  models  of  elegant  diction 
and  sound  church  doctrine  and  elevated  sentiments,  yet  he  enjoys  a 
still  higher  reputation  for  the  beauty  of  his  reading,  there  being  but 
few  divines  more  gifted  in  this  respect.  Uniting  with  these  accom- 
plishments a  fervor  and  zeal  and  unusual  learning,  Dr.  Marshall  is 
justly  esteemed  as  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  diocese.  He  is 
president  of  the  standing  commitee  which  is  the  governing  authority 
of  the  diocese  in  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  and  has  co-ordinate  au- 
thorit}'  with  him  in  many  matters,  and  he  has  for  years  been  presi- 
dent of  the  diocesan  convention,  and  one  of  the  examining 
chaplains  of  the  diocese,  and  he  is  the  clerical  deputy  of  longest  ser- 
vice from  the  diocese  to  the  general  convention.  On  July  12,  1S66, 
Dr.  Marshall  married  Miss  Margaret  Susan  Wingfield,  only  daughter 
of  Rev.  John  H.  Wingfield,  D.  D.,  who  was  for  fifty  years  rector  of 
Trinity  church,  Portsmouth,  Va.,  and  the  sister  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  J.  H.  D. 


392  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Wingfield,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  bishop  of  northern  California.  This  union 
has  been  blessed  with  eight  children,  of  whom  six  survive,  viz.:  John 
Wingfield  Marshall,  Eliza  Simpson,  the  wife  of  T.  L.  Eberhardt,  Esq.; 
Maud  Murray  Marshall,  Joel  King  Marshall,  Margaret  Susan  and 
Theodora  Marshall. 

Dr.  Marshall's  father,  Abel  Marshall,  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1813, 
but  removed  in  early  manhood  to  Pittsboro,  N.  C,  where  in  1840  he 
married  Miss  Delana  Gunter,  daughter  of  Abner  Gunter,  who  for 
more  than  forty  years  was  the  register  of  deeds  of  Chatham  county, 
N.  C,  and  to  them  were  born  six  children,  of  whom  but  two  now  sur- 
vive, Henrietta  Marshall  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Abel 
Marshall  was  a  cabinet  maker,  and  was  famed  for  his  mechanical 
skill  and  genius.  He  was  a  magistrate  of  Chatham  county,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  one  of  the  town  commissioners  of  Pittsboro.  He 
possessed  the  entire  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lived,  and  died  much  lamented  in  1S57. 

Dr.  Marshall  has  written  much  that  has  elicited  high  praise  and 
given  him  an  established  reputation;  but  we  will  only  refer  to  the 
sermon  preached  by  him  before  the  diocesan  convention  in  St.  Luke's 
church,  Salisbury,  N.  C,  in  May,  1872,  which  attracted  a  great  deal  of 
attention,  and  an  article  on  "  the  Episcopal  church  of  North  Carolina, 
Its  present  condition  and  prospects,"  which  was  received  with  great 
approbation. 

JOSEPH  CALDWELL,  D.  D., 

the  distinguished  gentleman  who  was  the  first  president  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  1773,  and  died  in  1835.  He 
was  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  university  from  1796  to  181 7; 
and  from  1817  till  his  death  in  1S35,  he  was  president  of  the  univer- 
sity. The  first  astronomical  observatory  in  the  United  States  was 
erected  by  him  in  Chapel  Hill,  the  seat  of  the  university.  He  was  a 
leading  spirit  in  the  cause  of  public  education  and  internal  improve- 
ment in  North  Carolina.  Dr.  Caldwell  was  introduceci  to  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  university  and  the  people  of  North  Carolina  by  Mr. 
Charles  Harris,  of  Cabarrus  county,  N.  C.,  to  whom  the  state  owes  a 
lasting  debt  of  gratitude  for  such  presentation.  Dr.  Caldwell,  in 
agreeing  to  come  to  Chapel  Hill,  acted  on  the  advice  of  his  best  in- 
formed relatives  and  friends,  and  even  after  he  had  taken  leave  of 
his  duties  and  friends  at  Princeton,  where  he  was  a  tutor,  he  rejected 
favorable  inducements  held  out  to  him  to  remain  in  Philadelphia,  in 
charge  of  a  congregation  there,  as  their  pastor,  and  continuing  his 
journey  to  his  destination  at  Chapel  Hill,  he  remained  here  to  the 
end  of  his  days,  in  labors  most  unremitting,  living  a  life  of  self-denial, 
and  the  good  man  was  as  cool  and  deliberate  as  he  was  fearless,  and 
his  trials  were  many,  but  he  bore  them  with  patience,  and  his  char- 
acter made  him  the  well  qualified  professor  and  president  of  the 
university  that  he  was.  In  the  obscure  village  of  Chapel  Hill,  in  such 
insubordination,  he  lived,  a  president,  a  preacher,  a  teacher  and  a 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  393 

bachelor.  Was  it  not  a  martyrdom  to  duty?  I\Iarryin>j  first  Miss 
Susan  Rowan,  of  whom,  as  well  as  of  an  infant  tlauii-htcr,  he  was  de- 
prived three  years  afterward  by  death,  subsequently  associating  him- 
self in  marriage  with  the  honored  name  of  Hooper,  he  became  a 
land-owner  and  a  slaveholder,  thus  making  his  citizenship  in  North 
Carolina  complete.  His  second  wife  died  early.  A  man  small  of 
stature,  quick  in  motion,  light  in  his  step,  he  was  every  inch  a  man, 
born  to  control,  ever  equal  to  his  office  and  duty.  From  this  he  never 
asked  relief.  Uid  the  state  fail  to  provide  funds,  did  the  south  build- 
ing stand  uncovered  for  two  years  at  the  second  story?  He  volun- 
teered to  collect  money  for  its  completion.  Not  in  term  time,  but  in 
the  six  weeks'  vacation  in  the  summer  of  iSii,  in  his  stick-sulky  he 
canvassed  the  state.  Having  headed  the  list  by  a  substantial  sub- 
scription, he  brought  home  and  paid  over  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
board,  $[ 2,000,  with  which  it  was  completed.  Continuing  his  labors 
and  well  directed  efforts  till  in  January,  1S35,  in  his  little  brick  office 
in  his  yard,  his  sufferings  and  his  life  ended,  and  a  great  benefactor 
was  no  more.  Not  many  men  have  died  in  this  state  more  honored 
whilst  living,  or  reverenced  when  dead. 

EDMUND  FANNING. 

Col.  Edmund  Fanning,  who  was  so  obnoxious  to  the  regulators  of 
Orange  county  during  the  troubles  that  culminated  in  the  battle  of 
Alamance,  was  a  native  of  Long  Island.  He  graduated  at  Yale  col- 
lege in  1757,  and  in  1764  received  the  degree  of  /\.  M.  from  Harvard 
as  well  as  from  hhalfiia  i/ialcr.  He  studied  law,  and  in  1760  came  to 
North  Carolina,  being  in  that  year  sworn  in  as  an  attorney  at  Hills- 
boro,  where  he  settled.  Three  years  later  he  was  appointed  register 
for  Orange  county,  which  office  he  continued  to  h()ld  until  he  left  the 
province  in  1771.  In  1766 'he  was  appointed  an  assistant  judge  in  the 
place  of  IMaurice  Moore,  whom  Gov.  Tryon  suspended  because  of 
his  ardent  conduct  in  the  stamp  act  troubles.  He  was  elected  in  that 
year  also  a  member  of  the  assembly  from  Orange  county  and  became 
the  fast  friend  of  Gov.  Tryon,  whom  he  accompanied  as  chief  execu- 
tive offiicer  of  the  escort  on  the  expedition  to  run  the  boundary  line. 
When  the  regulation  troubles  began  in  1766,  objection  was  early 
made  to  the  illegal  fees  taken  by  the  register  as  well  as  the  clerk. 
Fanning  had  submitted  to  the  justices  of  the  inferior  court  in  Orange 
the  question  of  what  fees  he  was  entitled  to  and  charged  according 
to  their  decision.  However,  he  was  indicted  in  176S  and  submittecl 
his  case  to  the  judges,  denying  any  criminal  intent,  because  he  was 
acting  under  the  direction  of  the  inferior  court.  The  judges  took  the 
case  under  advisement  and  referred  the  point  to  learned  counsel  in 
England,  and  it  was  never  decided.  The  disturbances  of  that  year 
led  Gov.  Tryon  to  a|)point  him  colonel  of  the  militia  of  Orange 
county,  and  he  violently  opposed  the  regulators  who  fired  into  his 
house  and  otherwise  showed  their  ill-will  toward  him.  The  gover- 
nor, in  1769,  proposed  to  appoint  him  associate  judge,  but  he  declined. 


394  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

In  1770  a  new  assembh'  was  called,  and  the  regulators  elected 
Herman  Husband  instead  of  Fanning  to  represent  them.  Gov. 
Tryon  thereupon  erected  Hillsboro  into  "a  borough-town  "  with  the 
right  of  a  member,  and  Fanning  was  elected  to  the  assembly  from 
Hillsboro.  The  regulators,  subsequently  in  September  of  that  year, 
broke  up  the  court,  dragged  Fanning  by  the  heels  from  the  court- 
house, whipped  him  severely  and  tore  down  his  house  and  destroyed 
his  furniture.  If  any  one  man  was  the  irritating  cause  of  their  vio- 
lence, it  was  undoubtedly  Fanning,  x^fter  the  battle  of  Alamance,  he 
returned  to  New  York,  where  indeed  he  had  for  some  time  been 
"  surveyor  general  of  the  province."  It  seems  that  he  came  to  North 
Carolina  a  poor  young  man,  and  when  he  left  he  was  much  better  off 
in  worldl}'  goods. 

In  1772,  Columbia  college  in  New  York  conferred  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  upon  him,  and  in  1774,  he  received  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
civil  law  from  Oxford,  England,  and  1803,  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
laws  from  both  Yale  and  Dartmouth  college.  When  the  Revolution 
came  on  he  enlisted  a  corps  of  loyalists  called  the  King's  American 
Regiment  of  Foot,  which  was  disbanded  in  1783.  In  September, 
1783,  he  was  appointed  lieutenant  governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  for 
nineteen  years  he  was  lieutenant  governor  of  Prince  Edwards  Island, 
In  1793  he  was  made  major-general  in  the  British  army,  and  in  1799 
lieutenant-general,  and  in  1808  a  full  general.  He  died  at  his  house 
in  London,  on  February  28,  1818,  leaving  a  widow  and  three  daugh- 
ters. Evidently  he  was  a  man  of  fine  education  and  brilliant  parts, 
and  he  won  for  himself  more  degrees  at  an  early  age  than  have  ever 
been  conferred  upon  any  other  resident  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
esteemed  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  province  as  a  man  of  integrity  and 
worthy  of  their  confidence  and  association,  and  he  expressed  himself 
as  being  greatly  mortified  and  wounded  that  the  people  of  Orange 
county  became  averse  to  him. 

REV.  FRANCIS  J.  MURDOCH,  S.  T.  D., 

is  a  native  of  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  born  March  17,  1S46.  His 
parents  William  and  Margaret  (Nixon)  Murdoch  were  natives  of 
Ireland,  and  after  emigrating  to  the  United  States  resided  for  two 
years  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1845  they  removed  to  North  Carolina  and 
settled  near  Asheville.  William  Murdoch  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion and  dealt  in  fine  stock.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  ex- 
port fine  breeds  of  cattle  to  this  county  and  was  regarded  as  a 
model  farmer  and  an  excellent  citizen.  His  death  occurred  in  1865. 
Rev.  Dr.  F.  J.  Murdoch  was  reared  amid  rural  scenes  in  which  he 
learned  the  lessons  of  industry,  economy,  integrity  and  perseverance, 
characteristics  illustrated  in  all  his  after  life.  In  youth  he  attended 
Col.  Stephen  Lee's  school,  an  excellent  educational  institute  in  Ashe- 
ville. Subsequently,  after  removing  to  South  Carolina  he  entered 
the  military  academy  of  that  state,  first  at  Columbia  and  then  at 
Charleston.     In    1868,   Dr.    Murdoch    was   inducted  into  the   sacred 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  3Q5 

office  of  the  gospel  ministry,  accepting  the  pastorate  of  St.  John's 
Episcopal  church  of  Gaston  county,  N.  C,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years.  For  the  next  two  years  he  devoted  himself  to  missionary  work 
at  Asheville.  He  was  called  to  Salisbury  in  1872,  and  became  the  rec- 
tor of  St.  Luke's  Episcopal  church,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  an 
active  and  zealous  worker  in  the  vineyard  of  his  Divine  Master.  He 
has  built  four  churches  in  Rowan  county.  He  is  much  beloved  as  a 
pastor  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  able  and  learned  clergymen 
in  the  state.  In  1S90  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theology  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  Episcopal  Universit)'  of  the  South  at  Se- 
wanee,  Tenn.  The  high  estimate  set  upon  Dr.  Murdoch's  character 
and  abilities  by  his  brethren,  is  evidenced  bj'  the  varied  and  respon- 
sible positions  to  which  they  have  called  him.  In  18S9  he  was  selected 
as  a  deputy  to  the  general  convention  of  the  Episcopal  church,  con- 
vened in  New  \.ork,  and  he  is  president  of  the  church  conference  of 
Rowan  and  adjoining  counties,  and  was  the  originator  of  the  church 
school  for  boys  at  Salisbury. 

Besides  his  clerical  qualities  he  is  a  highly  valued  citizen  of  the 
progressive  order.  He  has  become  interested  in  the  cotton  manufac- 
turing industry  at  Salisbury,  where  he  was  efficient  in  organizing  the 
Salisbury  cotton  mills  and  the  Rowan  knitting  company,  of  both  of 
which  he  is  now  secretary  and  treasurer.  He  is  also  president  of  the 
\'ance  cotton  mills,  and  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Salisbury 
Building  &  Loan  association.  He  is  also  the  president  of  the  Yadkin 
Falls  manufacturing  compan)',  whose  cotton  mill  is  in  Montgomery 
county,  and  is  a  director  and  practically  the  manager  of  more  than 
one  land  company.  He  has  manifested  much  interest  in  education, 
and  is  e.x-secretary  and  examiner  of  the  Salisbury  graded  schools. 
He  has  developed  not  only  remarkable  abilities  as  a  practical  busi- 
ness man,  but  as  a  successful  financier,  and  he  enjoys  the  unlimited 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  know  him.  Rev.  Dr.  Murdoch  was 
married  to  Miss  Lila  Marsh,  of  Salisbur}',  in  18S4.  They  have  been 
blessed  with  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter. 

JETHRO  RUMPLE,  D.  D., 

is  a  native  of  Cabarrus  county,  N.  C,  born  March  10,  1827.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm  and  received  his  primaiy  education  in  the  countrj' 
schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  made  a  profession  of  religion  and 
soon  after  undertook  to  secure  a  classical  education,  relying  upon  his 
own  personal  efforts  to  meet  the  e.xpense.  By  alternately  teaching 
and  attending  the  neighboring  academies  Mr.  Rumple  was  enabled  to 
enter  Davidson  college,  from  which  he  graduated  with  distinction  in 
1S50.  Subsequently  he  taught  school  for  several  years,  accumulating 
sufficient  means  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  literary  and  theological 
education.  In  1S54,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Concord  presbytery, 
he  entered  the  theological  seminary  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  in  which 
J.  H.  Thornwell,  D.  D.,  was  then  professor  of  theology.  He  here  re- 
mained two  years,  and  July  31,  1856,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Concord 


396  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

presbytery  to  preach,  and  on  January  g,  1857,  he  was  ordained  by  the 
same  authority  to  the  ministry,  and  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the 
Providence  and  Sharon  churches  in  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C. 
After  holding  this  pastorate  for  four  years  he  was  called  to  the  Pres- 
byterian church  at  Salisbury,  and  was  installed  as  its  pastor  Novem- 
ber 24,  i860.  There  he  has  continued  the  faithful  and  beloved  pastor 
up  to  the  present  time.  His  labors  have  been  abundantly  blessed; 
the  church  has  trebled  its  membership  under  his  charge  and  is  now 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous  churches  in  the  state.  Dur- 
ing his  pastorate  six  young  men  of  his  church  have  entered  the  min- 
istry. As  an  evidence  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
brethren  Dr.  Rumple  has  been  called  to  occupy  various  and  responsi- 
ble positions.  For  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  trustee  of  Davidson 
college  and  a  director  of  the  Union  Thec;logical  seminary  of  Virginia. 
He  has  been  a  commissioner  to  several  general  assemblies,  and  in 
synod  and  presbytery  has  served  the  church  in  well  nigh  all  the  most 
honorable  and  important  positions. 

In  1874  he  was  moderator  of  the  North  Carolina  Presbyterian 
synod,  and  in  1884  was  a  member  of  the  general  council  of  the  Pres- 
byterian alliance  which  met  in  Belfast,  Ireland.  On  this  occasion, 
Dr.  Rumple  availed  himself  of  an  opportunity  to  visit  Glasgow,  Edin- 
burgh, the  highlands,  the  western  lakes  of  England,  London  and 
Paris.  Dr.  Rumple  is  highly  distinguished  as  a  minister,  and  as' a 
pastor  he  is  prudent,  laborious  and  of  the  sympathetic  temperament 
which  gains  the  unreserved  love  and  respect  of  his  parishioners.  His 
style  as  a  preacher  is  forcible,  earnest  and  eloquent.  He  is  a  lover 
of  literature  and  history  as  well  as  of  theology.  He  has  spent  much 
labor  in  writing  up  the  "  History  of  Presbyterianism  in  North  Caro- 
lina," which  he  has  contemplated  publishing  in  book  form,  and  such 
a  work  would  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  church  literature  of 
the  state.  In  1881,  was  published  a  valuable  history  of  Rowan  coun- 
ty, N.  C,  of  which  Dr.  Rumple  is  the  author.  In  1887  he  edited  the 
"  First  Semi-Centenary  Celebration  of  Davidson  College,"  giving  the 
addresses,  historical  and  commemorative  of  that  occasion,  and  in 
which  publication  he  is  the  author  of  an  excellent  and  well  written 
historical  sketch  of  Davidson  college.  October  16,  1857,  Dr.  Rumple 
was  married  to  Miss  Jane  E.  Wharton,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C.  This 
marriage  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  three  children,  the  eldest 
of  whom,  Watson  Wharton  Rumple,  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
while  a  member  of  the  senior  class  of  Davidson  college.  The  surviv- 
ing children  are,  James  W.  and  Linda  Lee.  James  W.  Rumple  is  a 
lawyer  by  profession,  and  the  daughter  is  a  talented  and  accomplished 
musician,  the  wife  of  Rev  C.  G.  Vardell,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Newbern,  N.  C. 

RT.  REV.  THOMAS  ATKINSON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

There  have  been  more  brilliant  men  in  public  service  —  men  of 
more  marked  characteristics  who   have   stamped  their  individuality 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  3Q7 

upon  the  age  in  which  they  lived,  and  men  of  more  extraordinary 
genius,  but  it  is  seldom  that  a  character  is  found  so  complete,  so 
harmonious,  and  so  evenly  balanced,  so  thoroughly'  rounded  in  all  of 
its  proportions,  so  symmetrical  and  beautiful  in  the  essentials  of  a 
godlike  man  as  that  of  the  late  bishop  of  North  Carolina,  Thomas 
Atkinson,  of  blessed  memory.  The  influence  for  good  of  such  a 
character  and  of  such  a  life  as  his  cannot  be  over-estimated.  As  the 
refreshing  dew  falls  alike  upon  the  delicate  plant  and  the  coarse 
fibre  of  the  weed,  causing  each  to  bloom  and  blossom,  so  does  such 
a  life  shed  its  sweet  influences  around.  We  cannot  contemplate  too 
frequently  such  a  character,  and  we  should  be  thankful  that  there  is 
virtue  enough  still  left  among  men  to  enable  them  to  recognize  and 
appreciate  such  an  embodiment  of  goodness  in  human  nature.  The 
grandfather  of  Bishop  Atkinson  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman  of  the 
church  of  England.  He  came  to  this  country  in  early  j'outh,  and 
after  his  marriage  to  Miss  Pleasants  of  Curls  Neck,  on  the  James  river, 
Va.,  settled  near  Petersburg  in  Dinwiddie  county,  on  a  farm  known 
as  Mansfield,  named  after  the  great  English  jurist.  Lord  Mansfield. 
The  bishop's  parents  were  Robert  and  Mary  (Tabb)  Atkinson,  who 
inherited  the  family  seat  Mansfield,  and  to  them  eleven  children  were 
born;  Thomas,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  sixth  in  order,  was 
born  August  6,  1807.  Upon  reaching  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  sent 
to  Yale  college,  but  remained  there  not  quite  a  year,  owunor  to  a  dif- 
ficulty in  which  he  became  involved  with  the  faculty'.  In  1825  he 
entered  Hampden-Sidney  college,  X'irginia,  and  graduated  at  nineteen 
years  of  age  with  distinction  in  a  class  that  numbered  among  its  mem- 
bers the  eloquent  John  S.  Preston,  and  William  Ballard  Preston,  the 
latter  secretary  of  the  navy  during  the  administration  of  Gen.  Taylor. 
He  married  in  1S28,  and  about  that  time  he  was  licensed  to  the 
bar,  and  practiced  his  profession  with  great  success,  and  would  doubt- 
less have  risen  to  distinction  as  a  jurist  had  it  not  pleased  God  to 
call  him  to  a  different  sphere  of  action,  the  lif^  of  a  laborious  and 
self-sacrificing  minister  of  the  cross.  While  rector  of  Grace  church, 
Baltimore,  in  1853,  the  diocese  of  North  Carolina  called  upon  him  to 
be  its  bishop.  He  accepted  the  call  and  was  consecrated  the  same 
year  in  St.  John's  chapel.  New  York,  and  at  once  entered  upon  his  du- 
ties. Bishop  Atkinson  assumed  charge  of  the  diocese  of  North 
Carolina  at  a  very  trying  time  in  its  history.  Bishop  Ives,  the  successor 
of  the  great  Ravenscroft,  had  abandoned  his  charge  and  had  joined 
the  Roman  Catholic  communion.  There  was  anxiet}'  throughout 
the  diocese  as  to  the  effect  upon  the  church  in  North  Carolina  of  the 
defection  of  its  chief  pastor,  and  it  was  feared  that  he  who  should 
be  called  to  that  high  office  would  meet  with  more  than  ordinary  dif- 
ficulty in  calming  the  troubled  waters  and  bringing  order  out  of  chaos. 
Dr.  Atkinson,  upon  whom  the  choice  fell,  was  personally  known  to 
but  few  in  the  diocese,  but  the  hand  of  God  was  evident  in  the  se- 
lection, for  under  his  wise  administration  dissensions  ceased,  confi- 
dence was  restored,  and  the  diocese  remained  true  to  the  teachings 


398  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  the  uncompromising  Ravenscroft  and  "to  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints." 

In  his  personal  endowments  he  was  greatly  favored;  he  was  digni- 
fied yet  courteous  and  affable  in  manner,  with  a  deference  for  the 
opinions  of  others,  yet  with  a  stead}'  reliance  upon  himself.  He 
would  attract  attention  in  any  assembly,  and  would  be  at  once  recog- 
nized as  a  leader  of  men.  He  was  intensely  intellectual,  yet  keenly 
alive  to  all  the  kindly  impulses  and  more  gentle  virtues  of  our  nature, 
a  truly  great  man  and  remarkable  in  this  that  in  whatever  circle  he 
moved,  whether  in  the  church,  in  society,  or  in  the  ordinar}'  voca- 
tions of  life,  he  exercised  a  mighty  influence  for  good,  for  his  example 
was  the  reflex  of  the  precepts  he  inculcated.  In  the  house  of  bishops 
his  influence  was  very  great,  and  whenever  he  rose  to  speak  he  com- 
manded the  attention  of  the  members.  As  a  pulpit  orator  he  was 
distinguished  for  keen  analysis,  sound  logic  and  effective  reasoning. 
His  style  was  chaste,  and  more  conversational  than  declamatory,  but 
his  great  power  lay  in  the  faculty  he  possessed  of  impressing  all  who 
heard  him  with  the  conviction  of  his  sincerity,  and  this  had  an  over- 
powering influence  upon  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  was 
strong  in  debate,  a  close  reasoner,  and  if  the  premises  he  laid  down 
were  admitted,  there  could  be  no  escaping  his  conclusions. 

Bishop  Atkinson  was  a  man  of  large  brain,  a  just  man,  true  to  his 
convictions,  to  his  friends  and  kinsfolks,  and  above  all,  to  his  God. 
He  was  a  lover  of  books  and  a  thinker,  and  notwithstanding  the 
cares  and  responsibilities  of  his  office,  found  time  to  keep  up  with 
the  best  literature  of  the  day  and  frequently  in  the  lecture  room  de- 
lighted large  audiences  from  the  rich  stores  of  his  varied  learning. 
But  it  was  as  an  expounder  of  divine  truth  and  as  a  ruler  in  the 
church  that  he  was  most  distinguished.  He  was  conservative  by 
nature,  not  timid  and  yet  not  aggressive.  His  prudence  and  his  wis- 
dom were  manifest  to  all,  and  when  these  are  combined  as  they  were 
in  him  with  a  sincere  and  unselfish  piety  they  are  irresistible,  for  it 
is  such  men  as  he  was,  men  of  prayer  and  men  of  truth  who  consti- 
tute the  strength  and  power  of  a  state.  Few  men  were  more  honored 
and  beloved  than  he,  and  not  by  his  own  flock  only,  but  by  all  classes 
and  conditions  in  life  "  for  this  Duncan  had  borne  his  faculties  so 
meek,  had  been  so  clear  in  his  great  oflice  "  that  all  peoples  did  do 
him  reverence,  and  so  when  he  fell  asleep  on  January  4,  iSSi,  bishops 
and  priests,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  gathered 
around  his  bier  with  bowed  heads  and  stifled  sobs  as  he  was  borne 
onward  to  the  grave  —  for  he  was  a  good  man. 

RT.  REV.  ALFRED  A.  WATSON,  D.  D. 

This  able  and  faithful  minister  of  God  is  the  greatly  respected 
and  beloved  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  east  Carolina.  He  was  born  in 
New  York  city,  August  21,  1818,  his  parents  being  Jesse  and  Hannah 
Maria  Watson.  He  graduated  at  the  University  of  New  York,  in 
1837,  and  applying  himself  to   the  study  of  law,  was  admitted  to  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  399 

bar  of  the  supreme  court  in  1841.  He  did  not,  however,  continue 
lont;  in  the  legal  profession,  but  moved  by  strong  convictions  early 
abandoned  it  for  the  laborious  and  self-sacriticing  life  of  a  minister 
of  the  cross,  and  was  made  deacon  in  St.  Ann's  church,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  November  3,  1844,  and  ordained  priest  in  St.  John's  church, 
Fayetteville,  N.  C,  in  1845.  He  was  rector  of  Grace  church  parish, 
at  Plymouth,  N.  C,  from  1845  to  1858,  and  of  Christ  church 
parish,  Xewbern.  from  1858  to  1865.  In  1863  he  took  charge  of  St. 
James  parish,  Wilmington,  N.  C,  as  assistant  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas 
Atkinson,  D.  D.,  and  was  elected  rector  of  that  parish  in  1S64,  where 
he  remained  until  his  elevation  to  the  episcopate  April  17,  1884. 
Previous  to  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  North  Carolina,  he  was 
clerical  deputy  to  the  general  convention  from  that  diocese  from  1850 
to  1883,  with  the  exception  of  the  period  of  the  war,  and  during  a 
portion  of  the  time  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  canons  of  that 
body.  When  the  new  diocese  of  east  Carolina  was  formed,  he  was, 
with  remarkable  unanimity  elected  its  bishop  and  was  consecrated  in 
the  St.  James'  church,  Wilmington,  in  which  he  had  served  as  rector 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  April  17,  1884. 

To  a  mind  singularly  acute  and  discriminating,  Bishop  Watson 
possesses  great  powers  of  application  and  tenacity  of  purpose  that 
enable  him  to  master  any  subject  requiring  rigicl  investigation,  to 
which  his  faculties  may  be  applied.  He  has  been  a  student  all  his 
life,  and  possesses  the  happy  faculty  of  giving  expression  to  his  ideas 
in  language  terse,  chaste  and  to  the  point,  and  so  lucidly  as  to  be 
easily  understood  even  by  the  unlettered.  He  seldom  indulges  in 
rhetorical  display,  but  preaches  the  gospel  in  its  utmost  purity,  and 
his  appeals  to  the  heart  and  understanding  are  fervid  and  convincing. 
As  a  parish  priest,  he  was  faithful,  diligent  and  zealous,  and  carried 
the  lamp  of  truth  in  his  hand;  as  a  bishop  he  has  proved  himself  to 
be  a  true  leader  of  the  hosts  of  God,  whose  trumpet  never  gives  forth 
an  uncertain  sound.  By  precept  and  example,  bj'  the  elevated  tone 
of  his  morality  and  the  purity  of  his  life,  he  e.xerts  a  most  wholesome 
influence  over  all  who  come  within  the  sphere  of  its  action,  and 
greatl}'  advances  the  cause  ot  true  religion.  He  ife  greatly  beloved 
in  his  diocese  and  esteemed  and  respected  by  all  classes  and  denomi- 
nations of  professing  Christians,  for  he  is  a  true  man,  who  would  suf- 
fer martyrdom  rather  than  sacrifice  principle. 

REV.  M.  L.  WOOD,  D.  D., 

one  of  the  leading  divines  of  the  North  Carolina  conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  now  pastor  in  charge  of  the 
Rockingham  church,  was  born  in  Randolph  county,  N.  C,  October  23, 
1829,  the  son  of  Jones  K.and  Ruth  (Loftin)  Wood,  both  North  Caro- 
linians by  birth,  and  both  descendants  of  V'irginia  families.  The 
father  was  a  planter,  and  an  influential  man  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  He  was  an  earnest  and  consistent  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  for  eighty  years  was  absent  but  a 


400  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

few  times  from  his  place  of  worship.  His  death  occurred  Septem- 
ber 5,  1880,  he  having  attained  the  ripe  age  of  ninety  years:  his  wife 
died  in  1S68,  aged  seventy-five  years.  She  was  a  most  godly  woman, 
and  had  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  since 
1824,  having  joined  at  the  same  time  as  her  husband.  Fourteen 
children  were  born  to  these  parents,  all  of  whom  lived  through  child- 
hood, and  eight  of  them  now  survive,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wood  being  the 
tenth  child.  He  was  graduated  from  Trinity  college,  in  July,  1855, 
having  entered  college  with  but  five  dollars  with  which  to  defray  his 
expenses.  His  early  boyhood  was  spent  on  his  father's  plantation, 
and  he  worked  as  a  planter  until  his  twenty-first  year.  He  became 
connected  vath  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  his  fourteenth  year, 
and  joined  the  North  Carolina  conference,  in  1855,  and  was  engaged 
as  a  circuit  preacher  until  November,  1859,  when  he  was  sent  by  the 
missionary  board  of  his  church  as  a  missionarj^  to  Shanghai,  China. 
Here  he  labored  until  December,  1866,  when  he  returned  to  his  native 
land,  arriving  in  New  York  March  20,  1S67.  In  the  same  year  he  re- 
turned to  North  Carolina,  and  lectured  in  several  places  in  the  state 
until  the  fall  of  1S67,  when  he  again  entered  the  itinerancy,  being 
appointed  to  Mount  Airy,  where  he  remained  three  years,  after 
which,  during  the  years  1 8"  1-2-3-4,  he  was  presiding  elder  of  the 
Salisbury  district. 

In  1875-6  he  preached  on  the  Iredell  circuit,  and  from  1877  to  1879 
was  presiding  elder  on  the  Greensboro  district,  and  from  1880  to 
June,  18S3,  he  was  on  the  Charlotte  district.  At  the  latter  date  Dr. 
Wood  was  elected  president  of  Trinity  college,  a  position  he  resigned 
December  24,  18S4.  At  this  time  he  was  appointed  to  the  Shelby  dis- 
trict as  presiding  elder,  and  in  18S8  Rockingham  became  the  scene  of 
his  labors.  September  19,  1859,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ellen  E.  Mor- 
phis  was  solemnized.  Two  children  were  born  to  this  happj'  union, 
viz.:  Edwin  H.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  3'ears.  He  was 
born  in  Shanghai,  China.  At  the  time  of  his  sad  demise  he  was  su- 
perintendent of  weaving  in  the  Naomi  Falls  factory,  in  Randolph 
county.  He  died  from  heart  disease,  April  6,  1884;  and  Charles  V., 
bookkeeper  in  the  tobacco  factor)'  of  W.  A.  Whittaker  at  Winston, 
N.  C.  The  mother  died  in  Shanghai,  China,  March  16,  1864,  aged 
twenty-nine  years.  Ellen  Morphis  was  born  January  7,  1835.  She 
educated  herself  at  Greensborough  female  college,  graduating  there- 
from in  1856.  For  a  little  over  two  years  she  was  engaged  in  teach- 
ing school  at  Thomasville,  and  later  she  became  a  member  of  the 
faculty  of  her  alma  mater.  Dr.  Wood  was  married  a  second  time, 
Miss  Carrie  Pickett  becoming  his  wife  March  2,  1869.  She  bore  him 
three  children:  Fanny  L.,  Thomas  Pickett  and  Maggie  G.  Mrs. 
Wood  died  in  1873,  'it  the  age  of  thirty  years.  Mrs.  Amanda  (Alford) 
Robins  was  made  his  wife  November  29,  1875.  March  9,  1890,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-seven  years,  she,  too,  went  to  rest.  Dr.  Wood  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  has  been  W.  M.  of  two  lodges. 
His  appointment  to  many  of  the  best  charges  in  the  conference,  and 
the  success   that  has  universallj'  attended  his  work,  fully   attest  his 


NORTH  CAROLIN.^.  4OI 

abilitj'.  Possessed  of  a  mind  of  rare  strength,  disciplined  and  made 
symmetrical  by  the  judicious,  intelligent  stud^'  of  j-ears,  he  is  well 
fitted  to  fill  the  leading  pulpits  of  his  church. 


REV.  SOLOMON  POOL,  D.  D., 

a  native  of  Xorth  Carolina,  was  born  at  Elizabeth  City,  Pasquotank 
county,  April  21,  1832.  His  father  was  Solomon  Pool.  Sr.,  and  the 
maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Martha  Gaskins.  The}'  were  both 
natives  of  Xorth  Carolina,  his  father  being  of  English  descent  and 
his  mother  of  French.  They  had  seven  children,  of  whom  the  fol- 
lowing named  reached  maturity:  George  D.  Pool,  who  spent  his  life 
as  a  farmer.  He  had  two  sons  of  prominence,  one  now  deceased, 
Hon.  Walter  F.  Pool,  who  was  a  member  of  congress;  the  other,  Hon. 
C.  C.  Pool,  now  residing  in  Elizabeth  City,  is  a  lawyer  by  profession 
and  has  been  a  circuit  judge  of  his  state.  Another  brother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  late  Hon.  John  Pool,  a  United  States 
senator  from  North  Carolina.  Another  brother  was  William  G. 
Pool,  M.  D.,  now  deceased,  who  was  graduated  at  the  North  Carolina 
university  and  was  a  physician  by  profession.  Solomon  Pool,  Jr.,  is 
the  3'oungest  of  this  family.  He  was  reared  amid  the  scenes  of  plan- 
tation life,  and  in  1849,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  entered  the  state 
university,  where  he  graduated  in  1853.  ^^  December  of  the  latter 
year  he  was  elected  tutor  of  mathematics  in  his  a///ni  )iiatcr,  and  in 
1S60  was  raised  to  the  adjunct  professorship  of  mathematics,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  for  si.x  j'ears.  He  then  accepted  a  government 
position  in  the  revenue  service,  resigning  the  same  in  1869  to  accept 
the  presidency  of  the  universitj'  tendered  him  in  that  year.  This 
position  he  held  until  1S75,  when  he  severed  his  connection  with  the 
university  and  became  principal  of  a  school  in  Cary,  N.  C,  of  which 
he  remained  in  charge  for  three  years. 

As  an  educator  Dr.  Pool  was  recognized  as  a  success,  possessing 
an  e.xtraordinary  adaptability  for  that  high  profession.  Since  1S75 
and  especially  since  1S78  he  has  devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  the 
ministry,  since  the  latter  date  his  time  being  exclusively  spent  in 
preaching  the  gospel  as  held  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south.  He  has  successively  had  charge  of  the  churches  at  Greens- 
boro, Raleigh,  Winston  and  Smithfield.  Since  1888  he  has  had  a  con- 
gregation at  Charlotte,  where  he  has  preached  to  general  acceptance. 
Dr.  Pool  is  a  ripe  scholar,  a  sound  theologian,  and  is  a  most  eloquent 
expounder  of  gospel  truths.  He  is  a  thorough  student,  keeping  him- 
self well  up  in  the  theological  literature  of  the  times.  His  piety  is 
unaffected,  simple  and  sincere;  his  manner  in  the  pulpit  is  earnest, 
and  his  ideas  clearly  expressed.  He  is  eminently  happy  in  his  pas- 
toral relations,  and  is  sincerely  beloved  by  his  people.  A  master  of 
rhetoric  and  oratory  in  the  pulpit.  Dr.  Pool  is  easy,  graceful  and  in- 
structive in  conversation,  and  in  the  home  circle  he  is  peculiarly 
happy.  In  1856  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Cornelia  Kirk- 
B — 26 


402  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

land,  of  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  and  their  union  has  been  blessed  with  the 
birth  of  eight  living  children. 

REV.  ALEXANDER  GILMER  McMANAWAY,  D.  D., 

is  a  native  of  Bedford  county,  Ya.,  and  was  born  August  ig,  1852. 
His  father,  Charles  H.  McManavvay,  was  a  farmer,  and  his  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Ann  Wright.  Both  parents  were  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldest  of  eight  children, 
four  sons  and  four  daughters.  He  was  reared- upon  the  homestead 
farm,  and  in  his  ^^outh  attended  the  country  schools.  At  the  age  of 
nineteen  he  began  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county, 
and  continued  to  teach  in  that  county  and  Botetourt  for  three  years. 
He  then  gave  up  teaching  and  spent  three  years  at  the  Richmond,  Va., 
college,  and  received  a  liberal  education,  both  scientific  and  classical, 
graduating  in  several  scientific  branches  of  the  course,  but  not  com- 
pleting the  full  curriculum  of  the  college,  which  institution  he  left  in 
the  fall  of  1877.  He  then  entered  the  Southern  Baptist  theological 
seminary,  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  he  remained  only  a  few  months, 
leaving  in  consequence  of  failing  health.  After  leaving  the  seminary 
he  supplied,  for  four  months  of  187S,  a  vacancy  in  the  College  Hill 
Baptist  church,  of  Lynchburg,  Va.  In  May,  of  that  year  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Maria  J.  Robertson,  of  Petersburg,  by  whom  he  has  five 
living  children.  Taking  up  regular  pastoral  work  he  located  at 
Blacksburg,  Va.,  in  June,  1878,  where  he  preached  to  a  congregation 
till  February,  1881,  when  he  took  a  charge  at  Louisburg,  N.  C.  Here 
and  at  Franklinton,  he  preached  until  October,  1885,  when  he  was 
called  to  Charlotte,  to  take  charge  of  the  congregation  at  the  Tryon 
Street  Baptist  church,  where  he  still  remains.  His  work  as  a  minis- 
ter has  been  effectual  in  building  up  several  congregations  and  in' in- 
creasing the  membership  of  the  churches  under  his  charge.  He 
came  to  Charlotte  when  his  church  numbered  only  175  mem.bers. 
Since  then  more  than  300  new  members  have  been  added  to  the 
church,  and  at  his  instance  a  new  church  building  was  erected  in  1888, 
on  Trade  street,  Charlotte.  Some  fifty  members  of  the  Tryon  street 
congregation  transferred  their  membership  to  the  new  church  and 
others  joined  to  give  strength  to  the  new  organization.  It  has  grown 
rapidly  in  membership  and  strength,  and  now  has  a  pastor  of  its  own. 
Dr.  McManaway  has  done  effective  work  in  assisting  the  pastors 
of  other  churches  of  his  denomination  in  revival  meetings,  and  has 
visited  many  congregations  which  he  has  aided  materially  in  building 
up.  His  visits  have  extended  to  Greenville,  Bennettsville  and  Dar- 
lington, S.  C,  Savannah,  Ga.,  Durham,  Weldon,  Wadesborough, 
Wake  Forest,  Wilson  and  Lumberton,  N.  C,  and  Portsmouth,  Va. 
He  is  vice-president  of  the  home  mission  board  of  the  southern 
Baptist  convention  for  North  Carolina,  and  in  this  capacity  has  can- 
vassed the  several  associations  of  the  state.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the 
Baptist  female  university  at  Raleigh,  and  of  the  Baptist  orphanage 
at   Thomasville.     He    is   also   an  active  member   of   the    Charlotte 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  403 

\'.  M.  C.  A.,  and  has  taken  much  interest  in  literary'  work,  having 
been  a  valued  contributor  to  several  periodicals,  both  religious  and 
general.  In  1889,  in  company  with  his  brother.  Rev.  J.  IM.  McKlanaway, 
he  began  the  work  of  publishing  a  selection  of  sermons  delivered  by 
the  renowneci  Rev.  Charles  H.Spurgeon,  a  Baptist  divine  of  London. 
He  visited  London  and  held  an  interview  with  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  ar- 
range for  the  publication  of  twenty-three  selected  sermons  from  some 
two  thousand  which  had  been  delivered  by  this  celebrated  divine. 
While  on  this  tour  Dr.  McManaway  visited,  beside  England,  Scot- 
land, Ireland  and  France.  Returning,  he  and  his  brother  in  iSqo 
completed  the  compilation  and  published  in  book  form  the  sermons 
mentioned  above.  This  publication  is  one  of  great  merit,  and  is 
highly  appreciated  by  the  devotees  of  sacred  literature.  Dr.  MclMan- 
away  is  a  lover  of  the  study  of  theology,  and  has  an  extensive  and 
well-selected  library,  in  which  his  well-used  volumes  demonstate  the 
extent  of  his  devotion  to  study  and  the  profundity  of  his  learning. 
He  is  an  easy  and  fluent  speaker  of  rare  eloquence,  and  his  diction  is 
a  model  of  purity  and  strength.  With  such  characteristics  and  en- 
dowments it  can  readily  be  seen  that  his  effectiveness  in  pulpit  ora- 
tory must  be  very  great.  In  June,  1S91,  he  was  made  a  doctor  of 
divinity  by  Keachie  college,  Louisiana.  In  August  of  the  same  year 
he  became  one  of  the  editors  of  the  N^orth  Carolina  Baptist,  a  new 
and  popular  paper  published  at  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  and  in  connection 
with  his  pastorate  is  devoting  his  best  energies  to  building  up  the  in- 
fluence and  circulation  of  that  journal. 

ROBERT  ZENAS  JOHNSTON 

was  born  in  Rowan  countJ^  N.  C,  December  14,  1834.  He  is  the  son 
of  Rufus  D.  and  Aly  (Graham)  Johnston,  the  former  a  substantial 
and  well-to-do  farmer.  The  Johnstons  and  Grahams  were  devout 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  worshiped  at  the  Third 
Creek  church.  They  were  constant  and  liberal  supporters  and  offi- 
cers in  that  church,  and  their  children  were  brought  up  within  the 
precincts  and  under  its  conservative  influence.  The  best  schools  were 
selected  for  their  training.  Robert  Z.Johnston  was  the  second  of  six 
children,  and  is  the  only  survivor  of  the  six.  He  worked  on  his 
father's  farm,  on  the  South  \'adkin  river,  until  he  was  fifteen  years 
old,  when  his  father  sent  him  to  Bethany  academy,  in  Iredell  county. 
He  was  there  fitted  for  and  from  there  entered  Davidson  college, 
finishing  the  regular  course  and  graduating  in  July,  1858,  at  which 
time  he  delivered  the  Latin  salutatory  on  commencement  day.  He 
often  represented  his  class  on  public  occasions  during  the  course,  and 
at  the  semi-centennial,  in  1887,  he  delivered  the  address  on  Dr.  Lacy's 
administration  as  president  of  the  college.  In  October,  1858,  he  en- 
tered Columbia  (S.  C.)  theological  seminary  and  graduated  in  regu- 
lar course  in  May,  1861.  On  the  13th  of  May  of  the  same  year,  he 
^married  Miss  Katharine  Caldwell,  of  Chester,  S.  C,  and  November 
17,  1861,  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  by  Concord  pres- 


404  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

bytery  at  Providence  church,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Provi- 
dence and  Sharon  churches,  in  Mecklenburg  county.  This  relation 
continued  until  1872.  During  the  Civil  war  the  churches  were  re- 
duced to  impoverishment,  both  pastor  and  flock.  Rev.  Mr.  Johnston 
reluctantly  accepted  a  call  to  Lincolnton,  and  in  1872  removed  his 
family  to  that  place,  where  he  has  faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of 
pastor  and  evangelist  ever  since.  He  has  preached  seven  years  at 
Shelby,  N.  C  until  that  church  was  enabled  to  call  a  pastor.  He  also 
officiated  at  Dallas,  Goshen,  Mount  Holly,  Iron  Station  and  at  the 
Lincolnton  paper  mills. 

Under  Mr.  Johnston's  effective  ministrations  new  churches  were 
organized,  houses  of  worship  were  built  and  memberships  increased. 
In  1S6S  he  was  elected  stated  clerk  of  the  Concord  presbytery  and  in 
1869,  when  Mecklenburg  presbytery  was  organized,  he  was  transferred 
to  that  presbytery  and  made  its  stated  clerk,  which  office  he  has  con- 
tinued to  fill.  He  was  instrumental  in  improving  the  public  school 
laws  of  North  Carolina  and  was  elected  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction for  Lincoln  county.  He  conducted  the  county  institutes, 
visited  and  addressed  public  schools  for  years  and  is  now  chairman 
of  the  board  of  education  of  Lincoln  county.  His  interest  in  the 
schools  never  falters  and  he  often  delivers  addresses  in  public  upon 
educational  topics  and  the  improvement  of  the  young.  Mrs.  Johns- 
ton, having  been  early  schooled  in  the  church,  is  a  willing  and 
efficient  helper  in  the  educational  work  of  her  husband.  Though 
laboring  in  a  field  in  which  other  church  organizations  are  established 
there  is  no  clashing  of  interests,  but  their  interrelations  are  pleasant 
and  their  pronounced  Presbyterian  views  are  always  respected. 
Large  congregations  have  usually  attended  the  religious  services 
conducted  by  Rev.  Johnston.  He  generally  preaches  without  manu- 
script and  his  sermons  are  listened  to  with  rare  interest.  To  the 
leading  religious  journals  he  is  a  frequent  and  welcome  correspond- 
ent. He  performs  missionary  service  in  his  county  so  far  as  his 
strength  will  permit,  after  delivering  three  sermons  on  Sundays. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnston  have  raised  six  daughters  and  three  sons  and 
trained  them  in  the  Lincolnton  schools.  In  1886  great  grief  was 
brought  to  the  family  by  the  accidental  death  of  the  eldest  son, 
Robert.  He  met  his  untimely  end  in  a  furious  storm  near  Wilkesbarre, 
Penn.,  an  event  which  long  cast  its  shadow  upon  the  before  happy 
and  undivided  household. 

REV.  HILARY  THOMAS  HUDSON,  D.  D., 

is  a  native  of  Davie  county,  N.  C,  born  November  15,  1823.  He  is 
the  son  of  John  Hudson  who  was  born  and  raised  in  the  same  county. 
His  mother  was  Diana  Hughes,  and  both  parents  are  now  dead,  the 
former  dying  when  his  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  but  five 
years  old.  He  is  the  eldest  of  three  children,  his  brother  J.  W.  Hud- 
son and  his  sister,  Susan  Parnell,  deceased.  He  worked  on  a  farm 
until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  car- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  405 

riage  builder.  During  the  time  he  was  emploj^ed  at  his  trade  he 
improved  his  spare  hours  in  studying  grammar  and  other  useful 
branches.  His  studious  habits  and  desire  to  learn  caused  his  friends 
to  open  the  waj'  to  send  him  to  the  Mocksville  academy,  then  con- 
ducted by  the  Rev.  Baxter  Clegg.  In  this  school  he  made  rapid  ad- 
vancement, so  that  when  he  had  finished  his  academic  course  his 
friends  again  provided  for  his  entering  Randolph-Macon  college  in 
\'irginia,  but  not  having  the  means  to  complete  the  course  at  that 
institution,  he  returned  home  and  taught  school  at  Snow  Creek  in 
Iredell  county.  While  teaching  here  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south.  In  1S51  he  joined  the  North 
Carolina  conference  at  Salisbury',  and  was  sent  as  the  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  church  at  Washington,  N.  C.  Since  that  time  he  has  been 
the  pastor  at  Chapel  Hill,  Wilson,  Greensboro,  Fayettville,  Rocking- 
ham and  Raleigh.  He  has  also  been  chosen  presiding  elder  in  the 
Salisbury  and  Shelby  districts.  While  at  Raleigh,  Dr.  Hudson  be- 
came the  editor  and  proprietor  of  The  Raleigh  Christian  Advocate,  of 
which  he  is  still  associate  editor.  He  has  been  elected  and  served  as 
a  delegate  to  the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  twice.  He  wields  a  facile  and  trenchant  pen,  and  has  prob- 
ably contributed  more  articles  in  the  way  of  religious  literature  than 
any  of  his  clerical  brethren  in  the  state.  He  is  the  author  of  The 
Methodist  Armor,  a  book  which  is  now  having  a  wide  circulation  all 
through  the  Methodist  church,  south.  The  opinions  of  the  press 
have  been  very  profuse  and  generous  in  their  praises  of  his  book. 
Besides  The  Armor,  Dr.  Hudson  is  the  author  of  several  smaller 
publications,  as  The  Shield  of  The  Young  Methodist,  The  Red 
Dragon,  The  Sun-Clad  Woman,  The  Prohibition  Trumpet  and  Chil- 
dren's Lamp.     All  his  books  have  had  quick  and  ready  sales. 

At  present  Dr.  Hudson  is  located  at  Shelby,  N.  C,  where  he  acts 
as  pastor  and  associate  editor  of  the  Raleigh  Christian  Advocate,  the 
organ  of  the  North  Carolina  conference,  and  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  influential  religious  papers  in  the  state.  His  family  consists  of 
himself,  his  most  excellent  wife  and  a  son  —  H.  T.  Hudson,  jr.,  about 
twenty-three  years  old,  a  talented  young  lawyer  with  a  bright  future 
in  immediate  prospect.  Dr.  Hudson  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Miss  Hattie,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Cole,  of  Greens- 
boro, a  most  estimable  woman  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  She  died 
in  Raleigh  in  1S68,  leaving  H.  T.  Hudson,  Jr.,  her  only  child.  In  1872 
Dr.  Hudson  married  Miss  Mary  T.  Lee,  daughter  of  the  late  David  M. 
Lee,  of  Mecklenburg  county.  .She  is  an  educated  and  cultured 
woman,  a  bright  ornament  in  the  Christian  society  in  which  she 
moves. 

WILLIAM    HOOPER, 

one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  born 
June  17,  1742,  in  Boston,  Mass.,  where  his  father.  Rev.  William,  pas- 
tor of  Trinity  church,  enjoyed  the  affection  and  reverence  of  a  cul- 
tured congregation,  and  was  admired  for  his  elegance  of  mannersand 


406  XORTH  CAROLINA. 

impressive  eloquence.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  given  the  best 
education  that  could  be  obtained  in  America,  graduating  with  distinc- 
tion at  Harvard,  taking  A.  B.  in  1760  and  A.  M.  in  1763.  He  studied 
law  under  James  Otis,  who  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  earliest  and 
boldest  advocates  of  American  rights,  and  doubtless  took  his  color- 
ing from  Otis'  avowed  principles.  In  1764  he  came  to  North  Carolina 
and  settled  at  Wilmington,  and  three  j'ears  later  married,  in  Boston, 
Miss  Ann  Clark,  of  Wilmington,  daughter  of  Thomas  Clark,  de- 
ceased, and  sister  of  Col.  Thomas  Clark,  of  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
tinental line,  and  afterward  a  general  in  the  army  of  the  United 
States.  In  his  profession  Mr.  Hooper  speedily  attained  eminence. 
His  superior  education  and  training  were  united  to  natural  gifts  of 
the  highest  order.  He  was  an  orator  of  the  Ciceronian  school,  polished, 
rhetorical,  stately  and  diffusive,  and  his  accomplishments  and  admirable 
characteristics  won  him  friends  on  all  sides  in  his  new  home.  Indeed 
at  that  time  there  clustered  at  Wilmington  a  bevy  of  elegant  gentle- 
men who  had  no  superiors  in  America,  the  Cape  Fear  region  being 
justly  famed  for  the  politeness  and  elegance  and  culture  of  its  inhab- 
itants. And  in  such  company  !\Ir.  Hooper  took  rank  as  a  star  of  the 
first  magnitude,  and  added  lustre  to  the  radiance  of  the  Cape  Fear. 
In  the  regulation  troubles  in  1771  he  was  an  active  supporter  of 
the  government.  At  the  next  election,  1773,  he  was  chosen  to  repre- 
sent Wilmington  in  the  assembly,  and  again  in  1774  he  was  in  the 
assembly,  and  in  the  provincial  congress.  Indeed  the  provincial 
congress  was  called  only  after  conference  with  him.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  patriots  of  that  early  daj^  He  was  in  1775  elected  a  delegate 
to  the  Continental  congress,  and  again  in  1776  by  the  bod}'  that  first 
instructed  its  delegates  in  congress  to  concur  in  declaring  independ- 
ence. In  the  Continental  congress  Mr.  Hooper  deservedly  took  rank 
with  the  foremost  members  of  the  body.  There  were  few,  if  any, 
superior  to  him  in  ability,  in  scholastic  attainments,  in  polished 
oratory,  and  in  patrioticardor.  His  firstspeech  in  congress  commanded 
profound  silence,  and  was  listened  to  with  the  most  earnest  attention. 
Some  of  the  most  notable  state  papers  were  the  product  of  his  pen 
alone.  He  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  took  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  proceedings  of  congress.  In  1777,  however,  the 
courts  were  again  opened  in  North  Carolina,  after  a  suspension  of 
several  years,  and  the  expense  of  living  in  Philadelphia  being  great, 
Mr.  Hooper  returned  to  the  practice,  but  continued  to  serve  in  the 
state  assembly,  maintaining  his  position  as  one  of  the  foremost  men 
in  North  Carolina.  He  resided  at  Masonboro  Sound,  eight  miles 
from  Wilmington,  and  when  that  section  Avas  invaded,  in  1781,  he  re- 
moved his  famil)^  to  Wilmington,  where  they  would  be  fr.ee  from  the 
insults  of  marauding  parties,  and  himself  retired  to  Edenton,  where 
he  was  very  ill.  Writing  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  Revolution  he 
said  he  had  never  doubted  that  America  would  achieve  her  independ- 
ence. He  was  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Judge  Iredell,  who  wrote 
to  Mrs.  Iredell  —  "  I  wish  to  be  like  him."  Indeed  the  admiration  of 
Judge  Iredell  for  him  was  unbounded. 


NORTH  CARf)I.INA.  4O7 

Mr.  Hooper  continued  in  the  assembly  until  17S4.  He  was  not  an 
admirer  or  follower  of  Jefferson,  and  warml}'  expoused  the  proposed 
Federal  constitution,  but  was  defeated  for  the  convention.  At  that 
time  he  lived  in  Hillsboro  and  the  western  part  of  the  state  was  op- 
posed to  the  constitution.  Mr.  Hooper  was  of  a  delicate  organiza- 
tion and  constitution,  and  his  health  was  at  times  poor.  He  had 
frequent  spells  of  violent  illness.  In  the  fall  of  1790  he  suffered 
greatly.  It  appears  that  his  mind  became  unsettled  and  he  passed 
away  October  ig,  of  that  year,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight.  Of  Mr. 
Hooper  it  may  be  truly  said  that  as  brilliant  as  were  Howe,  Harnett, 
Iredell,  Ashe  and  Moore,  and  all  of  those  renowned  names  that 
adorned  North  Carolina's  annals  during  his  time,  taking  a  view  of 
the  entire  galaxy,  none  surpassed  him  in  shining  talents  and  fine  ac- 
complishments, and  none  deserves  more  grateful  appreciation  by 
North  Carolinians. 

REV.  THOMAS  HENDERSON  PRITCHARD,  D.  D., 

who  has  been  for  many  years  the  most  distinguished  Baptist  minis- 
ter, perhaps,  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Charlotte,  N.  C,  Febru- 
ary 8,  1832.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Price  Pritchard,  was  the  son 
of  Benjamin  Pritchard,  a  merchant  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  his  aunt, 
Madam  Juliana  DuPre,  for  half  a  century  presided  over  a  famous 
school  for  young  ladies  in  that  city.  Dr.  Pritchard's  paternal  grand- 
mother was  Esther  Sass,  who  belonged  to  an  English  family  distin- 
guished for  attainments  in  art,  her  brother,  Richard  Sass,  being  a 
noted  painter  and  president  of  an  academy  of  design,  in  London. 
His  mother  was  Eliza  Hunter  Henderson,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Henderson,  and  a  descendant  of  the  Martin  and  Henderson  families, 
who  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  earlier  history  of  the  state. 
Her  grandmother  was  Jane  Martin,  the  wife  of  Col.  Thomas  Hender- 
son, and  the  sister  of  Alexander  Martin,  who  was  three  times  gover- 
nor of  North  Carolina,  the  only  man  who  ever  enjoyed  such  an 
honor,  except  Gov.  Zebulon  B.  Vance.  Judge  James  Martin,  of  Mo- 
bile, Ala.,  and  H.  C.  Jones,  the  author  of  "  Cousin  Sallie  Dillard," 
also  belonged  to  this  family.  Of  the  Hendersons,  there  were  many 
eminent  men.  Richard  Henderson,  an  ante-Revolutionary  judge, 
who  figured  in  the  "  War  of  the  Regulators,"  and  who  sent  Daniel 
Boone,  of  historical  fame,  to  Kentucky  and  purchased  that  state 
from  the  Indians,  was  the  brother  of  her  grandfather,  Col.  Thomas 
Henderson;  another  brother,  William,  commanded  with  distinguished 
gallantry  Sumter's  brigade  at  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs;  and  still 
another  brother,  Major  Pleasant  Henderson,  of  Chapel  Hill,  was  for 
forty  years  clerk  of  the  house  of  commons  of  North  Carolina  with- 
out ever  asking  a  man  for  his  vote.  Judge  Richard  Henderson  was 
the  father  of  Leonard  Henderson,  who  died  in  i83'?,  chief-justice 
of  North  Carolina,  and  of  Archibald  Henderson,  of  Salisbury,  who 
represented  his  district  in  congress,  and  was  offered  a  position  on  the 
supreme  court  bench  by  the  side  of  his  brother  Leonard.     I  lis  grand- 


40S  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

son,  John  S.  Henderson,  is  now  congressman  from  the  same  district. 
Another  gifted  member  of  this  family  was  Dr.  Pleasant  Henderson, 
son  of  the  Major  Pleasant  Henderson  named  above,  who  was  pro- 
nounced by  Daniel  Webster  to  be  the  "  most  accomplished  man  he 
ever  knew." 

Dr.  T.  H.  Pritchard  was  prepared  for  college  at  a  popular  academy 
taught  in  Mocksville,  N.  C,  by  the  Rev.  Baxter  Clegg,  a  Methodist 
preacher,  and  among  his  school-mates  were  Judge  Victor  C.  Bar- 
ringer,  who  has  attained  high  honors  in  Egypt;  Col.  R.  I.  Dodge, 
U.  S.  A.;  Rev.  S.  M.  Frost,  D.  D..  and  Rev.  H.  T.  Hudson,  D.  D. 
His  father  being  a  poor  man  with  a  large  family,  he  worked  his  way 
through  college,  and  was  graduated  from  Wake  Forest  college  in 
1854,  delivering  the  valedictory.  Mr.  J.  H.  Mills,  who  has  founded 
two  orphanages,  and  Judge  W.  T.  Faircloth,  who  was  at  one  time 
a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state,  divided  the  honors  of  the 
class  with  him.  After  traveling  for  a  year  as  agent  of  Wake  Forest 
college  he  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  of  Hertford, 
November,  1855,  Rev.  William  Hooper,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  preaching  the 
sermon  of  the  occasion.  After  preaching  and  teaching  in  Hertford 
for  a  few  years,  and  paying  his  college  debts,  he  went  to  Charlottes- 
ville, Ya.,  to  read  theology  with  Dr.  John  A.  Broadus,  and  attend  the 
famous  University  of  Virginia.  Dr.  Pritchard  has  held  many  re- 
sponsible positions  and  been  greatly  honored  of  his  brethren,  and 
has  probably  dedicated  more  churches  and  preached  at  the  ordina- 
tion of  more  ministers  than  any  other  man  now  living  in  North 
Carolina.  His  pastorates  have  been  Hertford,  N.  C;  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.;  Franklin  Square,  Baltimore,  Md.;  Petersburg,  Va.;  Broad- 
way church,  Louisville,  Ky.;  First  church,  Raleigh;  and  First  church, 
Wilmington.  His  longest  terms  of  service  were  in  Raleigh,  where 
he  was  twice  pastor,  and  for  nearly  fourteen  years,  and  his  present 
charge,  Wilmington,  where  he  has  been  nearly  eight  years. 

In  September,  1879,  Dr.  Pritchard  became  president  of  Wake  For- 
est college,  and  during  his  administration  of  three  years  traveled 
over  15,000  miles  and  addressed  60,000  people  on  the  subject  of  edu- 
cation, and  brought  up  the  patronage  of  the  college  from  iiS  to  183 
students.  Many  of  his  friends  think  these  three  years  the  most  use- 
ful of  his  life,  but  his  heart  yearned  for  his  chosen  life  work  and  he 
soon  returned  to  the  pastorate.  Dr.  Pritchard  was  for  seven  years 
chairman  of  the  board  of  missions  of  his  church,  a  good  part  of  the 
time  discharging  the  duties  of  the  corresponding  secretary  as  well. 
He  is  fond  of  writing  for  the  press  and  has  been  twice  associate  edi- 
tor of  the  Biblical  Recorder,  the  Baptist  organ  in  North  Carolina,  and 
is  now  one  of  the  editors  of  Charity  and  Children,  the  organ  of  the 
Baptist  orphanage.  He  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
theological  seminary  for  twenty-two  3'ears;  a  trustee  of  Wake  Forest 
college  about  as  long;  is  also  a  trustee  of  the  state  university,  of  a 
female  university,  of  the  white  Baptist  orphanage  and  also  of  a 
colored  orphanage.  In  1872  he  was  chosen  one  of  a  committee  with 
Senator  Joseph  E.  Brown,  of  Georgia,  Dr.  J.  L.  Burrus,  of  Virginia,  Dr. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4O9 

Boyce,  of  South  Carolina,  and  three  others  to  locate  the  Southern 
Baptist  theological  seminary,  and  on  the  recommendation  of  this 
committee  it  was  moved  from  Greenville,  S.  C,  to  Louisville,  Ky.  In 
1874,  Dr.  Pritchard  preached  the  opening  sermon  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  convention  in  Charleston,  S.  C;  in  i8S8  he  represented  his 
church  in  the  World's  missionarj'  conference  in  London,  and  in  1S91 
he  was  appointed,  with  Urs.  T.  T.  Eaton,  F.  M.  Ellis,  H.  H.  Harris 
and  L  T.  Tiechnor,  a  committee  to  arrange  for  the  centennial  of 
modern  missions  in  1892. 

In  stature  Dr.  Pritchard  is  of  medium  height  and  is  stoutly  built; 
his  manners  are  genial;  his  disposition  is  cheerful;  his  spirit  boyish, 
and  he  is  very  fond  of  young  people.  He  takes  great  pleasure  in 
field  sports,  especiall}-  quail  shooting,  and  has  the  reputation  of  being 
a  good  wing-shot,  and  is  an  indefatigable  hunter.  He  received  the 
doctorate  of  divinity  from  the  State  University  of  North  Carolina  in 
1868,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years. 

Dr.  Pritchard  married  Miss  Fannie  G.  Brinson,  of  Newbern, 
N.  C,  in  1858,  who  still  survives  to  brigliten  his  life  and  help  him  in 
his  work.  She  is  a  famous  Sunday-school  teacher,  having  a  Bible 
class  of  eighty-four  young  men.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pritchard  have  five 
children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  eldest  son,  W.  B.  Pritch- 
ard, M.  D.,  though  under  thirty,  is  a  lecturer  in  the  New  York  Poly- 
clinic, and  as  a  writer  is  already  an  authority  on  nervous  diseases.  In 
his  eldest  daughter,  Mrs.  A.  D.  Jenkins,  also  a  resident  of  New  York, 
the  genius  for  music,  which  distinguished  her  ancestors  on  both  sides, 
the  Hendersons  and  Sasses,  has  found  its  crowning  development,  as 
she  is  a  singer  of  surpassing  sweetness  and  power.  We  subjoin  a 
sketch  of  the  character  of  Dr.  Pritchard,  as  drawn  by  his  friend. 
Rev.  H.  W.  Battle: 

An  elegant  writer  has  said,  "  The  heart  is  the  standard  of  the  man." 
Measured  by  this  standard,  Thomas  Henderson  Pritchard  is  surely 
one  of  the  manliest  of  men.  His  sensibilities  are  exquisitely  refined, 
and  all  his  impulses  pay  court  to  honor.  A  close  observer  may 
discover  in  each  individual  some  secret  clue  to  the  character,  more 
reliable  than  popular  estimate  or  public  act.  If  the  individual  be  ac- 
customed to  expressing  his  deepest  convictions,  for  the  purpose  of 
influencing  public  sentiment,  his  words  —  such  is  the  subtile  union  be- 
tween words  and  principles  ma\'  be  accepted  as  the  magic  keys  to 
reveal  the  very  sacristy  of  his  nature.  The  writer  observed,  soon  after 
meeting  Dr.  Pritchard,  that  there  was  one  word  he  often  used,  always 
with  unconscious  accentuation,  and  that  word  subsequently  blended 
its  tender  strength  with  each  line  in  the  mind's. picture  of  the  man: 
that  word  was,  "  Gentle-man." 

Nature,  as  well  as  early  associations,  did  much  for  Dr.  Pritchard. 
All  good  stars  shone  at  his  natal  hour.  A  splendid  physique,  a  noble 
heart,  brimming  with  kindly  sympathies  and  joyous  life,  and  a  bril- 
liant intellect,  filled  the  measure  of  heaven's  royal  largess.  But  Dr. 
Pritchard  was  not  born  to  be  a  student;  the  elements  were  not  so 
mixed  in  him.     His  love  for  letters  brings  him   into  easy  sympathies 


41 0  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

with  the  good  and  beautiful  in  the  literature  of  the  ages,  but  his  love  for 
the  society  of  friends  and  for  "the  free  air"  renders  impossible  that 
rigid  discipline  of  the  mind  which  adds  to  the  elegant  accomplish- 
ments of  the  gentleman,  the  erudition  of  the  profound  scholar.  As 
a  preacher,  his  ideas  are  synthetic  and  come  naturally  out  of  the  text, 
his  sentences  are  exceedingly  chaste  and  often  very  beautiful,  his  ges- 
tures graceful,  and  his  voice  singularly  sweet  and  flexible.  If  we 
look  deeper  than  "the  high  art  of  sermonizing,"  we  shall  find  a  fidel- 
ity to  evangelical  truth  —  as  the  fathers  held  it  —  which  never  falters, 
and  a  personal  devotion  to  God  and  man  that  throbs  like  a  heart- 
beat in  ever}-  sentence. 

As  a  platform  speaker  upon  religious  themes,  Dr.  Pritchard  is 
often  at  his  best.  His  minci  is  not  an  alembic  that  tests  at  once,  with 
unerring  precision,  the  quality  of  each  question  presented;  he  often 
finds  it  difificult,  when  good  men  may  differ,  to  decide,  and  at  times 
this  hesitancy  might  be  attributed,  by  those  who  did  not  know  him,  to 
a  too  lax  grasp  of  moral  conviction  —  such  a  conclusion  would  be  far 
from  correct.  In  devotion  to  right  he  would  not  swerve  a  hair-breadth 
to  escape  the  martj'r's  crown.  His  moral  courage  is  equal  to  any 
emergency,  and  if  he  errs  in  his  estimate  of  men  and  measures,  his  mis- 
take "  leans  to  virtue's  side."  As  might  be  inferred  from  what  has 
been  said,  Dr.  Pritchard  is  admirably  fitted  for  the  pastoral  relation  — 
a  charming  conversationalist,  a  warm-hearted  friend  and  a  wise  coun- 
selor, his  words  are  instinct  with  cordiality  and  his  ver}^  presence  is  a 
benediction.  When  the  summons  "  come  up  higher,"  shall  call  the 
faithful  minister,  unselfish  friend  and  Christian  gentleman  from  the 
scenes  of  earth,  then  may  it  be  said  of  Thomas  Henderson  Pritchard, 
as  Lord  Brooke  said  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney:  "  His  wit  and  understand- 
ing beat  upon  his  heart,  to  make  himself  and  others,  not  in  word  or 
opinion,  but  in  life  and  action,  good  and  great." 

REV.  PROF.  F.  W.  E.  PESCHAU,  D.  D. 

The  Peschau  family  has  had  its  home  in  the  city  of  Clansthal- 
Zellerfeld,  on  the  Hartz  mountains,  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover,  Ger- 
many, for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Two  branches  of  the 
family  migrated  from  the  old  family  seat,  and  their  descendants  are 
chiefly  residing  in  the  United  .States. 

Hon.  Edward  Peschau,  German  imperial  consul  in  the  port  of  Wil- 
mington, is  the  son  of  Rev.  George  Ludwig  Peschau,  who  spent  his 
whole  life  in  Germany,  and  was  the  first  minister  in  the  family's  his- 
tory. He  was  a  graduate  of  the  far-famed  University  of  Goettingen, 
and  after  being  ordained  to  the  holy  ministry',  took  charge  of  the  Lu- 
theran church  at  Altenbroch,  near  the  city  of  Bremen.  Here  he  lived  » 
and  labored  for  forty-five  years,  and  here  he  died  and  is  buried.  One 
of  his  sons  is  a  physician  in  Germany,  and  a  nephew  of  his,  Dr.  Her- 
mann Peschau,  resides  in  Nebraska. 

Rev.  Prof.  F.  W.  E.  Peschau,  D,  D.,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Clansthal-Zellerfeld, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4' I 

Hanover,  February  17,  1849.  He  is  the  eldest  child  and  only  son  of 
Henry  and  Wilhelmine  (Muehlhahn)  Peschau  and  had  but  one  sister. 
The  family  came  to  the  I'nited  States  in  1853,  on  the  ship  North 
Carolina,  and  landed  in  Baltimore,  where  they  resided  a  short  time, 
and  then  removed  to  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  to  take  up  a  permanent  resi- 
dence. In  Wheeling  the  aged  father,  Henry  Peschau,  and  his  only 
daughter,  Mrs.  C.  Fuhr,  still  reside,  the  mother  having  died,  March 
9,  1877.  She  was  buried  in  Mount  Zion  Evangelical  Lutheran  ceme- 
tery. Having  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Wheeling,  where  he  attended 
both  a  German  parochial  school  and  the  public  school,  and  having 
been  confirmed,  he  was  sent  in  1867  to  study  for  the  holy  ministry,  in 
the  celebrated  Lutheran  college  and  theological  seminary  at  Gettys- 
burg,_Penn.  Here  he  spent  six  years.  At  his  graduation  he  had  the 
honor  of  delivering  the  German  oration  of  his  class,  which  was  the 
largest  class  the  institution  had  graduated  up  to  that  time. 

It  is  customary  in  Germany,  that  when  young  Lutheran  theo- 
logues  have  finished  their  course,  that  they  teach  either  in  private 
families  or  in  a  school,  to  use  what  they  have  learned  and  to  get  prac- 
tical e.xperience  and  to  learn  to  understand  life  and  the  world,  that  their 
public  teaching  may  be  practical,  wise  and  useful.  This  wish  was 
cherished  by  the  father,  and  so  Prof.  Peschau  accepted  the  honorable 
position  tendered  him,  and  became  superintendent  of  German  in  the 
public  schools,  and  professor  of  German  in  the  high  school  in  the  city 
of  Evansville,  Ind.  This  position  he  held  three  years  when  he  re- 
signed that  he  might  give  himself  exclusively  to  the  ministry.  He 
was  asked  by  the  board  to  re-consider  and  re-call  his  resignation  after 
its  presentation,  as  he  had  given  entire  satisfaction.  Called  as 
Lutheran  pastor  to  Nebraska  City,  Neb.,  he  was  soon  after  his  re- 
moval there  unanimously  chosen  superintendent  of  the  public  schools 
and  served  in  this  capacity  two  years.  He  also  became  professor  of 
German  in  Nebraska  college,  an  Episcopal  institution  located  there, 
and  for  two  years  taught  in  it,  under  the  lamented  Bishop  Clarkson. 
All  this  was  done  in  addition  to  his  pastoral  labors.  Shortly  after  his 
removal  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  he  became  professor  of  German  in  Dr. 
Ward's  large  female  seminary,  at  that  time  the  largest  in  the  south, 
and  also  in  V'anderbilt  university,  so  that  he  taught  continually  for 
about  ten  years.  Recognizing  his  talents,  proficiency,  e.xperience 
and  success  both  as  a  professor  and  superintendent,  the  board  of 
trustees  of- North  Carolina  college,  in  1883,  unanimously  elected  him 
president  of  North  Carolina  college,  but  he  declined  the  high  and 
distinguished  honor  of  a  college  presidency.  As  superintendent  and 
professor  he  has  had  under  his  care  about  100  teachers  and  3,800 
children  and  students. 

He  has  been  a  prolific  writer.  For  five  years  he  was  editor  of  the 
"  German  Gleanings,"  in  The  Lutheran  Observer,  of  Philadelphia,  the 
largest  and  most  widely  circulated  English  Lutheran  church  paper  in 
the  world.  When  Thc'Southcni  Illustrated  Alonthly  Magazine  was  be- 
gun in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  which  was  one  of  the  finest  efforts  in  this 
line  ever  made   in   the  south,   but   for   lack  of  means  failed,  he  was 


412  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

chosen  editor.  For  about  ten  years  he  has  been  associate  editor  of 
T]i&  Litthcran  Visitor,  the  leading  southern  Lutheran  church  paper. 
Besides  all  this  he  has  been  special  correspondent  of  several  papers 
in  both  English  and  German. 

He  has  not  only  lectured  to  his  students  in  German  university 
style,  but  has  also  delivered  many  addresses  and  lectures  on  educa- 
tional and  other  topics  before  teachers'  institutes,  county,  district  and 
state  conventions,  schools,  seminaries,  colleges  and  universities.  He 
has  lectured  in  the  following  twenty  states:  Alabama,  Florida, 
Georgia,  Iowa,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  Mis- 
souri, Nebraska,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Penn- 
sylvania, Tennessee,  South  Carolina,  Virginia  and  West  Virginia. 
His  lectures  on  "  The  Cemetery  of  the  Sea,"  "  Foreigners,"  "  Luther," 
"The  Lutheran  Church,"  and  "Moral  Training  in  Public  Schools," 
have  been  delivered  before  thousands  of  people  and  received  great 
encomiums  from  the  press,  from  faculties  of  institutions,  from  private 
letters,  etc.  We  append  just  a  few.  The  Charleston  Nezus  and 
CoiiriiT  ?>3.ys,:  "The  learned  and  gifted  speaker  selected  as  his  sub- 
ject '  Foreigners,'  and  answered  who  and  what  they  are  and  what  they 
have  done  for  this  country.  The  effort  was  grand  and  the  audience 
was  delighted."  Die  Deutsche  Zcituno^,  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va.:  "  Pastor 
Peschau  is  an  extraordinarily  fine  speaker."  Charlotte,  N.  C,  Obser- 
ve;': "  Mr.  Peschau  is  a  lecturer  of  fine  ability  and  his  lecture  is  one 
of  the  finest  literary'  productions  we  have  known  to  emanate  from  the 
pen  of  our  home  talent."  Nashville  Daily  American:  "  In  regard  to 
the  lecture  I  can  only  repeat  what  all  others  have  said  who  have 
heard  it,  that  it  was  grand,  beautiful,  sublime." 

The  sole  aim  and  object  of  his  public  life  has  been  to  prove  him- 
self a  faithful  pastor,  and  gospel  preacher  in  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church;  whilst  he  has  talents  in  other  directions  and  delights 
to  use  them  to  do  good,  the  ministry  is  his  chief  delight,  as  it  is  his 
chief  calling.  Even  as  a  student  he  organized  two  Sunday-schools, 
and  whilst  engaged  in  the  busy  duties  of  superintendent  and  professor 
at  Evansville,  Ind.,  he  began,  and  maintained  and  built  up  a  mission 
in  the  court  house,  that  had  a  Sunday-school  of  almost  400  scholars. 
His  first  regular  pastorate  was  in  Nebraska  City,  Neb.,  where  he 
succeeded  the  distinguished  Rev.  Dr.  Eli  Huber,  who  had  been  called 
to  Philadelphia,  as  pastor  of  the  large  Messiah  church.  One  Easter-tide 
while  pastor  here  he  confirmed  forty-eight  catechumens.  The  work 
prospered  in  every  direction,  but  the  climate  was  too  severe  for  the 
young  pastor,  and  so  on  the  united  and  urgent  advice  of  several  phy- 
sicians he  came  south,  accepting  a  call  to  the  first  church  in  the  city 
of  Nashville,  Tenn.  The  parting  of  the  pastor  and  people  in  Neb- 
raska City  was  a  touching  one.  The  most  pleasant  relations  possible, 
had  existed,  the  work  was  prosperous,  and  pastor  and  people  were 
mutually  pleased  and  satisfied,  so  that  it  was  painful  to  each  side  to 
speak  the  parting  word.  In  Nashville,  Tenn.,  the  pastoral  relations 
were  always  pleasant,  and  both  the  congregation  and  Sunday-school, 
grew  steadily  for  years.     The  church  being  German,  English  services 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  413 

were  introduced  that  were  much  appreciated  and  well  attended,  and 
proved  to  be  of  incalcuable  advantag'e  to  the  church  and  its  ivork. 
About  four  years  were  spent  in  the  famous  capital  of  Tennessee,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Peschau  often  speaks  of  them  with  delight,  and  of  the  kind- 
ness shown  him,  while  there,  from  the  the  governor  down  to  the 
humblest  citizen.  Having  been  unanimous!}'  called  as  pastor  of  St. 
Paul's  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  in  Decem- 
ber, iSSi,  he  accepted  the  call  and  removed  to  Wilmington,  early  in 
1882.  He  will  soon  complete  ten  years  of  pastoral  work  in  Wilming- 
ton. He  has  ever  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  his  congregations.  The 
first  two  pastorates  he  served  have  endeavored  several  times  to  have 
him  return  as  pastor,  when  they  were  vacant,  and  St.  Paul's,  in  Wil- 
mington, paid  him  the  unusual  honor  and  kindness  of  adopting  a 
resolution  unanimously  and  heartily  in  1884,  expressing  the  desire 
that  he  might  remain  its  pastor  during  the  days  of  his  natural  life. 
During  his  labors  in  Wilmington  the  parsonage  interior  has  been 
completed  and  much  improved  and  the  exterior  painted.  The  in- 
terior of  the  church  has  also  undergone  entire  renovation.  The 
interior  has  been  finely  frescoed,  new  chandeliers,  new  carpets,  etc., 
and  a  grand  new  pipe  organ  secured  and  improvements  made  in 
many  directions.  Luther  memorial  building,  an  elegant  edifice,  was 
erected  in  1884.  In  1890  a  lot  was  purchased  and  a  fine  chapel  erected 
thereon  in  Brooklyn,  known  as  St.  Matthew's  Mission.  The  congre- 
gation and  Sunday-school  have  both  enjoyed  a  steady  growth  and 
are  both  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Up  to  the  present  time  Rev.  Mr. 
Peschau  has  had  charge  of  and  under  his  own  supervision  about  1,500 
Sunday-school  scholars.  He  has  added  to  the  various  churches  he 
has  served  about  300  by  certificate,  300  by  confirmation,  and  400  by 
baptism,  or  about  1,000.  Being  an  active  church  worker,  he  has  held 
many  positions  of  trust,  and  has  received  many  church  honors.  P"ully 
two-thirds  of  the  time  of  his  being  in  the  ministry  he  has  been  a* 
synodical  ofificer.  He  has  occupied  almost  every  possible  office  of 
ecclesiastical  secretaryship,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  For  four 
years  consecutively  he  was  president  of  the  North  Carolina  synod,  an 
honor  no  other  man  ever  enjoyed  in  the  history  of  this  old  body.  He 
was  the  last  president  of  the  general  synod,  south,  at  Roanoke,  Va., 
and  as  the  first  president  of  the  united  synod,  south,  opened  its  con- 
vention in  Savannah,  (^a.,  in  1887,  so  that  he  was  twice  the  chief 
officer  in  the  entire  southern  Lutheran  church.  The  general  south- 
ern Lutheran  body  chose  him  as  its  representative  to  the  northern 
general  synod,  in  1887.  He  has  frequently  represented  district  synods, 
both  as  delegate  to  the  general  body  and  also  to  other  district  synods. 
June  10,  1891,  he  was  complimented  with  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D., 
which  was  unanimously  and  heartily  bestowed  upon  him,  by  the 
board  of  trustees  of  North  Carolina  college  and  the  excellent  faculty 
of  said  institution.  Dr.  Bemheim,  his  predecessor,  writes:  "  Your 
congregation  is  certainly  advancing  under  your  administration  and  I 
say  this  sincerely  and  not  as  a  mere  compliment;  the  work  speaks  for 
itself."     Tkc  Lutheran  IIoiiw,   in   a  i  btice  of  him,  says:     "We   are 


414  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

glad  to  have  such  a  worker  in  so  important  a  field  of  labor.  Those 
who  bear  the  banner  of  the  cross  successfully  are  worthy  of  all  honor. 
We  sometimes  overlook  the  esteem  due  them  —  due  not  to  pamper 
pride,  but  to  '  give  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due.'  We  offer,  there- 
fore, no  apology  for  this  extended  biography  of  one  to  whom  God 
has  given  superior  talents  and  the  energy  to  use  them." 

On  June  3,  1873,  he  married  Miss  Clara  J.  Myers,  eldest  daughter 
of  Hon.  A.  K.  Myers,  Sr.,  of  York  Springs,  Penn.  They  have  five 
children  living,  namely,  four  daughters  and  one  son.  Dr.  Peschau 
has  published  a  number  of  songs  of  his  own  composition,  as:  "Ode 
to  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson."  This  ode  was  sung  by  the  Phil-har- 
monic society,  and  played  by  the  Columbia  (Tenn.)  band,  at  the  un- 
veiling of  the  Jackson  equestrian  statute  in  Nashville,  in  1880.  "  Ode 
to  Mrs.  Ex-President  James  K.  Polk,"  "God  Bless  Our  Noble  Fire- 
men," "There  is  no  Home  but  Heaven,"  "The  Orphan's  Plea,"  and 
Father  Ryon's  celebrated  "  Conquered  Banner,"  which  later  he 
translated  to  German  and  set  to  music  of  his  own.  He  has  published 
tracts,  quite  a  number  of  sermons,  a  small  book  of  poems,  sketch  of 
Mrs.  James  K.  Polk,  etc.  He  has  been  elected  honorar}^  member 
by  a  number  of  literary  societies,  connected  with  literary  institutions, 
as  Vanderbilt  university,  North  Carolina  college,  etc.  Various 
historical  societies  of  national  reputation  and  influence  have  elected 
him  honorary  member,  as  the  Tennessee  historical  society,  the 
finest  in  all  the  soutland,  and  the  German  historical  society  of 
Maryland,  which  is  the  finest  in  its  line  in  the  United  States, 
Trinity  historical  society,  of  Dallas,  Tex.,  etc.  He  is  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  Wilmington  historical  society.  He  has  been  a 
director  In  the  Wilmington  library  association  for  some  eight  3'ears, 
was  acting  chaplain  of  the  Porter  Rifles,  the  best  infantry  company 
of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  often  officiated  as  chaplain  in  both  the  house 
•and  senate  of  the  Tennessee  legislative  bodies.  He  has  been  dele- 
gate to  county,  state  and  inter-national  Sunday-school  conventions  a 
number  of  times,  and  was  chosen  a  vice-president  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Sunday-school  convention  in  Charlotte. 

The  doctor  has  received  a  number  of  calls  from  different  churches, 
and  besides  these  has  been  offered  other  calls  during  his  stay  in  Wil- 
mington, but  he  declined  them  all.  Prominent  among  them  was  a 
flattering  and  pressing  call  extended  him  in  February,  1891,  by  "The 
Church  of  the  Holy  Ascension,"  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  the  largest  Luth- 
eran church  and  congregation  in  the  southern  states,  the  church 
having  cost  about  $75,000.  All  these  facts  prove  a  recognition  and 
appreciation  of  his  talents  and  services  on  the  part  of  the  church.  As 
to  his  scholarship  we  need  but  say  that  he  not  only  studied  Hebrew, 
Greek  and  Latin  and  the  full  college  course,  but  that  he  speaks,  reads, 
writes  and  uses  English  and  German  with  equal  fluency,  ease  and 
accuracy,  and  has  so  far  mastered  the  Norwegian  language  as  to  be 
able  to  hold  services  for  Scandinavian  seamen,  which  are  most  highly 
appreciated.  His  ability  as  a  writer  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  of 
his  having  been  editor  for  so  many  years.     The  many  church  offices 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4I5 

he  has  held  prove  that  he  is  a  parHamentarian  of  recognized  merit. 
The  positions  occupied  in  educational  institutions  demonstrate  that  he 
is  a  successful  educator.  The  many  things  written  and  accomplished 
by  him  establish  his  reputation  as  a  many-sided  and  indefatigable 
worker.  His  success  as  pastor  and  preacher  is  attested  by  the  work 
done  and  the  calls  he  has  been  honored  with.  His  theological  attain- 
ments have  been  recognized  and  endorsed  by  the  honorary  degree  of 
D.  D.  His  oratorical  powers  have  often  been  complimented,  and  at 
the  eighty-eighth  convention  of  the  North  Carolina  synod  he  was 
publicly  introduced  as  "The  silver-tongued  orator  of  the  North  Car- 
olina synod,"  and  The  Lutlwran  Visitor  s  reporter  from  South  Carolina, 
who  was  present,  published  in  his  account,  the  following:  "  He  was 
introduced  as  the  silver-tongued  orator  of  the  North  Carolina  synod, 
and  fully  sustained  that  reputation.  The  address  was  a  learned,  able 
and  eloquent  presentation  of  the  subject,  and  is  highly  complimented 
by  all."  Whilst  he  has  talents,  he  has  that  which  is  better,  namely, 
industry;  and  whilst  he  has  an  enviable  popularity,  he  has  that  which 
is  better,  namely,  humility.  He  ascribes  all  he  has  and  all  he  has 
been  able  to  do,  to  the  blessing  and  help  of  God,  whose  child  and 
servant  he  is  —  and  his  one  ambition  is  to  spend  and  be  spent,  to 
fullest  extent,  in  the  Master's  service. 

In  concluding  this  sketch,  which  is  a  labor  of  love,  the  writer 
wishes  yet  to  add  to  what  has  been  said  above,  that  he  has  known 
Rev.  Mr.  Peschau  for  the  last  ten  years  intimately,  though  he  is  not 
a  member  of  his  church.  No  minister  in  the  city  of  Wilmington,  of 
any  denomination,  has  the  confidence  and  general  esteem  of  the  en- 
tire community  to  a  greater  degree  than  he.  He  is  the  only  minister 
in  our  knowledge,  experience  and  observation  of  fifty  years,  in  all  the 
south,  that  has  the  extraordinary  ability  to  conduct  the  services  of  the 
church  in  three  different  languages,  a  thing  he  has  done  and  is  doing 
from  .Sabbath  to  Sabbath  in  the  German,  Norwegian  and  English 
languages.  Our  talented  friend,  just  a  little  over  forty  years  old,  is  still 
in  the  prime  of  life,  and  we  feel  sure  still  higher  honors  await  him  in 
the  golden  future.  In  whatever  way  and  from  whatever  source  they 
may  come,  they  can  not  be  bestowed  upon  one  more  worthy  in  ever}' 
way,  for  he  would  grace  any  station  in  life,  and  give  dignity'  and 
worth  to  the  highest  official  position. 

GEN.  ROBERT   HO"WE 

was  born  in  Brunswick  county  in  17.^2  and  died  in  the  same  place  in 
1785.  He  was  descended  from  an  English  family,  and  his  parents 
having  died  while  he  was  yet  an  infant,  his  early  education  was  scant 
and  unfinished.  He  married  while  yet  a  youth,  taking  his  w'ife  to 
England  where  they  remained  for  two  years;  after  his  return  in  1766, 
he  was  appointed  commandant  of  Fort  Johnson  by  Gov.  Tryon  and 
baron  of  the  exchequer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  assembly  in  1772-3, 
and  a  delegate  to  the  colonial  congress  that  met  at  Newbern  in  1774. 
On  the  21st  of  August  of  the  same  year  he  was  appointed  colonel  of 


4l6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  Second  North  CaroHna  regiment,  and  was  ordered  to  dut}^  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  for  gallant  service  against  Lord  Dunmore,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  a  brigader-general.  In  October  of  the  next 
year  he  was  commissioned  a  major-general,  and  in  the  flext  year 
made  his  expedition  against  Florida,  \Vhere  his  troops  were  attacked 
by  contagious  diseases  and  he  was  compelled  to  retreat  to  Savannah, 
Ga.  For  some  stigma  cast  upon  his  political  career  by  Christopher 
Gadsden,  Gen.  Howe  challenged  that  gentleman  and  the  duel  took 
place  at  Cannonsburg;  Howe's  ball  pierced  Gadsden's  ear,  and  the 
latter  fired  his  pistol  into  the  air.  The  affair  became  the  subject  of  a 
humorous  poem  of  some  merit,  by  Maj.  Andre.  Later,  he  was  sent 
to  Philadelphia  to  quell  some  riotous  regiments,  and  for  his  bravery 
and  discretion  upon  that  occasion,  received  the  thanks  of  Gen.  Wash- 
ington. Upon  returning  from  this  expedition  he  was  sent  to  treat 
with  western  Indians.  At  the  beginning  of  the  last  3'ear  of  his  life  he 
was  elected. to  the  general  assembly,  but  died  before  taking  his  seat. 

WILLIAM  A.  GRAHAM,  JR., 

was  born  in  Hillsboro,  Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  December  26,  1839. 
His  education  was  obtained  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  and 
at  Princeton  college,  from  which  he  graduated  in  i860.  He  entered 
the  Confederate  army  as  first  lieutenant  of  Company  K,  Second 
regiment  of  North  Carolina  cavalry,  in  Ma}',  1862,  and  was  soon  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  captain.  At  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  July  3, 
1863,  he  commanded  his  company  and  was  wounded.  He  was  then 
made  adjutant-general,  which  rank  he  held  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
In  1S74  Gen.  Graham  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  Lincoln  and  Catawba  counties.  Such  was  his  popularity 
that  he  had  no  opposition,  and  he  received  every  vote  cast  in  the  dis- 
trict for  senator.  He  was  re-elected  at  the  next  election  in  1876. 
His  name  was  prominently  mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  congress  as 
the  successor  of  Hon.  Walter  L.  Steele.  In  1S64  Gen.  Graham  was 
united  in  marriage  with  INIiss  Julia,  daughter  of  John  W.  Lane,  of 
Amelia  county,  N.C.,  and  they  have  a  bright,  intelligent  and  interest- 
ing famil}'. 

ELISHA  MITCHELL,  D.  D., 

who  was  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, 1817-1825,  and  professor  of  chemistry  and  mineralogjun  the  same 
institution  from  1825  to  1857,  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  edu- 
cators and  scientists  known  in  the  history  of  education  in  North  Car- 
olina. He  was  born  in  Washington,  Litchfield  county.  Conn.,  on  the 
iQth  of  August,  1793,  and  perished  on  Saturday,  the  27th  of  June, 
1857,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  perished  in  an  attempt 
to  descend  alone  Mt.  Mitchell,  the  highest  peak  of  the  Black  moun- 
tains, which  are  in  Yancy  county,  N.  C.  It  was  his  fifth  visit  paid  to 
the  Black  mountains,  the  others  being  in  1835,  1838  and  1S56,  respect- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  417 

ively.  His  object  was  partly  personal  and  partly  scientific.  He 
wished  to  correct  the  mistakes  into  which  some  had  been  led  con- 
cerning his  earlier  visits,  and  to  so  compare  the  indications  of  the 
spirit  level  and  the  barometer,  that  future  explorers  of  mountain 
heights  might  have  increased  confidence  in  the  results  afforded  them 
by  these  instruments.  His  untimely  end  left  both  parts  of  this  work 
to  be  completed  by  the  pious  hands  of  others.  Dr.  Mitchell  was 
buried  at  Asheville,  N.  C,  but  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  many 
friends,  and  especially  of  the  mountain  men  of  Yancy,  his  family  al- 
lowed his  bod}'  to  be  removed  and  deposited  on  the  top  of  Mt.  Mitch- 
ell, given  his  name  in  honor  to  him.  This  was  done  June  i6,  1858. 
There  he  rests  in  a  mausoleum  such  as  no  other  man  has  ever  had. 
Before  him  lies  the  Xorth  Carolina  he  loved  so  well  and  served  so 
faithfully.  Dr.  Mitchell  graduated  at-  Yale  college  in  1813.  On 
quitting  college,  he  taught  in  a  school  for  boys,  under  the  care  of  Dr. 
Eigenbrodt,  at  Jamaica,  in  Long  Island.  Afterward,  in  the  spring  of 
1815,  he  took  charge  of  a  school  for  girls  in  New  London,  Conn. 
Here  he  formed  an  acquaintance  with  Miss  Maria  S.  Xorth,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  an  eminent  ph^.sician  of  that  place,  and  became  his 
wife  in  i8ig,  and  who,  with  fidelitj'  and  grace  presided  over  his  house- 
hold for  nearly  forty  years. 

In  1816  Dr.  Mitchell  became  a  tutor  in  Yale  college,  and  while  so 
engaged  he  was  recommended  to  the  favorable  notice  of  the  trustees 
of  the  University  of  Xorth  Carolina,  and  in  181 7  he  was  appointed 
to  the  chair  of  mathematics  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
after  spending  a  short  time  at  the  theological  seminarj'  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  and  receiving  a  license  to  preach  the  gospel  from  an  orthodo.x: 
Congregational  association  in  Connecticut,  Dr.  Mitchell  reached 
Chapel  Hill  on  the  last  day  of  January,  1S18,  and  immediately  began 
a  labor  from  which  he  ceased  only  by  reason  of  death.  In  1825  he 
was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  chemistry  and  mineralogy,  which  he 
held  at  the  time  of  his  death.  As  a  professor  he  disi)layed  the  great- 
est energ)-and  accomplished  greatest  results.  The  pursuit  of  natural 
science  was  always  a  delightful  employment  with  Dr.  Mitchell,  and 
no  one  of  his  day  was  better  acquainted  with  the  mountains,  valleys 
and  plains  of  North  Carolina  than  he,  or  knew  more  about  its  birds, 
beasts,  bugs,  fishes  and  shells,  its  trees,  tlowers,  vines  and  mosses,  its 
rocks,  stones,  sands,  clays  and  ni.arls.  As  a  divine  he  was  learned  and 
devout;  and  being  a  man  of  high  intellectual,  moral  and  religious 
culture,  of  abundant  generosity,  and  of  affable  disposition,  he  was 
esteemed,  respected  and  beloved,  and  will  long  live  in  affec- 
tionate remembrance  as  the  good  divine,  distinguished  and  accom- 
plished professor.  Dr.  Mitchell  was  the  eldest  son  of  Abner  Mitchell, 
a  respectable  farmer  by  vocation,  whose  wife,  Phoebe  Eliot,  was  a  de- 
scendant in  the  fifth  generation  of  John  Eliot,  the  celebrated  "Apostle 
to  the  Indians."  Dr.  Mitchell  was  thus  a  member  of  a  family  now 
very  widely  spread  over  the  United  .States,  and  reckoning  many  who 
have  exercised  much  influence  in  commerce,  politics,  science  and 
religion. 

B — 27 


41 8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


DANIEL  HARVEY  HILL, 

soldier,  author,  educator,  was  born  at  Hill's  Iron  Works,  York  dis- 
trict, S.  C,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1S21.  On  both  his  father's  and  his 
mother's  side  he  was  descencled  from  American  soldiers,  and  his 
earliest  longings  were  for  a  soldier's  life.  In  furtherance  of  this  de- 
sire, he,  at  sixteen,  secured  an  appointment  to  West  Point,  and  in 
1842  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  a  class  that  afterward 
gave  eight  generals  to  the  Confederate  service  and  twelve  to  the 
Federal  army.  Upon  graduation,  he  was  assigned  to  the  F"ourth 
artillery  and  served  in  garrisons  in  Maine,  and  at  Savannah,  Charles- 
ton and  Fortress  Monroe,  until  the  opening  of  the  Mexican  war.  He 
took  part  in  all  the  most  important  battles  of  this  war,  and  was  one 
of  the  few  officers,  in  the  whole  army,  who  were  twice  breveted  — 
having  been  made  brevet-captain  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  con- 
duct" in  the  battles  of  Contreras  and  of  Churubusco,  and  brevet- 
major  for  being  a  volunteer  in  the  desperate  storming  party  at  Cha- 
pultepec.  In  the  bloody  assault  on  the  entrenched  heights  of  Chapul- 
tepec,  he  and  Lieut.  Stewart  had  a  foot-race  as  they  were  trying  to 
see  who  could  be  the  first  to  force  his  way  into  one  of  the  stoutly  de- 
fended Mexican  forts.  Stewart  proved  the  swifter  of  foot  but  was 
killed  just  as  he  entered  the  fort,  and  so  Capt.  Hill  gained  the  coveted 
honor.  The  state  of  South  Carolina  presented  him  with  a  gold 
sword  in  token  of  its  appreciation  of  his  heroic  actions  and  services 
rendered  in  this  war. 

Shortly  after  the  treaty  of  peace  was  ratified,  Maj.  Hill  resigned 
his  commission,  and  accepted  the  chair  of  mathematics  in  what  is 
now  Washington  and  Lee  university,  but  what  was  then  known  as 
Washington  college.  After  five  years  of  successful  work  in  this  col- 
lege, he  accepted  the  same  chair  in  Davidson  college,  N.  C.  Of  his 
work  in  this  college.  Dr.  McKimmon,  in  a  speech  in  Georgia,  said: 
"  Ever  since  Gen.  Hill  went  there,  Davidson  has  maintained  a  high 
and  thorough  standard  of  instruction."  In  1859  he  was  called  to  the 
presidency  of  the  North  Carolina  military  institute,  at  Charlotte, 
N.  C,  an  institution  from  which  was  culled  many  of  the  noblest 
young  officers  that  perished  in  the  Confederacy.  In  the  spring  of 
1861,  Gov.  Ellis,  of  North  Carolina,  invited  Maj.  Hill  to  Raleigh,  and 
there  he  organized  the  first  camp  of  instruction.  Shortly  afterward, 
as  colonel  of  the  First  North  Carolina  regiment,  he  fought  at  Bethel, 
the  first  battle  of  the  war.  Promoted  to  be  a  brigadier-general,  July 
10,  1861,  he  took  part  in  the  Yorktown  defenses,  and  then,  being  ap- 
pointed a  major-general  in  April,  1S62,  he  commanded  a  division  in 
the  battles  around  Richmond.  At  Seven  Pines,  his  division,  com- 
posed almost  entirely  of  North  Carolinians,  accomplished  a  feat  rare 
in  military  annals — they  drove  a  whole  division  (Casey's)  from  its 
entrenchments.  Afterward,  with  one  of  Longstreet's  brigades  (R.  H. 
Anderson's),  they  repulsed  the  whole  of  Keyes'  corps,  and  on  Sunday 
morning  gathered  up  seven  thousand  muskets,  thrown  down  by  the  , 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4I9 

retreating  Federals.  His  division  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  series 
of  battles  that  culminated  with  Malvern  Hill. 

Gen.  Hill  took  part  in  the  Maryland  campaign,  and  during  Gen. 
Lee's  retreat,  fought  single-handed  the  battle  of  lioonsboro,  or  South 
Mountain,  a  battle  that  has  often  been  called  the  Thermopylae  of  the 
war,  for,  with  5,000  men.  Gen.  Hill  held  these  mountain  passes, 
against  McClellan's  80,000,  from  sunrise  till  3  p.  m.,  and  by  his  bold 
stand  enabled  Jackson  to  re-unite  with  Lee,  and  this  saved  the  Con- 
federate army  from  being  crushed.  At  Sharpsburg  and  Fredericks- 
burg his  men  were  actively  engaged.  During  Gen.  Lee's  invasion  of 
Pennsylvania,  Gen.  Hill  was  entrusted  with  the  defenses  around 
Richmond.  In  the  summer  of  1S63,  President  Davis  asked  Gen.  Hill 
to  take  command  of  a  corps  in  the  western  armj',  and  appointed  him 
a  lieutenant-general,  July  10, 1863.  In  speaking  of  his  joining  this  army, 
a  recent  writer  saj's:  "The  western  arni}^  had  lately  gained  as  suc- 
cessor to  Hardee  in  command  of  his  old  corps,  a  stern  and  dauntless 
soldier  from  the  arm}'  of  northern  Virginia,  in  D.  H.  Hill,  whose 
vigor,  coolness  and  unconquerable  pertinacity  in  fight  had  already 
stamped  him  of  heroic  temper.  Of  the  religious  school  of  Stonewall 
Jackson,  his  earnest  convictions  never  chilled  his  ardor  for  battle, 
and  in  another  age  he  would  have  been  found  worthy  to  charge  with 
Cromwell  at  Dunbar."  At  Chickamauga  his  corps  did  its  full  share 
in  defeating  Rosecrans.  For  some  years  after  the  war,  Gen.  Hill 
published  a  monthly  magazine,  Tlie  Land  l]''c  Love,  at  Charlotte, 
N.  C.  In  1877  he  was  asked  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Arkansas,  and  he,  accepting  the  offer,  built  up  one  of  the  most 
successful  of  the  western  colleges.  In  1884,  his  health  becoming  feeble, 
he  resigned  and  rested  a  year  in  Macon,  Ga.  In  1885  he  assumed  the 
presidency  of  the  Military  and  Agricultural  college  at  Milledgeville, 
Ga.,  and  remained  there  until  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death.  He 
died  in  Charlotte,  N.  C,  September  24,  1889. 

Gen.  Hill  was  a  constant  contributor  to  current  literature,  and  is 
the  author  of  three  books:  "A  Consideration  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,"  "The  Crucifixion  of  Christ,"  and  "The  Elements  of  Alge- 
bra." One  who  knew  Gen.  Hill  well  wrote  the  following  graphic 
sketch  of  his  pcrsonnd:  "  Fancy  a  man  in  whom  the  grim  determi- 
nation of  a  veteran  warrior  is  united  to  a  gentle  tenderness  of  manner 
which  would  not  be  inappropriate  in  the  most  womanly  of  women 
....  affix  a  pair  of  eyes  that  possess  the  most  indisputably  honest 
and  kindly  e.xpression;  animate  him  with  a  mind  clear,  deep  and  com- 
prehensive, and  imbued  with  a  humor  as  rich  as  it  is  effective;  infuse 
man  and  mind  with  a  soul  which,  in  its  lofty  views,  compels  subordin- 
ation of  the  material  to  the  spiritual,  and  holds  a  supreme  trust  in 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Almiglity;  is  zealous  in  the  discharge 
of  duty,  and  looks  with  scorn  on  all  that  is  mean  and  sinful.  Add  to 
all  these  a  courage  which  is  indomitable,  and  a  love  of  truth  and 
honor  which  is  sublime,  and  you  have  the  earthly  embodiment  of 
D.  H.  Hill." 


420  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


HUGH  MORSON, 

the  learned  principal  of  the  Raleigh  male  academy,  was  born  in  Staf- 
ford county,  Va.,  July  19,  1850,  and  having  received  his  preparatory 
education  in  a  school  taught  by  Judge  Richard  Coleman,  brother  of 
the  celebrated  teacher,  Frederick  Coleman,  of  Caroline  county,  Va., 
entered  the  University  of  Virginia,  where  he  graduated  with  distinc- 
tion in  1 87 1.  Well  trained  and  with  a  scholarly  disposition,  Mr.  Mor- 
son  was  drawn  by  circumstances  to  adopt  the  profession  of  a  teacher. 
He  taught  two  years  in  Virginia,  Snd  in  1874  he  accepted  the  chair  of 
languages  in  the  military  academy  of  Horner  &  Graves,  at  Hillsboro, 
N.  C.  He  occupied  this  position  with  credit  to  himself  and  satis- 
faction to  the  institution  until  1877,  when  he  came  to  Raleigh,  and 
associated  with  Mr.  C.  H.  Scott,  in  a  private  school,  known  as  the 
Raleigh  high  school.  This  partnership  continued  for  a  year,  when 
Mr.  Scott  retired  and  Capt.  J.  J.  Fray,  of  Virginia,  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Virginia,  joined  Mr.  Morson,  and  together  they  estab- 
lished the  Raleigh  male  academy,  the  fitting  counterpart  of  those  ad- 
mirable female  seminaries,  St.  Mary's  and  Peace,  which  have  made 
Raleigh  a  widely  known  educational  center.  After  six  years  of  ard- 
ent labor,  Capt.  Fray  fell  into  ill  health  and  died,  greatly  lamented; 
and  Capt.  C.  B.  Denson,  long  known  as  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
educators  of  the  state,  took  the  vacant  place,  and  is  now  associated 
with  Mr.  Morson  in  the  academy.  Of  Mr.  Morson  it  may  be  said 
that  no  teacher  has  been  more  esteemed  in  Raleigh,  and  that  he  is 
regarded  as  a  fit  successor  to  those  venerated  gentlemen.  Dr.  Mc- 
Pheeters  and  Mr.  Lovejoy,  who  for  fifty  years  maintained  at  Raleigh 
academies  of  the  highest  excellence.  In  particular  is  Mr.  Morson 
regarded  as  a  master  in  mathematics,  and  as  with  few  equals  in  the 
teaching  of  Latin.  Mr.  Morson  is  a  gentleman  of  kindly  disposition 
and  pleasing  manners,  and  seeks  to  discharge  all  his  duties  in  life. 
He  is  a  devout  Christian,  being  an  active  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  and  vestryman  of  the  church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  he 
Is  also  a  member  of  Seaton  Gales  lodge.  No.  64,  I.  O.  O.  F. 

On  April  15,  1879,  Mr.  Morson  was  married  to  MissSallieF.  Field, 
a  daughter  of  Stephen  W.  Field,  of  Gloucester  county,  Va.,  and  to 
them  have  been  born  four  children:  Harriet  L.,  Hugh  A.,  William  F. 
and  John  L.  Morson.  His  father  was  Hugh  Morson,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Stafford  county,  Va.,born  in  1805,  and  after  having  graduated 
as  doctor  of  medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  was  ap- 
pointed as  surgeon  in  the  United  States  navy.  This  position  he  held 
until  1846,  seeing  much  service  and  gaining  much  experience,  but  in 
that  year  he  resigned,  and,  settling  in  Stafford  county,  retired  from  pro- 
fessional labor.  In  1847  he  was  marrieci  to  Rosalie  Virginia  Light- 
foot,  daughter  of  Philip  L.  Lightfoot,  of  Port  Royal,  Caroline  county, 
Va.,  and  to  ^hem  were  born  five  children,  of  whom  three  survived: 
Hugh  Morson,  of  Raleigh;  Sallie  L.  Morson,  of  Raleigh;  and 
Philip  L.  Morson,  of  Newport  News,   Va.     Dr.  Morson  died  in  1S76, 


S.    M.    FINGER,    Supt.    Public    Instruction. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  421 

and  his  widow  in  1SS9,  at  the  residence  of  her  son,  in  Raleij^h.  The 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Alexander  Morson,  a 
native  of  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer  and  was  a  large  land-owner  in 
Stafford  county,  Va.,  and  died  there  in  1S30.  He  was  named  for  his 
father,  Alexander  Morson,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  this 
country  in  colonial  times,  and  was  collector  of  customs  for  King 
George,  at  Tappahannock,  Va.  From  his  day,  to  the  present  genera- 
tion, the  family  of  Morsons  have  ever  been  held  in  high  esteem  and 
regard  by  their  neighbors  and  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 


SIDNEY  M.  FINGER, 

the  efficient  and  distinguished  superintendent  of  public  instruction  of 
the  state  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Lincoln  county,  N.  C, 
May  24,  1S37.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools 
in  his  native  county,  entering  at  the  age  of  five  years.  His  studies 
were  faithfully  pursued  at  home  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was 
well  prepared  for  college.  He  remained  nearly  four  years  at  Ca- 
tawba college,  Catawba  county,  a  portion  of  the  time  acting  as  tutor. 
During  his  connection  with  this  institution,  he  during  vacation  taught 
public  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  entered  Bowdoin 
college,  in  Maine,  where  he  graduated  with  distinction  in  1861.  Re- 
turning home  in  May  of  that  year,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  Alex- 
andria, V^a.,  on  May  20,  the  very  day  North  Carolina  seceded  from 
the  Union.  For  a  time  he  taught  school  in  Bishopville,  S.  C,  but  in 
March,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  I,  Eleventh  regi- 
ment. North  Carolina  troops.  He  was  put  on  duty  as  quartermaster- 
sergeant,  and  served  as  such  until  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  After 
that  battle  he  was  promoted  to  be  captain  and  ordered  to  Charlotte, 
N.  C,  as  assistant  quartermaster  charged  with  the  duty  of  collecting 
the  "  tax  in  kind  "  provisions  for  the  army  in  that  district.  -So  efticient 
was  he  in  this  business,  that  subsequently  he  was  promoted  to  be 
major  and  given  charge  of  collecting  that  tax  throughout  the  state. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  home  and  in  June,  1865,  opened 
a  school  in  Catawba  county.  After  a  few  months  he  formexl  a  part- 
nership with  Rev.  J.  C.  Clapp  and  organized  the  Catawba  high 
school  in  Newton,  .in  the  buildings  of  the  Catawba  college,  which 
continued  until  1874,  when,  his  health  failing,  he  ceased  to  teach  and 
engaged  in  merchandising  and  cotton  manufacturing  in  the  same 
place.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  people  of  his  county  chose  him 
to  represent  them  in  the  house  of  representatives,  and  he  served  so 
acceptably  that  at  the  next  election  he  was  chosen  to  the  senate  from 
the  district  eml^racing  Catawba  and  Lincoln.  In  1S81  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  senate.  He  made  a  reputation  as  an  intelligent  and 
faithful  legislator,  devoting  himself  specially  to  educational  and 
financial  matters.  In  1882  Gov.  Jarvis  appointed  him  on  the  board 
of  directors  of  the   Morganton  insane  asylum;  that  being  the  first 


422  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

board  and  the  one  that  opened  that  magnificent  institution  for  the 
reception  of  patients.  Maj.  Finger  had  now  become  known  to  the 
public  men  of  the  state,  and  his  fine  address,  agreeable  manners, 
high  intelligence  and  sound  judgment  have  won  for  him  general 
esteem.  Always  interested  in  public  education  he  was  now  thought 
of  for  the  responsible  position  of  state  superintendent,  and  at  the 
ensuing  democratic  convention  he  was  nominated,  and  in  1884  he 
was  elected  to  that  office,  which  he  filled  with  such  great  accepta- 
bility that  he  was  re-elected  in  1888  without  any  considerable  oppo- 
sition. During  the  seven  years  he  has  administered  the  affairs  of 
that  office,  he  has  accomplished  a  great  deal  for  the  cause  of  public 
education  in  North  Carolina.  He  has  incessantly  advocated  larger 
appropriations,  more  schools  and  a  higher  grade  of  teachers,  and 
that  the  school  terms  should  be  up  at  least  to  the  constitutional 
limit. 

It  has  been  Maj.  Finger's  privilege  to  see  many  of  his  nieasures 
carried  into  effect;  normal  schools  created,  the  agricultural  college  and 
the  normal  schools  for  girls  established,  and  while  the  university  and 
colleges  have  flourished,  he  has  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  the  com- 
mon school  fund  largely  increased  and  public  education  advance  more 
rapidly  than  during  anj'  other  period  of  the  state's  historj^  Although 
devoted  to  his  educational  work,  Maj.  Finger  has  continued  his  in- 
terests in  manufacturing  and  is  concerned  in  factories  in  Salisbury  as 
well  as  at  Newton.  He  is  also  interested  in  a  flouring  mill  and  in 
general  merchandizing  in  Newton.  Maj.  Finger  was  married  in 
December,  1866,  to  Miss  Sarah  Hoyle  Rhyne,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Rhyne,  Esq.,  a  prominent  planter  of  Gaston  county,  N.  C.  His  father 
was  Daniel  Finger,  a  native  of  Lincoln  county,  who  was  born  in  1S06. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  conducted  a  tannery.  He  was  widely  known 
for  his  hospitality  and  for  his  charitable  deeds.  He  was  likewise  a 
great  friend  of  public  education.  He  was  married  twice,  first  in  1832, 
to  Sarah  Finger,  daughter  of  Peter  Finger,  of  Wilkes  county,  by 
whom  he  has  several  children:  Elizabeth;  Monroe,  who  died  in  1863, 
from  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville;  Sidney  M. 
Finger,  the  subject  of  the  sketch;  Mar}-,  widow  of  Joseph  Fry;  Rob- 
ert, lost  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  aged  about  twent}'  years;  Frank- 
lin, who  died  in  the  Confederate  service  in  January,  1S65,  at  the  age 
of  seventeen,  and  Caroline  F.,  wife  of  J.  Dallas  Rowe,  of  Catawba 
count}^  N.  C.  Our  subject's  mother  dying  in  1856,  his  father  was 
married  the  second  time  in  1868,  to  Harriet  E.  Little,  by  whom  he 
had  one  child,  Lilly.  His  father  died  in  1887.  Maj.  Finger's  grand- 
father was  Daniel  Finger,  a  native  of  Lincoln  county,  where  he  was 
a  farmer  all  his  life.  The  father  of  Daniel  Finger  was  born  in  Ger- 
many about  1730.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  this  country  when  a 
child,  first  stopping  in  Pennsylvania,  and  then,  about  1760,  along  with 
many  other  Germans,  settling  in  Lincoln  county.  During  the  Revo- 
lutionar}'  war  he  was  a  whig,  and  he  served  on  the  patriot  side  in  that 
struggle. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  423 


THOMAS    JEFFERSON    GREEN 

was  a  soldier  from  boyhood.  All  his  early  hopes  and  aspirations 
were  centered  on  a  military  career,  so  there  is  but  little  wonder  that 
he  should  have  begun  a  military  training  so  early  and  ultimately 
have  attained  such  eminence  as  a  soldier.  He  was  horn  in  Warren 
county,  N.C.,  in  iSoi.  He  came  from  a  line  of  distinguished  soldiers, 
and  was  accordingly  educated  with  that  profession  in  view.  Before 
his  education  he  removed  to  Texas  and  joined  with  that  state  in  her 
struggle  for  independence.  So  conspicuously  daring  was  the  char- 
acter of  his  services  rendered  there  that  he  rose  by  successive  grada- 
tions of  promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  in  Texas  to 
this  day  the  name  of  no  man  stands  higher  and  no  man's  memory  is 
more  revered.  In  1843,  acting  with  a  number  of  his  fellow-officers,  he 
refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  Gen.  Summerville.  Gen.  Green  claims 
that  Summerville  was  not  loyal.  After  having  dissolved  his  allegiance 
to  Gen.  Summerville,  he  left  the  main  body  of  the  Texan  army,  and 
collecting  a  small  force,  made  a  vigorous  dash  against  the  town  of 
Mier.  This  battle  was  disastrous  to  the  Texans,  193  officers  and  men 
being  taken  prisoners.  They  made  an  attempt  to  escape,  but  were 
recaptured  and  taken  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  where  every  tenth  man 
was  ordered  to  be  shot  by  Santa  Anna.  Green  was  kept  a  prisoner 
till  September  16,  1844,  when,  with  103  officers,  he  was  released.  He 
afterward  removed  to  California,  where  he  served  with  distinction  as 
a  member  of  the  state  senate  and  brigadier-general  of  the  state  mi- 
litia. He  returned  to  North  Carolina  in  1863  and  took  part  in  some 
of  the  early  campaigns  of  the  Civil  war,  during  which  time  he  pub- 
lished a  book  on  the  "  Mier  campaign,  "  which  is  said  to  be  an  able 
military  production.     He  died  in  Warren  county,  December  13,  1S63. 


JAMES  DINWIDDIE 

'is  a  Virginian,  having  been  born  in  Campbell  county,  that  state, 
June  29,  1837.  lie  was  educated  in  Samuel  Davie's  institute  in  Hali- 
fax county,  Va.,  and  later  at  Hampton-Sidney  college  in  Prince  Ed- 
ward county,  Va.,  graduating  from  the  latter  institution  in  1855.  He 
then  taught  school  in  Albemarle  county,  and  in  1858  entered  the 
University  of  V^irginia,  taking  the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  June,  1861. 
After  completing  his  course  at  the  university  he  at  once  entered  the 
Confederate  service  as  a  member  of  the  "  University  volunteers," 
which  was  assigned  to  the  I'ifty-ninth  regiment  of  Virginia  volun- 
teers. Mr.  Dinwiddle  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  soon  after  his  en- 
listmcMit,  and  subsequently  was  niade  assistant-adjutant-gencral  of  the 
brigade  assigned  to  the  Wise  legion.  In  December,  1861,  the  Uni- 
versity volunteers  were  disbanded,  and  he  then  became  a  member  of 
the  Wise  legion,  with  whom  he  went  to  Roanoke  Island.  When  that 
island  was  surrendered  he  escaped  and  made  his  way  to  Norfolk,  Va., 


424  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  thence  back  to  Charlottesville,  where  he  joined  the  artillery  com- 
pany of  which  he  was  made  first  lieutenant.  His  company  joined 
"Stonewall"  Jackson's  army  corps  in  the  valley  of  Virginia,  remain- 
ing with  that  command  until  after  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  in 
December,  1S63,  when  Lieut.  Dinwiddie  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy 
in  the  artillery,  and  assigned  to  ordnance  duty  at  Richmond,  Va., 
where  he  was  in  charge  of  contracts  and  supplies  for  the  army  of 
northern  Virginia.  At  this  time  he  was  made  major  of  infantry  and 
placed  in  command  of  the  arsenal  battalion  of  the  reserve  corps, 
serving  there  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  surrendered  with  Gen. 
Robert  E.  Lee's  army.  Major  Dinwiddie  took  an  active  valorous 
part  in  the  following  named  engagements:  Cross  Keys,  Port  Re- 
public, seven  days'  fight  around  Richmond,  second  Manassas,  first 
battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Roanoke  Island,  Bermuda  Hundreds,  Fort 
Harrison,  and  many  minor  engagements. 

After  the  war  Major  Dinwiddie  remained  on  a  farm  until  1S69, 
when  he  was  elected  principal  of  Sayre  female  institute  of  Lexington, 
K}-.,  where  he  remained  but  a  year.  He  was  then  elected  professor 
of  mathematics  in  the  southwestern  Presbyterian  university  atClarks- 
ville,  Tenn.  From  iSjountil  iSSoheheld  thelatter  position  with  great 
credit  to  himself,  and  much  benefit  to  the  institution.  In  the  latter 
year  Prof.  Dinwiddie  was  offered  the  chair  of  mathematics  in  the 
state  university  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  and  accepted  that  call,  filling  the 
chair  until  1S85,  when  he  went  to  Gordonsville,  Va.,  and  purchased 
the  Central  female  institute,  which  he  still  owns.  He  remained  in 
that  place  as  principal  of  the  institution  until  iSgo.  At  this  time  he 
was  tendered  the  presidency  of  Peace  institute,  at  Raleigh,  N.  C, 
and  has  since  been  occupied  in  discharging  the  arduous  and  delicate 
duties  connected  with  that  honored  position.  This  is  one  of  the 
oldest  educational  institutions  in  the  south,  and  ranks  high  among  its 
sister  schools.  Professor  Dinwiddie  is  an  elder  in. the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  is  much  interested  in  church  work.  -He  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  foremost  educators  in  the  state,  and  is  a  man  of  rare  at- 
tainments, having  a  mind  of  great  force  and  erudition.  The  Din- 
widdie family  is  of  Scotch  origin,  the  name  having  been  originally 
"  Dun,  of  Wody."  William  Dinwiddie,  the  father  of  the  above,  was 
born  in  Lynchburg,  Va.,  Januarj'  4,  1S04.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Campbell  county,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to 
farming.  He  died  in  1884  in  Albemarle  county.  In  1826  he  married 
Nancy  Bryan,  whose  mother  was  Catherine  Evans,  who  afterward 
married  Reese  Bryan.  To  the  union  of  William  and  Nancy  were 
born  eleven  children,  seven  of  whom  survive  the  parents:  Frances, 
wife  of  Judge  Reese  Bryani,  of  Montgomery  City,  Mo.;  Rev.  Will- 
iam Dinwiddie,  D.  D.,  of  Albemarle  county,  Va.;  Dr.  Joseph,  of 
Fayetteville,  Tenn.;  Rev.  John  Dinwiddie,  of  Leesburg,  Va.;  James,  of 
Raleigh;  Marshall,  of  Swopes,  \'a.;  W^alter,  of  Charlottesville,  Va.; 
Edgar  Evans  Dinwiddie,  of  Charlottesville,  and  those  deceased  are: 
Mary,  Reese,  and  Harmon,  who  was  a  member  of  the  "  university  vol- 
unteers," and  died  at  Lewisburg,  Va.,  in  1861,  from  exposure  while  in 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  425 

the  Confederate  service.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  1881. 
Joseph  Dinwiddie,  the  paternal  grandfather,  was  born  in  X'irginia,  in 
1773,  and  died  in  1S63.  His  father  was  William,  who  came  from 
England  and  settled  in  \'irginia.  He  was  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
and  fought  at  Kings  Mountain  and  Cowpens. 


JOHN  C.  SCARBOROUGH, 

the  commissioner  of  labor  statistics  for  Xorth  Carolina,  is  a  native  of 
Wake  count}-,  X.C.,  w^here  he  was  born  September  22,  1841.  Having 
received  a  good  preparatory  education,  he  was  about  to  enter  college 
when  the  war  broke  out,  and  with  that  high  spirit  which  he  has  ever 
displayed,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Raleigh  rifles,  on  April  l6, 
1861.  His  company  was  assigned  to  the  Fourth  regiment,  North 
Carolina  volunteers,  afterward  known  as  the  Fourteenth  regiment, 
North  Carolina  troops.  For  two  years  the  subject  of  this  sketch  re- 
mained in  that  command,  being  appointed  sergeant  of  his  company, 
and  on  January  i,  1863,  at  his  request  he  was  transferred  to  Com- 
pany I,  First  regiment  North  Carolina  troops,  Col.  Montford  S. 
Stokes  commanding,  and  he  continued  with  this  company  until  the 
end  of  the  war,  surrendering  at  Appomatox.  He  participated  in  the 
following  battles:  W^illiamsburg,  Seven  Pines,  Mechanicsville,  Cold 
Harbor,  White  Oak  Swamp,  Malvern  Hill,  the  second  battle  of  Ma- 
nassas, the  battles  around  Winchester,  South  Mountain,  and  at 
Sharpsburg  (Antietam),  where  he  was  captured  with  most  of  his 
regiment.  Fortunately  at  that  time  the  cartel  of  exchange  was  in 
force,  and  after  a  confmcment  of  only  twenty-two  days  at  Fort  Dela- 
ware, he  was  exchanged  and  returned  home.  Before  a  month  had 
expiree!  he  was  again  with  his  regiment  and  participated  in  the  fight 
at  Jordon's  Mills  (first  battle  of  Fredericksburg),  and  later  in  the 
battles  of  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Mine  Run,  second  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  the  Wilderness,  Lynchburg,  Harper's  Ferry  and 
Monocacy.  He  was  in  Early's  command  in  the  raid  on  Washington 
City,  and  was  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Snicker's  Gap,  Winchester, 
Bear  River,  Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek,  where  he  was  badly 
wounded  and  sent  home  on  a  furlough  in  consequence.  On  regain- 
ing his  strength  he  returned  to  his  command  then  at  Petersburg,  and 
was  engaged  around  Petersburg  and  at  l-'armville,  and  fought  at  Ap- 
pomatox.  No  man  was  steadier  in  his  devotion  to  the  Confederate 
cause  or  more  truly  admirable  in  conduct  or  more  courageous  in  the 
discharge  of  every  duty,  whether  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  on  the 
march,  than  Sergeant  Scarliorough  was  during  the  entire  continuance 
of  the  war.  Returning  home  when  the  Confederate  flag  was  furletl,  he 
at  once  went  at  work  on  his  father's  farm  to  aitl  in  making  a  crop  for 
the  support  of  the  family. 

In  January,  1866,  he  determined  to  complete  his  education  and 
entered  Wake  Forest  college,  where  he  graduated  in  June,  iS6q.    The 


426  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

following  fall  he  accepted  a  position  as  tutor  in  the  college,  and  re 
mained  there  in  that  capacity  for  two  years.  In  August,  1871,  he  es- 
tablished an  academy  at  Selma,  Johnston  county,  N.  C,  and  success- 
fully conducted  it  until  the  summer  of  1876,  when  he  was  nominated 
by  the  state  democratic  convention  for  the  position  of  state  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction,  and  was  triumphantly  elected.  In 
that  campaign  Mr.  .Scarborough  made  many  speeches  which  won  for 
him  great  reputation  as  a  public  speaker.  He  administered  his  re- 
sponsible office  with  satisfaction  to  the  people,  and  particularly  to  the 
friends  of  public  education,  and  was  re-elected  without  opposition  in 
1880,  continuing  to  discharge  its  duties  with  great  service  to  the  state 
until  1885.  During  his  term  Mr.  Scarborough  made  numerous  ad- 
dresses on  the  subject  of  education,  and  won  the  esteem  and  confi- 
dence of  the  people  throughout  the  state. 

After  the  expiration  of  his  second  term,  Mr.  Scarborough  resided 
on  his  farm  in  Johnston  county  until  February,  18S8,  when  he  accepted 
a  position  as  teacher  in  the  Thomasville  female  college,  teaching  there 
until  March  4,  18S9,  when  Gov.  Fowle  appointed  him  commissioner 
of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  for  North  Carolina,  which  position 
he  has  since  held  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  public. 
When  the  campaign  of  i8go  came  on,  Mr.  Scarborough,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  alliance,  was  brought  forward  as  a  candidate  for  the 
democratic  nomination  for  congress,  and  he  received  a  warm  support, 
but  withdrew  his  name  from  the  contest,  and  earnestly  supported  Mr. 
Bunn,  the  nominee. 

On  January  12,  1876,  Mr.  Scarborough  was  married  to  Julia  \'ass 
Moore,  the  daughter  of  Walter  R.  Moore,  of  Johnston  county,  N.  C, 
and  to  them  were  born  six  children,  of  whom  three  survive,  as  fol- 
lows: Hartwell  V.,  Anna  R.  and  Julia  M.  Scarborough.  Mr.  Scar- 
borough's parents  were  both  natives  of  Wake  county!  His  father, 
Daniel  Scarborough,  was  born  in  Wake  county  in  1797,  and  was  a 
farmer.  He  was  also  a  magistrate  and  a  member  of  the  county  court, 
and  possessed  the  confidence  of  his  neighbors  to  an  unusual  degree. 
He  settled  many  estates,  and  for  about  thirty  years  was  warden  of 
the  poor.  In  1820  he  married  Cynthia  Horton,  daughter  of  Hartwell 
Horton,  a  native  of  Wake  county,  and  had  by  her  ten  children,  of 
whom  five  survive:  Rebecca,  wife  of  P.  P.  Pace;  Mrs.  Emily  Eddins; 
John  C.  Scarborough;  Helen,  wife  of  Henry  V.  Bunch,  and  Charles 
W.  Scarborough,  a  Baptist  minister.  Daniel  Scarborough  died  in 
June,  1878,  and  his  wife  on  June  4,  1856,  aged  fifty-six  years.  The 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  John  Scarborough,  who 
was  born  in  Wake  county,  in  1760,  and  was  a  farmer.  He  died  in 
1854.  The  father  of  John  Scarborough  was  Samuel  Scarborough,  who 
was  a  native  of  Dinwiddle  county,  Va.,  and  was  of  English  descent. 
He  moved  to  Wake  county  in  early  manhood,  and  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary army.  Our  subject's  maternal  great-grandfather  was  Moses 
Horton,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent.  He  also  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  427 


WILLIAM  J.  YOUNG, 


the  principal  of  the  North  Carolina  institute  for  the  deaf,  dumb  and 
blind,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  X.  C,  August  lo,  1S32,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  at  Wake  Forest  college;  but  being  compelled 
by  illness  to  leave  before  graduating  at  that  institution,  he  attended 
Randolph-Macon  college,  in  X'irginia,  for  some  time,  leaving  there 
in  1857.  Returning  home  he  was  employed  to  teach  in  the  male 
academy  at  Louisburg,  and  then  he  opened  a  private  school  at 
Raleigh;  but  soon  afterward  was  led  to  join  his  brother  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  and  was  so  engaged  until  December,  i860,  when  he 
was  elected  a  teacher  in  the  blind  department  of  the  institution  for  the 
deaf,  dumb  and  blind  in  Raleigh.  He  had  now  found  his  vocation  in 
life.  Gentle,  patient  and  kind,  he  was  peculiar!}'  fitted  for  this  work, 
and  for  twenty-three  years  he  continued  as  an  instructor  of  the  blind, 
carrying  light  where  before  was  darkness.  His  sympathetic  spirit 
and  fine  intelligence  admirably  equipped  him  for  this  congenial  work, 
and  year  by  year  his  efficiency  was  more  thoroughly  appreciated  by 
the  authorities,  and  was  made  more  evident  b}'  the  practical  results 
that  attended  his  instruction.  In  1883  the  directors,  recognizing  his 
value  ^as  an  ofiicer  of  fine  judgment,  sterling  worth  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  institution  in  all  its  departments,  elected  hini  prin- 
cipal, and  he  still  remains  at  the  head  of  the  institution,  generally  es- 
teemed in  every  part  of  the  state  as  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 
In  1866  Mr.  Young  received  from  Trinity  college  the  degree  of 
master  of  arts,  and  his  long  career  as  a  teacher  has  given  him  a  liter- 
ary turn.  He  was  at  its  session  in  188S  elected  first  vice-president  of 
the  American  association  of  instructors  of  the  blind.  To  his  natural 
gentle  character  there  is  united  a  high  degree  of  Christian  excellence. 
He  has  for  many  years  been  a  prominent  and  devout  member  of 
Edenton  Street  Methodist  church,  and  was  long  a  leader  of  its  choir. 
He  is  now  an  ofificial  member,  chairman  of  the  official  board,  super- 
intendent of  the  Sabbath-school,  and  a  trustee  of  that  large  and  influ- 
ential church.  His  good  works  have  not  been  without  their  influence 
in  the  community  where  he  has  long  lived,  and  but  few  citizens  of 
Raleigh  enjoy  more  esteem  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The 
public  generally'  highly  appreciate  his  worth  and  excellence,  while 
the  teachers,  pupils,  patients  and  directors  of  the  institution  thor- 
oughly love  him.  He  is  quiet  and  unobtrusive  in  his  deportment,  a 
model  gentleman,  but  is  true  to  his  duties,  his  church,  his  country  and 
his  God. 

On  November  12,  i860,  Mr.  Young  was  married  to  Sarah  Ellen 
Cook,  daughter  of  .Samuel  T.  Cook,  Esq.,  of  Barry,  Yt.,  and  to  them 
were  born  three  children:  Ellen  Grace  Young;  Emma  Hunter,  wife 
of  James  E.  Brown,  and  Daisy  Winston  Young.  The  father  of  Mr. 
Young  was  John  Young,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county  in  1794, 
and  who  married  Grace  Flight,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  two 


428  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

only  now  surviving,  Martha  E.  Young  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Mr.  John  Young  died  Januar}',  1875,  and  his  wife  in  186S.  Mr.  Young's 
grandfather  was  Samuel  Young,  a  native  of  Franklin  county.  He 
was  a  farmer  and  was  the  son  of  Rev.  John  Young,  a  native  of  the 
state  of  North  Carolina,  who  was  a  Methodist  Episcopal  preacher,  a 
man  of  ability  and  character,  and  who  for  fifty  years  preached  the 
Word  in  Franklin  county. 

GEN.  JAMES  MOORE. 

When,  in  1713,  Col.  James  Moore,  hastening  through  the  wilder- 
ness, brought  aid  from  Charleston  to  the  North  Carolina  settlers, 
then  in  clanger  of  extermination  by  the  hostile  Tuscaroras,  his 
younger  brother,  Maurice,  accompanied  him,  and  afterward  found 
suf^cient  attractions  in  Albemarle  to  cast  his  fortunes  there.  They 
were  the  sons  of  Gov.  James  Moore,  of  South  Carolina,  a  descend- 
ant of  Roger  Moore,  who  led  the  Irish  rebellion  of  1641,  and  who 
was  sprung  from  the  ancient  kings  of  Ireland;  and  their  mother  was 
Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Sir  John  Yeamans,  the  first  governor  of 
Carolina,  who,  in  1665,  made  the  settlement  at  Old  Town,  on  the 
Cape  Fear  river.  About  a  year  after  his  arrival  in  North  Carolina, 
the  Indians  being  then  subdued.  Col.  Maurice  Moore  married  Eliza- 
beth, a  daughter  of  Major  Alexander  Lillington,  and  the  widow  of 
Col.  Sam  Swann.  The  Yamasee  Indians  having  risen  against 
the  southern  colony  in  171 5,  Col.  Moore  was  sent  with  a  force  from 
Albemarle  to  assist  in  their  subjugation,  and  so  well  did  he  perform 
his  duty  that  the  South  Carolina  assembly  invited  him  into  their 
hall,  and  through  their  speaker  formally  thanked  him  in  person  for 
his  services. 

In  171S,  when  the  pirate  Blackbeard  lay  in  Albemarle  and  Pamlico 
sounds,  and  was  plying  his  nefarious  trade  with  the  connivance  of 
Tobias  Knight,  the  secretary  and  friend  of  Gov.  Eden,  Moore  and 
his  brother-in-law,  Edward  Moseley,  with  the  determination  of  secur- 
ing evidence  of  their  illicit  dealings,  took  possession  of  the  secretary's 
office  and  forcibly  held  possession  until  they  had  examined  the  rec- 
ords on  file.  By  this  he  incurred  the  enmity  of  Eden  and  was 
tried  and  punished.  But  he  continued  to  interest  himself  in  all  af- 
fairs that  affected  the  welfare  of  the  colony,  and  was  a  leader  of  the 
popular  party.  When  Gov.  Burrington  arrived,  Moore  and  his  friends 
induced  him  to  adopt  their  measures,  one  of  which  was  the  opening 
up  of  the  Cape  Fear  river  for  settlement,  and  about  1724,  Moore  laid 
off  a  town  at  Brunswick,  and  soon  afterward  he  and  many  friends  and 
connections  moved  to  the  Cape  Fear.  Burrington  was  quickly  super- 
ceded, and  on  Gov.  Everard's  arrival  the  legislature  met,  choosing 
Moore  as  speaker.  Everard  not  liking  the  outlook,  prorogued  the 
assembly,  but  Speaker  Moore  denied  his  right  to  do  that,  and  a  con 
aict  at  once  arose  between  the  assembly  and  the  new  governor. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  429 

On  the  Cape  Fear,  Moore's  neighbors  were  Moseley  and  John 
Porter  and  Sam  and  John  Swann,  his  step-sons,  and  he  long  continued 
the  adviser  and  counselor  of  the  popular  leaders.  By  his  second  wife, 
Mary  Porter,  he  had  two  sons,  Maurice  and  James.  Maurice  studied 
law  and  was  appointed  a  judge  in  1765,  but  his  patriotic  ardor  at  the 
time  of  the  stamp  act  disturbances  displeased  Gov.  Tryon,  and  his 
commission  was  taken  from  him.  Later,  when  those  differences  were 
healed,  he  was  again  appointed  to  the  bench  and  was  of  the  court 
at  the  time  of  the  Regulation  troubles.  He  afterward  addressed  a 
letter  to  Gov.  Tryon,  signed  Atticus,  that  shows  that  he  deserves  to 
rank  with  the  foremost  men  in  America  for  literary  ability.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Anne  Grange,  and  left  two  children:  Alfred  ^loore,  who 
afterward  was  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  and 
Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Gen.  Francis  Nash. 

Col.  Maurice  Moore's  second  son,  James,  was  an  officer  in  the  In- 
dian wars,  and  thus  gained  experience  that  stood  him  in  good  stead 
when  the  Revolution  broke  out.  He,  like  his  brother  Maurice,  par- 
ticipated in  public  affairs,  and  was  frequently  a  member  of  the  assem- 
bly. He  was  an  officer  in  the  Tryon  expedition  against  the  regulators 
in  1 77 1.  He  was  a  warm  patriot,  and  ardently  co-operated  with  the 
other  gentlemen  of  the  Cape  Fear  in  their  zeal  for  American  free- 
dom. When  the  congress  met  in  1 775,  and  steps  were  taken  to  organ- 
ize a  military  force  for  defense,  James  Moore  was  chosen  colonel  of  the 
First  regiment,  and  he  was  in  command  of  the  forces  on  the  Cape 
Fear  when  the  tories  embodied  on  the  upper  waters  of  that  stream, 
under  Gen.  McDonald,  and  prepared  to  march  upon  Wilmington. 
Col.  Moore  hastened  to  oppose  them,  and  in  a  campaign  skillfully 
planned  and  admirably  conducted  as  to  merit  the  highest  encomium 
by  a  series  of  brilliant  movements,  he  succeeded  in  preventing  their 
juncture  with  the  British  forces  and  secured  a  victory  of  lasting 
benefit  to  the  cause.  Immediately  afterward,  on  March  i,  1776,  he 
was  promoted  by  the  Continental  congress  to  be  brigadier-general, 
and  with  his  North  Carolina  brigade  hurried  to  Charleston,  then  the 
object  of  British  attack.  Here  he  served  with  Gen.  Lee  until  the 
latter  went  south  to  invade  Florida,  when  Moore  was  left  in  com- 
mand of  Charleston.  In  .September,  1776,  Lee  returned  to  the  north 
and  the  department  of  the  south  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  Gen. 
Moore. 

In  January,  1777,  Gen.  Moore's  health  gave  away,  and  he  returned 
to  his  home  and  died.  He  was  a  man  of  delicate  organization,  and  a 
frail  constitution  in  strange  contrast  with  his  heroic  soul  and  fine 
intellectual  capacity.  It  is  related  that  he  and  his  brother  Judge 
Maurice  expired  in  the  same  house  on  the  same  day.  Of  Gen.  Moore 
it  may  be  said  that  he  was  perhaps  the  most  masterful  military  man 
furnished  by  North  Carolina  to  the  war  of  independence,  and  that 
probaljly  he  had  no  superior  in  military  genius  on  the  continent. 
Gen.  Moore  married  i\iiss  Anna  Ivey  and  left  two  sons,  Duncan  and 
James,  and  two  daughters  who  became  Mrs.  Swann,  and  Mrs.  Waters. 


430  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


REV.  HENRY  MARTIN  TUPPER,  D.  D., 

president  of  the  Shaw  university,  was  born  at  Monson,  Mass.,  April, 
1831.  His  father  was  Earl  Tupper,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Mon- 
son, Mass.,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  August  ir,  179S.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  In  September,  1S30,  he  married  Permelia 
Norris,  of  Stafford,  Conn.,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  of  whom 
our  subject  was  the  eldest.  The  father  died  October  31,  1S64,  his 
wife  surviving  him  until  May  13,  1881.  The  Tupper  family  is  of 
ancient  origin,  and  it  is  eminently  proper  that  an  outline  of  its  de- 
scent, so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  immediate  branch  of  the  distinguished 
subject,  should  be  here  given.  The  following  brief  mention  is  taken 
from  the  advanced  sheets  of  a  genealogy  of  the  family.  The  Tup- 
pers  are  of  ancient  Saxon  origin.  In  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth 
century  there  was  a  Thuringian  chief,  by  the  name  of  Conrad  Von 
Treffurth,  who  in  1260  became  chief  lord,  and  afterward  bore  the  ap- 
pellation of  Von  Toppherr.  He  was  at  the  head  of  several  families, 
and  the  names  of  the  clan  or  septs  were  very  similar,  as  Topfer,  Top- 
hern,  Tapfer  and  Toepfern.  They  owned  large  real  estates,  and  had 
castles  at  Kleintoopfer  and  at  Grostoepfer,  nearly  midway  between 
Weimar  and  Hesse  Cassel.  In  later  Saxon  records  the  name  was 
spelt,  Toppfer,  Topfer,  Topfor,  Topper  and  Toffer.  In  the  reign  of 
Charles  V.  the  family  suffered  great  persecution  from  the  Catholics 
as  "  obstinate  Lutherans"  and  "lost  all."  The  phrase  "lost  all" 
gave  origin  to  the  name  of  Toutperd  and  Toutpert,  by  which  the 
family  was  known  in  France.  Tout,  all,  and  perd  from  the  verb  perre, 
to  lose,  and  by  a  slight  modification  pronounced  Toupard  in  the 
Netherlands. 

After  having  been  driven  from  their  Thuringian  estates  they  fled 
to  Hesse  Cassel,  Upper  Saxony,  about  1520.  Two  brothers  left  the 
country;  one  settled  in  Holland,  and  in  1813,  a  descendant,  Daniel 
Tupper  was  burgomaster  of  Rotterdam.  The  other  brother  fled  to 
Switzerland  and  was  the  ancestor  of  Rodolph  Topffer,  the  celebrated 
author.  The  other  members  of  the  Tupper  family  fled  from  Hesse 
Cassel  in  1522,  to  the  "low  countries,"  and  thence  took  refuge  in  Eng- 
land in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  Robert  and  Henry  first  settled  in 
Chichester,  Sussex,  and  William  in  London.  Robert  afterward 
moved  to  Sandwich,  and  Henry  in  154S  went  to  Guernsey.  Martin 
Farquhar  Tupper  is  a  descendant  of  Henry.  John,  his  eldest  son, 
married  "  Mary,  sole  child  and  heiress  of  Peter  LePelly,"  and  the 
family  has  always  ranked  high  and  been  considered  among  the  prin- 
cipal gentry  of  the  island;  and  their  arms  and  crest  granted  and 
registered  in  England,  bear  evidence  of  well  earned  augmentation. 
Many  of  their  descendants  have  been  greatly  distinguished  for  their 
valor.  Thomas  Tupper,  who  emigrated  to  America,  was  probably 
the  grandson  of  Robert  of  Sandwich,  born  1576,  and  landed  at  Saugus, 
Mass.,  about  1630.     There  was  another  Thomas  Tupper,  "clergyman 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  43 1 

of  the  Barbadoes,"  who  in  1635,  in  the  Admiralty  records,  is  regis- 
tered among  the  emigrants  taking  passage  at  St.  Christopher.  W.  I., 
but  he  was  the  grandson  of  Henry  of  Guernsey.  Thomas  Tupper  be- 
came one  of  the  incorporators  of  Sandwich,  Mass.  He  had  a  son 
Thomas,  born  January,  163S,  who  married  Martha  Mayhew,  the 
daughter  of  Gov.  Mayhew  of  Martha's  Vineyard.  They  had  eleven 
children,  seven  sons  and  four  daughters.  Six  of  the  sons  became  the 
heads  of  families,  to  wit:  Thomas,  Israel,  Ichabod,  Eldad,  Medad  and 
Eliakim.  From  these  sons  have  descended  all  the  Tuppers  in  this 
country  and  Canada. 

Henry  Martin  Tupper's  grandfather  was  Ezra  Tupper,  who  was 
born  in  Middleborough,  Mass.,  March  31,  1763.  He  was  a  farmer 
and  a  tife-major  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  died  September  30, 
1849.  His  wife  was  Hulda  Spencer,  of  Campton.  N.  H.  He  was  the 
son  of  William  Tupper,  who  was  born  in  Middleborough,  Mass.,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1735.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  his  son  Ezra  served  in  his  regiment.  He  was  married  Janu- 
ary 22,  1761,  to  Susanna  Clapp,  and  died  November  25,  1824.  His 
father  was  Thomas  Tupper,  who  was  born  in  Sandwich,  Mass.,  De- 
cember 20,  1 7 14.  He  was  also  a  farmer  and  was  engaged  in  the 
French  wars.  He  married  Rebecca  Bumpus,  of  Middleborough, 
Mass.,  June  19,  1734.  His  death  occurred  December,  iSio.  Ichabod, 
his  father,  was  born  August  11,  1673,  at  Sandwich,  Mass.  He  was  a 
sea  captain,  and  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  having  been  Mary 
Tinkham,  and  his  second  wife  Hannah  Tinkham,  of  Middleborough, 
Mass.  Thomas  Tupper,  Jr.,  his  father,  was  born  in  Sandwich,  Mass., 
January  16,  163S,  one  year  after  the  town  was  founded.  For  many 
years  he  held  different  military  positions  and  was  a  member  of  the 
council  of  war,  was  town  clerk  and  selectman  for  forty  years.  In 
1682  he  was  representative  to  general  court.  He  was  a  large  land 
holder.  October  22,  1661,  he  married  ^Iartha,  daughter  of  Gov. 
Mayhew,  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  died  in  May,  1706.  His  father's 
name  was  Thomas,  Sr.  He  was  a  native  of  England,  having  been 
born  at  Sandwich,  that  country,  June  28,  1578.  About  1630,  he  came 
to  America,  and  became  one  of  the  founders  of  Sandwich,  Mass.  Me 
was  a  selectman,  deputy,  magistrate  and  missionary  to  the  Indians. 
Thomas  Tupper,  Sr.,  died  March  28,  1676.  He  was  a  descendant  of 
Robert  Tupper,  of  Sandwich.  England,  probably  the  grandson,  who, 
in  1522,  fled  with  his  two  brothers,  Henry  and  William,  from  Hesse 
Cassel,  Upper  Saxony,  to  escape  persecution  by  Charles  V. 

The  Rev.  Henry  !\Iartin  Tupper,  D.  D.,  a  brief  mention  of  whose 
career  will  now  follow,  grew  to  the  years  of  manhood  on  his  father's 
farm  in  the  town  of  Monson.  He  was  given  but  few  early  educa- 
tional advantages,  his  attendance  at  the  district  school  being  but  short. 
Possessing  a  thirst  for  knowledge  he  read  every  book  and  paper  that 
fell  in  his  way,  and  while  a  mere  lad  formed  decided  opinions  on  the 
questions  of  the  day,  especially  in  regard  to  slavery.  In  his  eighteenth 
year  he  became  a  student  at  iNIonson  academy,  and  while  in  that  in- 
stitution was  converted.     Being  obliged    meanwhile  to  support  him- 


432  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

self  by  his  own  exertions,  he  kept  on  in  his  search  for  a  higher  edu- 
cation and  finally  matriculated  in  Amherst  college,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1859.  He  then  entered  the  Newton  theological  in- 
stitution, from  which  he  was  graduated  June  26,  1S62,  that  being  the 
date  of  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks.  On  the  14th  of  July  he  answered 
Gov.  Andrew's,  of  Mass.,  call  for  privates  by  enlisting  as  a  common 
soldier.  A  few  days  afterward  he  was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  church  and  joined  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  about  the  time 
of  the  battles  of  South  Mountain  and  Antietam.  He  was  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Fredericksburg,  and  followed  the  Ninth  Army  corps  into  Ken- 
tucky, was  in  the  campaign  against  Vicksburg,  and  in  the  raid  upon 
Jackson,  Miss.,  under  Gen.  Sherman.  In  one  engagement  a  shell 
burst  so  near  his  face  that  it  scorched  his  flesh,  but  though  others  at 
the  right  and  left  fell  by  the  flying  pieces,  this  man  was  spared  for 
the  great  after-battle.  While  in  the  army  he  was  constantly  engaged 
in  Christian  work.  He  held  meetings  among  his  comrades,  wrote 
letters  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  often  performed  the  duties  of 
chaplain  and  cheered  all  around  him  who  were  blighted  by  the 
stroke  of  battle.  During  these  years  he  embraced  the  opportutity  for 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  colored  people  who  flocked  to  the  camps. 
While  a  student  Dr.  Tupper  had  been  verj'  desirous  of  becoming  a 
missionary  to  Africa,  and  had  had  a  large  Sundaj'-school  class  of 
colored  youth. 

Januar3'25,  1S64,  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Baker  Leonard,  of  Stafford, 
Conn.,  the  daughter  of  Gen.  Jacob  Leonard  —  a  family  of  distinction 
and  great  benevolence.  A  few  weeks  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war 
and  previous  to  his  discharge  from  the  army,  he  received  a  com- 
mission from  the  American  Baptist  home  mission  society  to  go  south 
as  a  missionary  to  the  freedmen.  This  came  to  him  without  his  pre- 
vious knowledge  and  seemed  the  divine  command.  It  was  left  to  his 
own  discretion  to  select  a  proper  field  for  his  labors,  and  accordingly, 
after  due  deliberation,  he  decided  upon  Raleigh,  N.  C,  as  a  point 
advantageous  for  his  operations.  He  was  discharged  from  the  army 
July  14,  1S65,  and  on  the  first  of  the  following  October,  started  with 
his  wife  for  Raleigh.  They  reached  that  city  October  loth,  after 
days  of  hard  travel,  the  communication  having  been  disrupted  by  the 
hostilities  that  had  been  in  progress  there  for  so  long.  They  came 
by  the  first  train  that  passed  over  the  Seaboard  road  since  the  close 
of  the  war,  having  purchased  tickets  numbers  one  and  two. 

Without  entering  into  further  details  in  regard  to  the  founding  of 
the  university  by  Dr.  Tupper,  only  to  mention  the  date  of  its  real 
establishment,  which  was  December  i,  1865,  we  will  bring  this  sketch 
to  a  close  by  generalizing  a  little  on  the  plan  and  scope  of  the  insti- 
tution. .Shaw  university  was  one  of  the  pioneer  colleges  established 
in  the  interest  of  the  black  man  of  the  south.  Its  humble  beginning 
promised  but  little.  To-day  it  is  a  complete,  thorough  university, 
with  many  beautiful  and  substantial  buildings,  and  a  large  corps  of 
able  and  enthusiastic  teachers.  It  fits  its  graduates  for  the  higher 
walks  of  life,  and  aims  to  inculcate  a  manl3^  self-reliant  feeling  in  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  433 

breast  of  the  colored  man  —  to  eliminate  that  feeling  of  false  inde- 
pendence, which  inevitabl}-  came  to  him  the  day  he  was  made  free, 
and  in  its  stead  to  give  true  independence  by  personal  worth  and 
higher  education.  The  university  has  done  a  grand  work.  It  has 
from  five  to  six  hundred  students,  and  its  alumni  have  already  honored 
themselves  in  the  world.  Teachers,  merchants,  lawyers,  doctors  and 
members  of  congress  have  been  sent  from  its  walls.  It  met  with  oppo- 
sition; the  lirst  building  was  erected  by  its  president,  and  the  first  work 
was  supported  by  the  earnings  of  himself  and  his  faithful  wife,  they 
having  kept  a  night  school  for  the  purpose.  To-day  it  rears  its  proud 
dome  aloft  among  the  educational  institutions  of  the  land,  a  magnifi- 
cent monument  to  the  grand  man  who  founded  it  with  his  prayers  and 
persistent  labors.  Man  can  leave  no  grander  mausoleum  than  this; 
can  leave  no  grander  heritage  than  the  sacrifices  and  benefactions  for 
a  downtrodden,  uncultured  people,  many  of  whom  he  has  raised  to 
the  true  freedom  of  thought  and  Christianity.  Long  after  soldiers  and 
statesmen  are  forgotten  the  name  of  Henry  Martin  Tupper  will  live 
in  the  grateful  hearts  of  the  colored  people  of  America. 

RICHARD  CASWELL 

was  a  soldier  by  preference  and  profession  and  was  born  in  the  state 
of  Maryland  on  the  3rd  of  August,  1725.  He  removed  to  North  Car- 
olina in  1746,  and  held  various  offices  and  positions  of  trust  and  honor 
and  for  some  years  practiced  law  with  great  success.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  colonial  assembly  for  many  years  and  was  the  speaker  of 
that  body  from  1770  to  1771.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution 
he  became  the  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  patriots  and  did  good  fighting 
in  the  patriot  cause.  He  was  a  member  of  congress  in  1774,  and  was 
made  treasurer  of  tlic  state  in  1 775.  For  three  years  he  was  president 
of  the  provincial  congress  which  framed  the  state  constitution,  and 
was  governor  of  the  state  during  1777-9.  One  of  the  most  brilliant 
events  of  his  life  was  his  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek, 
where  he  commanded  the  patriot  army  and  defeated  a  large  body  of 
loyalists,  commanded  by  no  less  a  soldier  than  Gen.  McDonald.  In 
this  engagement  he  took  the  loyalist  commander  prisoner,  for  which 
he  received  the  thanks  of  congress  and  promotion  to  the  rank  of 
major-general.  In  17S0  he  led  the  state  troops  in  the  disastrous  battle 
of  Camden.  After  his  retirement  from  the  military  service  he  was 
chosen  speaker  of  the  senate,  and  comptroller-general  in  1772;  he 
was  again  governor  from  1784  to  1786,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  con- 
vention which  framed  the  Federal  constitution  in  1787.  He  was  again 
elected  to  the  senate  in  1789,  and  while  presiding  over  that  body  was 
struck  with  paralysis,  from  which  death  ensued  in  a  few  daj's. 

GEN.  JAMES  HOGUN. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  little  has  been  preserved  concerning 
Gen.  James  Hogun.     His  first  appearance   in    public  life  was  as  a 
B— 28 


434  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

member  of  the  provincial  congress,  which  met  at  Halifax,  in  April, 
1776.  He  was  then  a  resident  of  Halifax  county.  That  congress  re- 
organized the  military  forces  of  the  state,  and  James  Hogun,  who 
had  previously  been  a  major  of  the  minute  men  in  Halifax,  was  ap- 
pointed paymaster  of  the  Third  regiment  of  continentals  and  of  the 
three  companies  of  light  horse.  In  the  following  November,  three 
other  continental  regiments  were  raised,  and  Hogun  was  made 
colonel  of  one  of  the  new  regiments,  and  in  1777  marched  to  the  aid 
of  Gen.  Washington.  Howe  had  been  detached  from  his  brigade 
and  made  a  major-general.  Gen.  Moore  had  after  a  brilliant  record 
sunk  into  a  patriot's  grave.  Gen.  Nash  had  fallen  upon  the  field,  and 
Germantown  and  our  six  regiments  of  continentals,  without  a  North 
Carolina  brigadier,  were  commanded  by  Gen.  Ale.Kander  McDougal, 
of  New  York.  In  May,  1778,  so  great  had  their  ranks  been  depleted, 
these  regiments  were  consolidated  into  three,  and  in  January,  1779, 
Col.  Hogun  was  promoted  to  be  brigadier,  and  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  brigade.  This  was  ordered  by  congress,  despite  the 
fact  that  the  legislature  of  the  state  had  petitioned  that  Col.  Clarke, 
a  gentleman  of  undoubted  patriotism  and  an  officer  of  fine  abilities, 
should  be  promoted  to  the  position.  But  Col.  Hogun  had  been  greatly 
distinguished  in  battle  and  in  fact  won  his  promotion  by  his  intre- 
pidity at  Germantown.  He  had  endured  the  sufferings  at  Valley 
Forge,  and  had  proved  himself  every  inch  a  soldier,  whether  in  camp 
or  in  battle. 

In  November,  1779,  under  orders  from  Gen.  Washington,  Gen. 
Hogun  marched  his  brigade  from  the  north  to  the  relief  of  South 
Carolina,  whither  Gen.  Sumner's  brigade  had  preceded  him.  In  the 
spring  of  17S0,  having  joined  Gen.  Lincoln,  he  and  the  entire  North 
Carolina  continental  line  were  beleagured  in  Charleston,  along 
with  about  a  thousand  North  Carolina  militia,  and  many  other 
troops  from  other  states.  The  city  was  thoroughly  invested  by  the 
royal  forces,  and  after  a  protracted  siege,  during  which  the  North 
Carolina  troops  suffered  heavily,  and  were  subjected  to  many  hard- 
ships and  trying  vicissitudes,  Gen.  Lincoln  surrendered  his  army  as 
prisoners  of  war.  Gen.  Sumner  fortunately  was  not  present  at  the 
time  and  thus  escaped  capture.  There  were  surrendered  743  North 
Carolina  continentals  and  over  500  North  Carolina  militia.  These 
were  confined  on  board  the  prison  ships,  the  Sandwich  and  the  Con- 
cord, and  they  were  subjected  to  the  most  intolerable  usage.  Sev- 
eral hundred  of  them  were  carried  to  Jamaica  and  were  enrolled  in 
Lord  Charles  Montague's  regiment.  The  officers  as  well  as  the  men 
were  treated  with  great  severity,  and  many  died  from  scurvy,  fever 
and  other  diseases  generated  from  the  crowded  condition  of  the 
hulks  and  from  harsh  treatment.  At  length,  after  a  year's  suffering, 
those  who  survived  were,  under  a  cartel  of  exchange  secured  by 
Gen.  Greene,  Maj'  3,  1781,  delivered  to  the  American  agent  of  e.x- 
change  at  Jamestown,  Va.,  on  June  15,  1781.  The  cruelties  and  hard- 
ships of  their  long  confinement  had,  however,  proved  fatal  to  many, 
and  among  those   who  had  died   in    captivity   was  the   brave  Gen. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  435 

Hogun.  There  is  no  record  of  liis  burial  place.  Gen.  Hogun  left  a 
family  resident  in  Halifax,  but  his  name  does  not  appear  to  be  per- 
petuated in  North  Carolina. 


GEORGE  W.  GREENE. 

Biographical  history  can  find  no  subject  more  worthy  than  the 
educator.  As  popular  education  increases  so  must  the  importance  of 
the  teacher's  profession  increase.  The  instructor  of  3'outh  is  moulding 
the  destiny  of  our  nation;  if  his  work  be  not  well  done  it  is  a  calamity; 
if  he  is  consistent  and  faithful,  to  him  be  the  honor.  In  the  following 
lines  may  be  found  a  brief  outline  of  the  career  of  George  \V.  Greene, 
a  man  of  much  ability  and  integrity.  Mr.  Greene  was  born  in 
Watauga  county,  N.  C.,  June  29,  1852,  and  was  educated  at  Wake 
Forest  college,  and  at  the  Southern  Baptist  theological  seminary  of 
Greenville,  S.  C.,  having  graduated  from  the  former  institution  with 
the  class  of  1870,  and  from  the  latter  five  years  subsequent.  Having 
been  ordained  a  minister,  he  devoted  about  five  months  succeeding 
that  event  to  Sabbath-school  work  in  different  parts  of  North  Carolina, 
after  which  he  went  to  Hickory,  N.  C,  as  pastor  of  the  church  there. 
In  1877  he  removed  to  Moravian  Falls,  N.  C,  and  for  thirteen  years 
thereafter  was  president  of  the  Moravian  Falls  academ}',  and  also 
filled  the  pastorate  there.  In  1890  he  was  elected  professor  of  Latin 
at  Wake  Forest  college.  Still  a  young  man,  should  life  and  health 
be  spared  him  much  may  be  hoped  from  the  industrious  labors  of 
years  to  come.  He  is  a  scholar  of  profound  thought,  has  thoroughly 
informed  himself  on  all  live  topics,  and  as  a  linguist  excels.  As  a 
teacher  he  is  patient  and  persistent,  having  that  happy  faculty  of  im- 
parting toothers  that  which  he  knows  himself,  a  quality  unfortunately 
lacking  in  many  scholars  of  repute.  He  has  found  time  to  write  a 
a  valuable  work  on  elementary  English  grammar,  which  has  received 
much  favorable  comment. 

On  the  26th  day  of  December,  1S76,  Prof.  Greene  was  joined  in 
marriage  to  an  accomplished  lady  of  Greenville,  S.  C,  Miss  Dora 
Mauldin,  daughter  of  Joab  Mauldin.  Mrs  Greene  died  October  26, 
1890,  leaving  three  children,  named:  Anna,  Pansj-  and  Felix.  Her 
loss  was  irreparable  to  husband,  children  and  friends.  David  Greene, 
father  of  the  above  mentioned,  was  born  in  Watauga  county,  N.  C, 
in  1823.  He  was  given  a  good  common  school  training,  and  then 
turnecl  his  attention  to  agriculture.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  be- 
tween north  and  south  he  enlisted  in  1S61,  in  the  Confederate  army,  as 
a  member  of  the  Thirty-seventh  regiment  North  Carolina  volunteer 
infantry,  commanded  by  Col.  Z.  B.  Vance.  He  was  promoted  to  the 
lieutenancy  of  Companj'  B.  After  a  year  he  was  transferred,  or  rather 
re-enlisted  in  the  Fifty-eighth  regiment  North  Carolina  infantry  as  a 
private.  He  was  taken  ill  soon  after  his  rc-enlistment  and  died  in 
December,  1863,  two  days  after  his  return  home.  In  1846  he  married 
Miss   Kate  Smith,  daughter  of  George  Smith,  of  Caldwell  county, 


436  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

N.  C,  and  to  them  were  born  eight  children,  named  as  follows: 
Smith  F.,  who  died  in  the  Confederate  service  in  1863;  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  M.  E.  Thompson,  of  Caldwell  county,  N.  C;  Mary,  wife  of 
Henry  Steele,  of  Caldwell  county,  N.  C;  George  W.,  of  Wake  For- 
est, N.  C;  Joseph  W.,  died  in  iSSS;  Rebecca,  wife  of  Smith  Coffey, 
of  Caldwell  county,  N.  C;  Amanda  Greene,  of  Caldwell  count3^  and 
David  L.  Greene,  who  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  in  1S64.  Joseph  Greene,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Watauga  count}',  N.  C,  in  1790.  He  was  a  planter  of 
considerable  prominence,  and  died  in  1861.  His  father,  Richard 
Greene,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  having  been  born  about  the  year 
1740.  He  came  to  North  Carolina  in  1785,  and  died  early  in  1800. 
The  family  is  of  English  origin,  and  comes  from  the  same  line  as 
Gen.  Greene  of  Revolutionary  fame. 


WILLIAM  L.  POTEAT,  A.  M., 

professor  of  natural  history  at  Wake  Forest  college,  is  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  having  been  born  in  Caswell  county,  October  20, 
1856.  Having  obtained  an  academic  preliminary'  schooling,  he  en- 
tered Wake  Forest  college  and  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1877. 
For  the  following  year  he  was  engaged  in  reading  law,  but  in  1S78  was 
made  a  tutor  at  Wake  Forest  college  and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
June,  1880,  when  he  was  elected  assistant  professor  of  natural  science, 
and  after  three  j^ears  in  that  position  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of 
natural  history.  In  1881  Prof.  Poteat  was  married  to  Miss  Emma 
Purefoy,  daughter  of  A.  F.  Purefoy,  and  granddaughter  of  the  emi- 
nent Rev.  James  S.  Purefoy,  late  of  Wake  Forest.  Two  children  have 
blessed  this  union,  named  Hubert  McNeill  and  Louie  Poteat.  Prof. 
Poteat  has  contributed  valuable  articles  to  the  scientific  press,  of 
which  may  be  mentioned  "A  tube-building  spider,"  and  an  article  on 
"  North  Carolina  Desmids."  They  were  both  published  in  the  Elisha 
Mitchell  Scientific  Society's  Journal,  issued  from  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  attracted  widespread  attention.  James  Poteat, 
the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  in  1807. 
He  was  a  planter  and  a  large  slaveholder,  owning  about  3,000  acres 
of  tillable  land.  For  many  years  prior  to  the  war,  and  during  the 
war,  he  was  engaged  in  the  commission  business  at  Richmond,  Ya. 
He  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife,  Julia  A.  (McNeill)  Poteat, 
daughter  of  Hosea  McNeill,  of  Caswell  county,  being  the  mother  of 
Prof.  William  L.  Poteat.  Thej'  were  united  in  marriage  in  1855,  and 
of  the  four  children  born  to  them  three  survive:  William  L.,  Ida  B. 
and  Edwin  M.  Poteat,  pastor  of  Calvary  Baptist  church  in  New  Haven, 
Conn.  The  father  of  these  children  died  in  Januar)-,  1889.  He  was 
the  son  of  Miles  Poteat,  also  a  planter  and  native  of  Caswell  county, 
N.  C.  In  1888  Prof.  Poteat  and  a  brother,  Edwin,  studied  in  Europe, 
the  former  in  the  zoological  department  of  the  famous  University 
of  Berlin. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  437 


CHARLES  E.  BREWER 


was  bom  ill    Wake  Forest,  N.  C,  and   after  having  received  a  thor- 
ough  preparation  entered  Walce  Forest  college,  from  which  he  was 
graduated   in  June,  iSS6.     He  then  took  a  post-graduate  course  in 
chemistry,  under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Duggan,  of  Wake   Forest. 
After   eighteen   months  spent  in   this   additional    course   he  entered 
Johns  Hopkins  university,  and  remained  there  for  a  year  and  a  half, 
having  made  chemistry  a  specialty.     Returning  to   Wake  Forest  in 
jSSq,  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  chemistry   in   his  alma  niatcr  and 
has  since  held  that  position.     Wake  Forest  college  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  in  1886.    John  M.   Brewer,  his  father,  was 
born  in  \'irginia,  his  native   county  being  Xansemond,  and  the  date 
of  his  birth  the  year  1820.     He  went  to  Wake   Forest  as  a  student  in 
183S,  and  has  since  remained  there,  having  turned  his  attention  to 
agriculture.     In  1844  he  married  Miss  Ann  Eliza  Wait,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Samuel  Wait,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  came  to  North  Caro- 
lina in.1827.     From   1834  to  1844  he  was  president  of  Wake    Forest 
college.     To  the  latter  marriage  were  born  ten  children,  of  whom  all 
are  living  except  one;  those  remaining  are:    John  B.,  president  of  the 
Murfreesboro  female  college;    Mary,  wife  of  W.   P.   Perry,  of  Wake 
county,   N.  C;  Samuel  Wait,  of   Raleigh;  William    Cary,  of  Wake 
Forest;    Sallie    M.,  wife  of    L.    W.    Bagley,  a    resident  of  Littleton, 
N.  C;    Richard    L.,  of   Wake    Forest;    Hattie  B.,  wife  of  Dr.  J.  B. 
Powers,  a  physician  of  Wake  Forest;  Lydia,  wife  of  N.  B.  Josey,  of 
Scotland  Neck,  N.  C,  and  Charles  E.  Brewer.     The  grandfather  of 
these  children  was  John   Brewer,  a  X'irginian,  having  been   born  in 
1793.     His  demise  occurred  in  1S33.     He  was  an  extensive  planter  of 
good  repute.     The  family  is  of  Scotch  origin,  and   many  of  its  mem- 
bers have  risen  to  honor  and  distinction  in  the  United  States. 


WILLIAM  B.  ROYALL. 

For  many  generations  the  Royall  family  has  furnished  intelligent 
and  patriotic  American  citizens.  Many  years  prior  to  the  Revolution 
its  American  founder  left  England  to  seek  a  home  and  country  across 
the  sea.  From  that  time  to  this  the  old  Palmetto  state  has  been  the 
home  of  his  descendants.  Going  back  five  generations,  we  find  that 
William  Royall  was  born  near  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1754.  He  was  a 
planter,  and  at  one  time  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Charles- 
ton. He  fought  in  the  patriot  army  during  the  war  for  American 
independence,  and  died  in  1833.  His  son  William  was  born  on  James 
Island,  S.  C,  in  1797,  and  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps  as  a  planter, 
and  later  as  a  merchant  of  Charleston,  and  died  in  1863.  The  Rev. 
William  Royall,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  an  eminent  educator  of  North  Caro- 
lina, is  the  son  of  the  last  mentioned.     Dr.  Royall  first  saw  the  light 


43S  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

in  Edgefield  county,  S.  C,  in  the  year  1823.  Wliile  he  was  still  in 
early  youth  his  parents  removed  to  Charleston,  and  the  son  was  reared 
in  that  city.  Having  been  given  the  best  educational  advantages  at 
hand,  he  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  South  Carolina  in  the 
class  of  1841.  Three  years  later  he  was  ordained  a  minister  in  the 
Baptist  church,  but  the  great  effort  of  his  life  has  been  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young.  For  a  timf:  he  held  a  position  as  instructor  in 
Charleston,  S.  C,  and  later  taught  in  Furman  University  for  several 
years.  In  i860  he  accepted  the  chair  of  Latin  at  Wake  Forest  col- 
lege, but  in  1874  went  to  Texas,  and  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
Baylor  female  college  at  Independence,  Tex.,  prior  to  that  having 
presided  over  the  Raleigh  female  seminary,  and  subsequently  over 
the  Louisburg  female  college.  In  1880  Dr.  Royall  returned  to  Wake 
Forest  college,  as  professor  of  modern  languages,  and  at  the  present 
time  fills  the  chair  of  English  in  that  noted  institution.  Dr.  Royall 
was  united  in  marriage  in  1843,  to  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Robert  S.  Bailey,  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  to  .them  seven  children 
have  been  born,  of  whom  five  are  now  living,  viz.:  William  Bailey; 
Mary  A.,  wife  of  Prof.  F.  P.  Hobgood,  of  Oxfoi-d,  N.  C;  Petrona, 
wife  of  W.  C.  Powell,  of  Savannah,  Ga.;  Robert  E.,  of  Wake  Forest, 
N.  C;  and  Minta,  wife  of  Thomas  E.  Holding,  also  of  Wake  Forest. 
Dr.  Royall  entered  the  Confederate  service  in  1862,  as  chaplain  of  the 
Fifty-fifth  North  Carolina  volunteer  infantry,  and  served  for  fourteen 
months.  Furman  university  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  doc- 
tor of  divinity,  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina  honored  him 
with  LL.  D. 

William  Bailey  Royall  was  born  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Berkeley 
county,  S.  C,  September  2,  1844.  He  entered  Furfnan  university  and 
was  about  to  complete  his  course  there  when  his  father  became  a 
professor  at  Wake  Forest  college,  and  the  son  accordingly  became  a 
student  in  the  latter  institution,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1S61.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  enlisted  in  the  Confed- 
erate army,  and  for  nearly  a  year  served  as  corporal  in  the  Santee  ar- 
tillery of  Manigault's  South  Carolina  battalion.  In  1862  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Fifty-fifth  North  Carolina  infantry,  of  which  his  father 
was  chaplain,  was  at  that  time  commissioned  commissary  sergeant, 
and  for  the  remainder  of  the  war  held  that  office.  He  was  on  duty 
at  the  battles  of  Gettysburg,  Bristow  Station,  Wilderness,  Spottsyl 
vania.  Cold  Harbor  (second  battle),  was  at  the  siege  of  Petersburg 
and  with  Lee  at  Appomatox  Court  House.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  Mr.  Royall  turned  his  attention  to  teaching,  and  accepted  a 
position  at  Forestville,  N.C.,  1865.  Oneyearlater  he  was  appointed  as 
tutor  at  Wake  Forest  college,  and  in  1868  was  made  assistant  pro- 
fessor of  languages.  In  1871  he  was  elected  to  iill  the  chair  of  Greek 
at  the  same  place,  and  is  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  linguists 
in  the  state.  Wake  Forest  college  gave  him  the  degree  A.  M.,  and 
Judson  college  conferred  the  title  of  doctor  of  divinity  upon  him,  he 
having   been   ordained   a    minister   in    the    Baptist   church    in    1869. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  439 

Miss  Sarah  J.  Hall,  an  accomplished  daughter  of  John  W.  Hall,  of 
Columbus  county,  N.  C,  became  his  wife  in  187 1,  and  six  children 
have  been  born  to  them,  viz.:  William,  John  Hall,  Robert  Henry, 
James  Bruce  Roj-all,  and  two  others  deceased. 

BENJAMIN  FRANCIS  SLEDD, 

a  prominent  and  successful  educator,  now  professor  of  modern  lan- 
guages in  Wake  Forest  college,  is  a  Virginian  by  birth,  having  been 
born  in  Bedford  county,  on  the  27th  of  August,  1S64.  In  June,  1886, 
he  was  graduated  from  Washington  and  Lee  university,  at  Lexing- 
ton, Va.,  with  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  and  then  entered  Johns  Hopkins 
university,  where  he  took  a  post-graduate  course.  At  this  time  he 
accepted  a  position  at  Charlotte  Hall  military  academy,  Charlotte 
Hall,  Md.,  and  remained  there  for  one  year,  when  he  was  elected,  in 
September,  1888,  to  fill  the  chair  of  modern  languages  in  Wake 
Forest  college.  In  June,  1889,  Prof.  Sledd  was  married  to  Miss 
Neda  Purefoy,  daughter  of  F.  M.  Purefoy,  of  Wake  Forest,  N.  C, 
and  a  granddaughter  of  James  S.  Purefoy,  who  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  college.  Prof.  Sledd  is  the  son  of  William  E.  Sledd, 
who  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Ya.,  in  1827.  He  was  a  planter  on 
an  extensive  scale,  and  for  many  j'ears  held  the  office  of  magistrate 
of  Bedford  county.  For  two  years  he  served  in  the  army  of  northern 
Virginia  under  Robert  E.  Lee.  In  1846  he  married  Arabella  Hobson, 
daughter  of  Richard  Hobson,  of  Virginia,  by  whom  he  had  nine 
children,  eight  of  whom  survive:  Mrs.  Ann  H.  Campbell,  James  R., 
Eliza,  wife  of  William  R.  Cornelius;  Dr.  Samuel  D.,  Mrs.  Ida  Gar- 
nett,  Mrs.  Louisa  Wilson,  William  E.  and  Benjamin  F.  Sledd.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  in  18SS,  and  the  mother  in  March,  1889. 
The  grandfather  of  the  children  last  mentioned  was  James  Sledd, 
who  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Va.,  in  1800.  He  owned  large 
tracts  of  land.  His  death  occurred  in  1846.  His  father  was  Rev. 
John  Sledd,  a  Baptist  divine,  who  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  He  was 
born  in  Albemarle  county,  but  went  to  Bedford  county  among  its  first 
settlers.  In  his  later  life  he  obtained  large  tracts  of  land  near 
Paducah,  Ky.  His  demise  occurred  between  1820  and  1830.  Thomas 
Sledd,  the  father  of  the  last  mentioned,  was  born  in  England,  and 
came  to  America  some  time  prior  to  the  Revolution,  in  which  war  he 
took  an  active  part  as  a  captain  in  the  patriot  army. 

CHARLES  E.  TAYLOR. 

For  many  years  Wake  Forest  college  has  been  in  the  front  ranks 
of  the  educational  institutions  of  the  south.  Its  alumni  number 
thousands,  and  many  have  risen  to  distinction  in  the  ditferent  walks  of 
life.  Its  standard  has  always  been  kept  high,  and  the  men  who  have 
formed  its  faculty  from  time  to  time  have  been  men  of  ability  and 
known  worth.  In  the  following  lines  we  shall  attempt  to  give  a  brief 
but  comprehensive  sketch  of  the  life  and  professional  career  of  the 


440  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

present  president  of  Wake  Forest  college,  the  Rev.  Charles  Elisha 
Taj'lor,  B.  L.,  B.  S.,  A.  M.,  LL.  D.  He  was  born  in  Richmond,  Va., 
on  the  28th  of  October,  1S42.  He  was  given  ample  educational  ad- 
vantages, having  graduated  from  Richmond  college  and  subsequently 
from  the  University  of  Virginia,  in  July,  1870.  The  succeeding  four 
or  five  months  were  spent  in  travel  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and 
late  in  the  winter  of  1870  became  to  Wake  Forest  to  accept  the  chair 
of  Latin  in  Wake  Forest  college.  In  November,  1S84,  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  institution,  and  has  since  been  its  honored  head. 
Dr.  Taylor  was  so  fortunate  as  to  form  a  marriage  alliance  Septem- 
ber 13,  1873,  with  Miss  Mary  H.  Pritchard,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  a 
lady  of  great  taste  and  rare  refinement.  To  this  happy  union  seven 
children  have  been  born,  named  as  follows:  Charles,  Fannie,  Miriam, 
Ethel,  Jane,  Agnes  and  Edith  Taylor.  Mrs.  Taylor  is  the  daughter 
of  the  late  John  L.  Pritchard.  In  1870  Dr.  Taylor  was  ordained  a 
minister  of  the  Baptist  church. 

So  much  for  his  personal  and  professional  career;  we  now  turn  to 
his  military  record  and  find  that  he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  ser- 
vice on  the  17th  of  April,  1861,  the  day  Virginia  seceded,  and  was  as- 
signed to  Company  F,  of  Richmond,  Va.  This  organization  became  a 
part  of  the  Twenty-first  Virginia  volunteer  infantry.  He  was  wounded 
at  Kernstown,  and  transferred  to  the  Tenth  Virginia  cavalry.  During 
the  last  year  of  the  war  he  was  acting  adjutant  of  the  Confederate 
secret  service  bureau.  Serving  in  the  army  of  northern  Virginia  un- 
der Lee,  he  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Romney,  Kernstown,  Brandy 
Station,  Gettysburg,  Sharpsburg  (Antietam),  and  several  other  en- 
gagements of  less  moment.  Dr.  Taylor  is  the  son  of  James  B.  Tay- 
lor, a  native  of  Barton,  England,  where  he  was  born  in  1804.  His 
parents  brought  him  to  America  in  his  early  boyhood.  First  locating 
in  New  York,  they  removed  to  Mecklenburg  county,  Va.,  after  some  ten 
years,  and  in  1825  came  to  Oxford,  N.  C,  where  the  son  was  educated. 
In  1826  he  was  ordained  a  clergyman  in  the  Baptist  denomination. 

PROF.  JOSEPH  REDDINGTON  CHAMBERLAIN 

was  born  in  Bath,  N.  Y.,  September  22,  1861,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  school  in  Bath,  Hareveling  free  academy  at  Bath, 
and  Cornell  university,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  where  he  graduated  in  1888. 
He  came  to  Raleigh,  N.  C,  two  weeks  after  he  graduated  and  was 
appointed  agriculturist  of  the  experimental  station  of  the  North 
Carolina  agricultural  college,  holding  that  position  until  October, 
1890.  Prof.  Chamberlain's  high  qualities  and  engaging  address  soon 
won  him  warm  friends  in  his  new  home,  and  so  thoroughly  and 
satisfactorily  did  he  perform  his  duties  that  in  June,  iSSq,  he  was  ap- 
pointed professor  of  agriculture,  live  stock  and  dairying  of  the  North 
Carolina  state  agricultural  college,  which  position  he  now  holds,  with 
the  increasing  approbation  of  all  who  are  officially  concerned  in  that 
institution.  Prof.  Chamberlain  has  besides  attended  many  institutes 
and  meetings  in  the  state,  delivering  addresses  on   agriculture  that 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  44 1 

have  been  most  favorably  received.  Prof.  Chamberlain's  father, 
Jesse  M.  Chamberlain,  was  born  in  Bath,  N.  Y.,  in  1S25,  and  was 
educated  in  the  Bath  schools,  and  Prattsburg  academy,  Steuben 
county,  X.  Y.  He  is  a  farmer.  In  1859,  he  married  Ervilla  Ingham, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Ingham,  of  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  and  to  them  were 
born  three  children:  Joseph  R.  Chamberlain,  William  H.  Chamber- 
lain, assistant  secretary  of  the  Southern  Inter-State  immigration 
bureau,  at  Raleigh,  X.  C.,  and  Lucy  C.  Chamberlain  of  Bath,  X.  Y. 
Prof.  Chamberlain's  grandfather  was  Joseph  Chamberlain,  who  was 
born  in  X'ermont,  where  his  parents  had  long  lived,  in  1790.  and  re- 
moved to  Xew  York  when  a  young  man,  settling  in  Steuben  county. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  died  in  1844. 

PROF.  W.   T.   GANNAWAY, 

professor  of  Latin  in  Trinity  college,  X.  C,  was  born  in  Wythe 
county,  Va.,  June  10,  1S25.  His  parents  were  John  and  Ann  (Trigg) 
Gannaway,  both  natives  of  the  Old  Dominion.  From  boyhood  the 
father  was  a  farmer,  and  both  parents  were  conscientious  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mrs.  Gannaway  was  a  devoted 
mother,  a  loving  wife,  and  a  sterling  example  of  the  devout  and  ex- 
emplary Christian,  a  helpmeet  indeed  for  a  Christian  husband.  Both 
went  to  the  reward  of  the  pure  in  heart  —  the  father  in  1865,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  and  the  mother  in  1873,  aged  seventy-six  years. 
The}'  left  surviving  them  five  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  eldest.  He  was  educated  at  Emory  and  Henry  col- 
lege, Virginia,  and  graduated  from  that  institution  June  2,  1845.  He 
then  took  charge  of  an  academy  in  Jacksonville,  Floyd  county,  \'a., 
remaining  there  nine  years.  IMr.Gannaway  began  with  but  few  pupils, 
but  the  numbers  rapidly  increased;  the  school  assumed  the  name  of 
Floyd  institute,  and  took  a  rank  among  the  first  educational  institu- 
tions in  the  country.  Pupils  were  drawn  from  all  parts  of  \  irginia 
and  the  Carolinas.  His  next  work  was  at  Germanton,  X.  C,  where 
he  was  called  in  1S54  to  take  charge  of  the  Masonic  institute.  He 
remained  there  three  years  with  a  very  liberal  patronage  from  Vir- 
ginia, Xorth  and  South  Carolina.  His  excellent  reputation  as  an 
educator  had  gone  before  him  and  given  him  a  prestige  which  con- 
tributed largely  to  his  success.  In  September,  1S57,  he  was  elected 
professor  in  Latin  and  Greek  at  Trinity  college,  a  position  which  he 
held  for  about  three  years.  Prof.  Gannaway  was  then  made  profes- 
sor of  Latin  and  history,  holding  the  latter  position  for  about  ten 
years.  In  1886  he  was  chosen  professor  of  Latin  and  French,  hold- 
ing that  position  three  years,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  chair  of 
Latin  exclusively,  which  jjosition  he  has  ever  since  filled.  He  was 
appointed  president  of  Trinity  college  in  1863,  and  held  the  position 
until  after  the  close  of  the  war.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that,  during 
his  presidency,  his  was  the  only  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  seceded 
states  that  did  not  suspend  operationsduringthe  continuance  of  hostili- 
ties.    Gen.  Hardee's  army,  in  April,  1865,  had  its  headquarters  pitched 


442  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

upon  the  college  campus.  Upon  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Hardee's  corps, 
the  schools  under  charge  of  Pres.  Gannaway  were  temporarily  sus- 
pended until  the  following  fall,  when  they  were  again  re-organized. 
During  the  war  there  was  a  full  faculty  and  a  very  liberal  patronage, 
considering  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  country. 

Prof.  Gannaway  holds  an  enviable  position  among  the  educators 
of  the  state.  He  has  met  his  classes  in  the  same  room  for  thirty-four 
years,  a  circumstance  which,  it  is  believed,  has  no  parallel  in  the 
southern  states.  To  the  vantage  ground  of  this  long  experience  he 
adds  every  real  improvement  in  the  modes  of  instruction  of  the  pres- 
ent time  and  keeps  up  with  the  new  revelations  of  the  arts  and 
sciences.  During  the  long  period  in  which  Prof.  Gannaway  has  held 
a  chair  in  the  college,  his  health  has  been  so  exceptionally  good  that 
for  thirty-four  years  he  has  not  lost  two  months'  time  from  sickness, 
disability,  or  any  other  cause.  October  15,  i<S55,  Prof.  Gannawa}'  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  W.  Bethel,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Joshua  Bethel,  of  the  North  Carolina  conference.  Four  children 
have  been  born  to  brighten  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gannaway,  all 
of  them  having  now  come  to  mature  age.  They  are  Ida,  wife  of 
Rev.  N.  E.  Coltrane,  of  the  North  Carolina  conference;  Florence, 
wife  of  John  E.  Field,  a  merchant  of  Leaksville,  N.  C;  W.  Edgar, 
who  has  charge  of  his  father's  farm,  and  Mamie,  wife  of  Capt.  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  professor  in  the  Davis  military  school  at  Winston,  N.  C. 
Parents  and  children  are  all  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  south.  Prof.  Gannaway  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order, 
Blue  lodge  and  Chapter.  At  his  graduation  he  received  the  first 
honors  of  his  class,  being  assigned  to  deliver  the  classical  oration, 
and  he  was  chosen  by  the  literary  society  of  which  he  was  a  member 
to  deliver  the  valedictory  address  in  behalf  of  its  graduates.  He  was 
also  chosen  president  of  the  alumni  association  for  the  year  follow- 
ing his  graduation,  thus  taking  the  highest  honors  of  his  class  and 
of  the  society  to  which  he  belonged. 

W.  T.  R.  BELL, 

of  Rutherfordton,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Accomac  county,  Va.,  Septem- 
ber I,  1S43.  He  is  the  youngest  of  the  family  of  George  H.  and 
Margaret  R.  Bell.  His  early  education  was  acquired  at  Bradford's 
Neck  academy  in  his  home  county,  and  at  the  age  of  nine  years  he 
entered  a  boarding  school  at  Locustsville  in  his  native  county.  Soon 
after  his  entry  into  this  school  his  mother  died,  and  two  years  later 
he  had  the  misfortune  also  to  lose  his  father,  but  he  still  remained  at 
school  until  about  the  age  of  thirteen,  when  he  entered  Hampton 
military  academy,  at  Hampton,  Va.,  the  principal  of  which  was 
Prof.  John  B.  Cary,  the  present  superintendent  of  the  Richmond,  Ya., 
city  schools.  At  the  time  of  young  Bell's  attendance  at  Hampton 
the  academy  was  one  of  the  finest  educational  institutions  in  the 
United  States.  He  continued  at  this  academy  until  1861,  when  he 
left  the  senior  class  to  give  his  service  to  the  Confederate  armv.    He 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  443 

enlisted  in  the  Richmond  light  infantry  blues,  commanded  by  O.Jen- 
nings Wise.  The  company  was  attached  to  the  Wise  legion,  which 
carried  on  a  campaign  in  West  Virginia.  The  first  year  of  the  war 
Private  Bell  was  detached  as  drill  master,  and  during  this  period  the 
Wise  legion  was  taken  prisoners.  In  April,  1S62,  they  were  paroled 
and  exchanged.  Mr.  Bell  was  commissioned  lieutenant  in  the  reg- 
ular army  of  the  Confederate  States  in  1S62.  After  special  service 
at  Camp  Lee  he  was  breveted  captain  and  assigned  to  the  command 
of  Company  F,  Ninth  Virginia  regiment,  Armistead's  brigade,  and 
was  with  the  command  in  most  of  its  engagements.  He  was  wounded 
at  Gettysburg,  and  early  in  1865  was  sent  on  special  service  and  met 
Gen.  Sheridan's  advance  with  detachments  of  cavalry.  He  followed 
that  general  in  his  efforts  to  reach  Lynchburg,  in  which  he  failed. 
Capt.  Bell  was  with  the  army  at  the  surrender  at  Appomatox  Court 
House. 

After  he  returned  from  the  field  of  battle,  Capt.  Bell  entered  the 
University  of  Virginia  in  October,  1865,  where  for  two  years  he  pur- 
sued a  special  course.  In  1867  he  went  to  North  Carolina  and  engaged 
in  teaching  as  a  private  tutor  in  Carteret  county,  his  tutorship  lasting 
four  years.  He  was  then  elected  to  the  state  senate  to  represent  in 
that  body  the  counties  of  Jones,  Carteret  and  Onslow,  serving  through 
the  sessions  of  1874-5.  In  1877  Capt.  Bell  removed  to  the  western 
part  of  North  Carolina,  settling  at  Kings  Mountain,  where  he  estab- 
lished the  Kings  Mountain  high  school.  He  was  superintendent  of 
that  school  for  a  continuous  term  of  ten  years,  the  attendance  being 
over  1,500  students,  representing  everj'  southern  state.  In  1SS7  Capt. 
Bell  associated  himself  with  S.  E.  Gedwy  in  the  joint  management  of 
the  Shelby  military  institute,  which  was  soon  merged  into  the  Shelby 
graded  school.  After  successfully  establishing  these  schools,  Capt. 
Bell  returned  to  his  accustomed  work  and  is  now  principal  of  the 
Rutherford  military  institute  with  most  flattering  promises  of  com- 
plete success,  having  at  the  first  session  loS  students,  representing 
four  states  and  one  territory,  the  majority  nf  them  being  boarding 
students.  Capt.  Bell  is  a  member  of  l-'ranklin  lodge,  F.  «S:  A.  M.;  he 
is  a  consistent  and  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  church.  In 
1868  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mamie  B.,  daughter  of 
H.  B.  Hill,  of  Carteret  county.  They  have  had  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  all  now  living.  The  eldest  son  is  a  leading  correspondent 
of  a  number  of  the  principal  periodicals  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 
His  7iom  dc plume  is  "  Launcelot." 

ALEXANDER  GRAHAM, 

prominent  among  the  educators  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  near 
Fayetteville,  Cumberland  county,  N.  C,  on  the  12th  of  September, 
1844.  He  was  prepared  for  college  in  the  schools  of  his  county  town, 
Fayetteville.  During  i860  and  1861  he  taught  public  country  schools, 
anil  in  1S62  was  elected  principal  of  Richmond  academy,  N.  C.  In 
July,   1866,   he  joined  the  class  of  1869  at  the  University  of  North 


444  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Carolina,  entering  the  sophomore  class.  In  November,  iS6S,  while  a 
member  of  the  senior  class,  he  was  elected  principal  of  an  academy 
in  Bladen  county,  N.  C,  and  held  this  position  until  October,  1871, 
when  he  was  elected  a  teacher  in  the  Anthon  grammar  school  of  New 
York  cit}'.  He  filled  this  position  and  entered  the  Columbia  college 
law  school,  from  which  school  he  was  graduated  in  May,  1S73,  and  in 
the  same  month  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in  New  York  city  and 
state.  In  January,  1875,  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  and  was 
admitted,  by  the  supreme  court,  to  practice  law  in  this  state.  He 
continued  the  practice  of  law  until  1878,  when  he  was  elected  super- 
intendent of  the  city  schools  of  Fayetteville,  his  county  town 
By  re-elections  he  continued  in  charge  of  these  schools  for  ten  years, 
during  which  time  the  degree  of  A.  M.  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  state  university.  In  February,  1S88,  he  was  elected  superintend- 
ent of  the  city  schools  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  which  position  he  now 
holds. 

GEN.  FRANCIS  NASH 

was  born  in  Prince  Edward  count}',  Va.,  May  10,  1720.  He  was  a 
brother  of  Gen.  Abner  Nash,  belonging  to  the  celebrated  Virginia 
family  of  that  name.  Many  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Dominion. 
Of  the  very  early  life  and  educational  and  social  training  of  Mr.  Nash  we 
find  very  little  information  in  any  of  the  biographical  histories  of  North 
Carolina  or  Virginia.  He  seems  at  a  very  early  age  to  have  been  ap- 
pointed clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  Orange  county,  from  which  we 
take  it  that  at  that  time  he  was  a  lawyer  of  some  promise,  as  the  ad- 
ministration of  that  office  in  all  the  colonial  states  which  had 
adopted  the  English  form  of  judicial  procedure,  then,  as  it  does  even 
now  to  a  qualified  extent,  required  the  training  and  technical  knowl- 
edge of  a  lawyer.  A  few  years  later  he  accepted  a  captain's  com- 
mission under  the  crown,  and  in  that  capacity  served  against  the 
regulars  in  the  battle  of  Alamance  in  1771.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
the  provincial  congress  of  1775,  and  by  that  body  was  appointed  a 
colonel  of  one  of  the  two  regiments  that  were  at  that  time  forming 
for  the  continental  service.  He  was  commissioned  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral by  the  continental  congress  in  1777.  In  the  battle  of  German- 
town  he  was  complimented  by  Washington  on  the  field.  After  his 
death  congress  appropriated  $5,000  for  a  monument  to  his  memory 
on  the  battle  field  at  Germantown,  but  the  scheme  was  never  carried 
out. 

PROF.  JOSEPH  KINSEY, 

originator,  owner  and  principal  of  Kinsey  female  seminary  at  La 
Grange,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Jones  county,  June  17,  1843.  He  is  the 
son  of  Joseph  B.  and  Nancy  (Brown)  Kinsey,  both  natives  of  Jones 
county.  He  Avas  early  prepared  for  and  entered  Trinity  college,  but 
before   his  graduation,  the  Civil  war  being  in  progress  and  his  home 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  445 

threatened  with  invasion  by  the  Federal  forces,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany E,  of  the  Sixty-first  North  Carolina  infantry,  and  was  soon  pro- 
moted to  the  second  lieutenancj'  of  the  company.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  confined  at  Johnson  Island,  O., 
where' he  remained  more  than  twenty  months.  He  bore  himself  gal- 
lantly in  the  army,  and  after  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Johnston's  forces 
returned  to  Jones  county  and  engaged  in  teaching  a  private  school  as 
a  means  of  support  in  the  impoverished  condition  to  which  the  rava- 
ges of  war  had  reduced  him.  In  1S69  he  came  to  Lenoir  count}', 
where  he  continued  the  occupation  of  school  teaching  up  to  1874, 
when  he  settled  in  La  Grange.  He  kept  a  mi.xed  school  until  1881, 
when  he  engaged  in  the  cotton  business  for  five  years,  except  that 
during  that  time  he  taught  school  one  year  in  Kinston.  In  1886  he 
established  his  present  female  seminar}',  beginning  only  with  a  very 
small  number,  which  steadily  and  constantly  increased  until  he  now 
has  one  of  the  most  successful  female  schools  in  North  Carolina.  No 
school  of  its  class  in  the  south  offers  greater  facilities  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  useful  and  polite  branches  of  female  education.  Music, 
drawing,  painting,  type-writing,  shorthand  and  a  full  course  of  literary 
and  mathematical  instruction  are  taught.  A  large  corps  of  assistants 
is  employed  in  the  various  classes  called  from  various  states  in  the 
Union.  Prof.  Kinsey  has  built  up  his  school,  involving  a  heavy  outlay 
for  buildings  and  fixtures,  from  i>is  own  resources  and  by  indomitable 
perseverance  his  success  is  a  triumph  of  individual  enterprise  and 
strict  devotion  to  his  chosen  calling. 

Professor  Kinsey  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  of 
the  Knights  of  Honor.  In  political  sentiment  he  is  a  democrat, 
though  taking  but  little  interest  in  partisan  contests.  In  186S  he  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Miss  Fannie  Kinsey,  daughter  of  J.  H.  Kin- 
sey, of  Jones  county,  and  they  have  had  five  children  named:  Eva, 
Ina,  Bingham,  Robert  and  James.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kinsey  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Disciples  church,  in  which  he  holds  the  office  of  elder 
and  clerk.  His  father  was  a  prominent  farmer  in  Jones  county,  and 
the  family  were  Scotch  and  German  descent,  coming  to  America  and 
settling  in  Newbern.  One  of  his  ancestors  participated  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  Joseph  Kinsey,  the  grandfather  of  Prof.  Kinsey,  was 
a  prominent  planter  and  slaveholder  in  Jones  county.  His  family 
were  all  members  of  the  church  of  the  Disciples.  Prof.  Kinsey's 
father  died  in  Jones  county,  and  his  widow  was  later  married  to  J.  J. 
Armstrong,  and  moved  to  Iowa,  where  she  died.  Prof.  Kinsey  is  an 
eminent  examj^le  of  the  higher  type  of  teachers  who  from  individual 
effort  and  rare  natural  talent  have  achieved  a  great  success  in  their 
profession. 

A.  H.  MERRITT. 

Abram  Haywood  Merritt,  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  Chatham 
CO  My,  N.  C,  was  born  in  that  county  on  the  iSth  day  of  July,  1832. 
He  came  of  excellent  parentage.     His  father,  William  Merritt,  was  a 


446  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

successful  farmer,  and  for  many  years  was  a  prominent  justice  of  the 
peace;  he  was  considered  one  of  the  very  best  men  in  the  county; 
a  man  of  sound  judgment,  his  advice  was  eagerl}'  sought  on  business 
matters;  a  man  of  generous  feelings,  he  scattered  his  kind  deeds  all 
around  him;  his  name  .was  a  synonj'm  for  honesty  and  virtud.  He 
married  Sally  Rencher,  a  sister  of  the  late  Gov.  Rencher,  who  repre- 
sented North  Carolina  in  the  Federal  congress  for  many  years;  later 
he  was  minister  to  Portugal,  and  then  governor  of  New  Mexico. 
Mrs.  Merritt  was  a  remarkable  woman.  There  never  was  a  better 
mother  nor  a  more  devoted  Christian;  cheerful  and  bright,  she  shed 
around  her  the  aroma  of  a  beautiful  character.  Five  children  were 
born  to  these  parents:  William  G.  Merritt  became  a  leading  farmer 
in  DeSoto  county,  Miss.,  and  died  soon  after  the  war  from  disease 
contracted  in  camp.  The  two  sisters  married  brothers,  belonging  to 
one  of  the  prominent  families  of  the  state  —  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Jones, 
widow  of  the  late  A.  S.Jones,  lives  in  Mississippi,  Mrs.  Sarah  Jones 
lives  in  Wake  county  and  is  the  wife  of  Rufus  H.  Jones.  Leonidas  J. 
Merritt  graduated  at  the  University  of  Ncirth  Carolina  with  high 
honor,  studied  law  under  Judge  Pearson,  located  in  Pittsborough,  and 
was  fast  rising  to  prominence  in  his  profession  when  the  war  came 
on;  he  was  a  member  of  the  secession  convention  and  took  a  high 
stand  in  that  body  as  one  of  the  most  promising  young  men  of  the 
state;  he  entered  the  army  as  a  private,  was  promoted,  and  was  in- 
stantly killed  at  Malvern  Hill.  Never  did  a  bullet  strike  a  purer  or 
a  nobler  man. 

A.  H.  Merritt  was  the  youngest  member  of  this  family.  He  grad- 
uated at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  with  honor,  in  1S56,  edit- 
ing the  University  Magazine  during  his  senior  year.  He  taught 
school  very  successfully  for  several  j-ears,  and  at  the  opening  of  the 
war  he  was  the  principal  of  Olin  high  school  in  Iredell  county. 
Returning  to  his  native  county,  Mr.  Merritt  discharged  the  duties  of 
clerk  and  master  of  the  court  of  equity  for  Chatham  count}",  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  till  the  court  was  abolished  by  law  after  the  war 
was  ended.  The  delicate  and  responsible  duties  of  this  office  during 
those  troublous  times  he  managed  with  great  prudence  and  with 
high  commendation  from  the  presiding  judges.  After  the  war  he 
again  went  to  the  teacher's  desk,  and  as  principal  of  the  Cary  high 
school  and  later  of  a  classical  school  in  Pittsborough,  he  maintained 
and  extended  his  enviable  reputation  as  a  teacher.  In  1879,  Mr. 
Merritt  was  elected  state  senator  for  his  district  hy  a  most  flattering 
vote.  He  declined  the  position  of  one  of  the  presiding  justices  of  the 
inferior  court,  to  which  he  had  been  elected,  and  took  his  seat  in  the 
senate.  He  served  in  the  legislature  four  years,  and  has  since  de- 
clined every  solicitation  to  be  returned  to  that  body.  As  a  legislator 
Mr.  Merritt  took  a  prominent  position  from  the  start.  At  every 
term  of  his  service  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  education, 
and  was  largely  instrumental  in  formulating  the  present  admirable 
school  law.  He  served  on  other  important  committees,  and  took  a 
leading  part  in  all   the  important  measures  before    that  body.     His 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  447 

speeches  on  the  geological  survey  of  the  state  and  on  the  Cape  Fear 
and  Yadkin  Valley  railroad  were  particularly  complimented. 

Mr.  Merritt  has  never  been  an  office  seeker,  but  his  friends 
strongly  urged  his  name  for  the  position  of  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  and  he  received  a  flattering  vote  in  convention. 
From  1SS4  to  iSSg  Mr.  Merritt  owned  and  edited  The  Home,  a  demo- 
cratic, family  newspaper.  Under  him  the  paper  grew  in  patonage 
and  influence,  and  the  press  and  people  gave  its  editor  the  credit  for 
being  an  excellent  writer,  of  discriminating  tact,  fairness  and  ability. 
For  many  years  Mr.  Merritt  has  held  the  position  of  trustee  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  in  which  institution  he  takes  great  in- 
terest, and  is  one  of  the  most  active  and  trusted  members  of  the 
board.  He  was  married,  in  1861,  to  Miss  S.  E.  Purvis,  daughter  of 
Rev.  J.  Purvis,  of  blessed  memor)'.  She  is  a  woman  of  great  intellect 
and  purity  of  character,  and  is  the  mother  of  seven  bright  children, 
all  of  whom  give  great  promise  of  useful  lives.  Mr.  Merritt  is  now 
living  on  his  farm  near  Pittsborough.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  for  the  county  for  ten  years,  and 
has  done  much  to  elevate  and  make  efficient  our  system  of  public 
schools.  He  takes  an  active  and  intelligent  interest  in  all  public 
matters,  and  is  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  press.  He  is  considered 
a  good  speaker,  and  many  of  his  more  elaborate  speeches  on  literary- 
subjects,  Sunday-schools  and  temperance  have  been  greatly  compli- 
mented. Col.  Cameron,  the  Nestor  of  the  press  in  North  Carolina, 
says:  "  He  is  a  gentleman  of  great  modest)',  he  is  a  finished  scholar, 
he  is  industrious,  he  is  energetic,  he  is  intelligent,  and  he  is  pure.',' 
In  this  estimate  of  his  character  his  hosts  of  personal  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances all  over  the  state  heartily  agree. 


JOHN  WESLEY  STARNES. 

John  \V.  Starnes,  one  of  the  representative  men  of  Asheville,  N.C., 
was  born  in  the  western  part  of  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  May  13, 
1849.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  A.  and  Elizabeth  Starnes,  and  on  the 
paternal  side  is  of  German  descent.  His  great-grandfather,  John 
Starnes,  Sr.,  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  came  to  America  when  a 
boy  about  the  year  1770.  He  volunteered  as  a  private  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  and  was  several  times  promoted  and  finally  placed  in 
command  of  a  battalion  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  which  position  he 
held  until  the  independence  of  the  colonics  was  acknowledged.  Col. 
Starnes  was  especially  expert  and  valuable  during  the  war  in  thwart- 
ing the  plans  of  the  tories  and  Indians,  and  on  account  of  his  success 
in  that  direction,  he  was  kept  continually  at  that  work  during  the  last 
two  years  of  the  war.  The  tories  and  Indians  were  consequently 
embittered  against  him.  and  these  two  enemies  to  American  rights 
thirsted  for  the  gallant  young  colonel's  blood.  When  the  heroes  of 
his  command  were  disbanded,  he  started  home  to  enjo)'  the  liberty 
he  had  fought  for,  but  the  savages  lay  in  ambush  for  him,  and  as  he 


448  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

was  nearing  his  home,  they  sprang  upon  him  and  killed  him  with 
their  tomahawks.  He  left  a  widow  and  two  little  sons,  John  and 
Frederick.  When  John  Starnes  grew  to  manhood,  he  married  Mary 
Etta  Hice  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Starnes'  Cove  in  the  western 
part  of  Buncombe  county,  where  he  and  his  wife  reared  a  family  of 
ten  children,  and  accumulated  a  large  estate  of  land  and  negroes, 
most  of  which  sank  with  the  southern  Confederacy.  The  maiden 
name  of  the  mother  of  our  subject  was  Morgan,  a  name  which  has 
illumined  nearly  every  battle  field  in  the  history  of  America,  and  has 
been  conspicuous  under  every  administration  of  the  government. 
Her  father  was  Jesse  Morgan,  Sr.,  who  was  of  English  descent,  and 
he  married  a  Miss  Grant. 

John  W.  Starnes  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm  among  the  hills 
of  Buncombe  county.  His  education  was  obtained  principally  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  county,  and  that  too  after  he  had  almost  at- 
tained his  majority,  his  opportunities  having  been  limited  and  inter- 
fered with  by  the  Civil  war.  He  did  not,  however,  depend  altogether 
upon  the  school  room,  but  applied  himself  diligently  at  home  and 
was  a  hard  student  between  the  ages  of  nineteen  and  twenty-five 
years.  At  the  latter  age,  having  fully  equipped  himself  for  teaching 
school,  he  began  that  calling  and  for  six  years  taught  school  most  of 
the  time  in  his  home  district.  In  1877  he  was  appointed  a  teacher  in 
the  Western  academy  and  removed  to  Asheville  at  that  time.  After 
a  year  spent  in  that  position,  he  resigned  the  same,  and  for  four 
years  following  was  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business.  But  the 
principal  work  of  our  subject's  life,  and  the  one  wherein  he  gained 
his  prominence  as  an  educator  and  school  worker,  was  accomplished 
as  superintendent  of  schools  of  Buncombe  county.  He  was  first 
elected  to  that  position  in  1883,  to  fill  an  unexpired  term,  and  was 
successively  re-elected  in  1884-86-88,  each  time  with  but  little  oppo- 
sition and  the  last  time  by  acclamation.  When  he  assumed  the  duties 
of  the  offiie.  of  county  superintendent  in  1883,  the  schools  of  the 
country  were  being  taught  in  old  church  buildings  and  tenement 
houses,  there  being  but  two  comfortable  school  buildings,  in  the  county 
owned  by  the  school  committees.  During  his  seven  years'  incum- 
bency many  new  districts  were  formed  and  more  than  three  score  new 
buildings  erected.  When  he  entered  the  office  the  standard  of  the 
public  schools  was  very  low  and  the  office  of  school  superintendent 
itself  had  been  resigned  by  those  elected  to  it.  But  during  Mr. 
Starnes'  administration  a  radical  change  and  improvements  were 
made,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  to  his  efforts  and  untiring  labor 
the  impetus  was  due  in  a  great  degree  which  has  resulted  in  the 
present  excellent  condition  of  the  county.  Also,  to  his  efforts  are 
due,  in  a  measure,  the  establishment  of  the  graded  schools  of  Ashe- 
ville. 

Each  year  of  his  superintendency  Prof.  Starnes  held  two  county 
institutes,  one  for  the  white,  and  one  for  the  colored  teachers,  and 
which  were  uniformly  successful.  His  colored  institutes  were  among 
the  first  ever  held  in  the  state,  and  he  was  highly  complimented  upon 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  449 

the  proliciency  attained  by  the  colored  teachers  who  attended  the 
same.  He  always  advised  his  teachers  to  "do  right  because  it  is  right 
to  do  right,"  which  motto  he  has  himself  ever  followed.  Prof.  Starnes 
was  a  charter  m.ember  of  the  North  Carolina  teachers'  assembly,  or- 
ganized in  1S84,  and  was  a  member  of  the  first  committee  on  organi- 
zation, being  elected  first  vice-president.  By  promotion  he  became 
president  of  the  second  meeting  of  the  assembly,  but  served  only  long 
enough  to  organize  the  meeting,  and  then  resigned,  requesting  that 
his  successor  be  elected  at  once  and  he  be  relieved,  as  he  preferred 
the  active  work  on  the  floor  where  his  services  were  needed.  He  was 
one  among  the  first  to  deliver  addresses  before  the  assembly,  the  ad- 
dresses always  being  upon  topics  pertaining  to  educational  work.  He 
has  also  delivered  numerous  other  addresses  at  different  times  and 
places  in  the  state,  which  attracted  considerable  attention  and  were 
given  wide  publicity.  The  principal  ones  were  those  on  the  topics  of 
"Shall  Women  \'ote,"  "Music,"  "Signs  of  the  Times,"  and  "Latter 
Day  Politics."  Since  leaving  the  office  of  superintendent,  which  he  re- 
signed in  1S90,  Mr.  Starnes  has  continued  to  hold  his  interest  in  the 
public  schools  and  educational  work.  He  has  for  years  been  quite 
prominent  in  local  political  affairs,  but  not  as  a  seeker  for  office.  By 
industry  and  the  exercise  of  his  naturally  excellent  business  talents, 
he  has  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  competent  estate.  He  is  a  democrat 
and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  On  February  20,  1878,  Mr. 
Starnes  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Brand,  who  was  born  in  Asheville, 
N.  C,  and  to  their  union  four  children  have  be(;n  born,  two  sons  and 
two  daughters,  as  follows:  Brand,  Elizabeth  (Bethiej,  Mary  (Maidie) 
and  John  \V.,  jr. 

The  following  short  impromptu  was  written  by  Mr.  Starnes  in 
church  on  the  morning  of  May  the  4th,  1890,  after  hearing  his  Sun- 
day-school class  recite,  while  the  choir  was  singing,  between  lo  and  ii 
A.  M.,  describing  the  day:  "  Sunday  morning  opens  out  the  mildest 
of  days.  Love  hangs  out  his  curtains  across  the  firmament  shutting 
away  the  fervid  sun  and  we  walk  beneath  the  shadows.  A  glorious  um- 
brella spreads,  anon,  over  our  heads  and  we  breath  the  pure  air  of  heaven 
'neath  the  smiles  of  His  own  tender  providence.  Last  night  it  was 
stormy.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents.  We  slept,  but  dreamed  of  bursting 
volcanoes,  rolling  cyclones  and  hurricanes.  This  morning  we  almost 
feared  to  look  abroad.  But  ah!  the  distant  horizon  stands  skirted  with 
friendly  clouds  and  nature  smiles  in  sweetest  halcyon.  The  storm,  last 
night,  was  only  the  bursting  up  of  war  in  the  elements.  The  delicate 
fingers  of  spring,  now  and  then,  protrude  a  soft  ray  through  the  veil, 
opening  out  the  petals,  till  in  a  few  hours  the  husbandman  has  spread  a 
carpet  of  vernal  beauty  clear  across  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  sicken- 
ing heat  is  gone  from  the  air,  and  purity  from  Pisgah  steals  down  upon 
the  city.  Precious  day!  There  is  an  air  of  holiness  and  pure  incense 
of  love  floating  in  the  morning.  God  is  in  motion.  Xot  nature's 
God,  but  the  God  of  nature.  This  is  not  a  God  belonging  to  nature 
but  a  nature  belonging  to  God." 
B— 29 


450  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


JOHN  S.  LONG,  A.  M.,  LL.  D., 

was  born  in  Plymouth,  Washington  county,  N.  C,  on  the  3rd  of  Oc- 
tober, 1830 — his  parents,  John  and  Mary  E.  (Armstrong)  Long,  also 
being  natives  of  that  county.  The  father  was  a  merchant,  and  after- 
ward a  farmer,  owning  a  number  of  slaves.  He  was  baptized  in 
the  Episcopal  church,  but  subsequently  gave  his  allegiance  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and 
worth,  and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  in  the  community.  From 
a  beginning  without  means  he  came  to  be  successful  in  business. 
His  death  occurred  in  i860,  his  wife  following  him  to  rest  two  years 
later.  The  family  are  direct  descendants  of  an  English  bishop,  one 
or  more  of  whose  sons  came  from  England  with  Lord  Baltimore.  Of 
their  descendants,  three  brothers  settled  in  North  Carolina,  one  in 
Randolph,  one  in  Halifax  and  the  other  in  Bertie  county.  John 
Long  had  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  deceased  with,  the  exception 
of  John  S.,  of  whom  we  write.  The  latter  passed  his  boyhood  in 
Washington,  Beaufort  county,  and  was  prepared  for  college  by  Gil- 
bert Bogart,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  college.  Mr.  Long  entered  the 
sophomore  class  in  Randolph-Macon  college  in  1848,  and  was  grad- 
uated therefrom  in  185 1,  with  high  honors  in  oratory  and  English 
composition.  In  1851  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  and  in  1852  obtained  his  license  to  practice  in 
the  county  courts,  and  in  1853  in  the  superior  courts.  Almost  imme- 
diately thereafter  he  was  elected  solicitor  of  Beaufort  county,  and 
practiced  law  there  until  1857,  when  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  stationed  at  Goldsboro,  Wil- 
mington, Raleigh  and  other  prominent  points.  In  1S68  he  retired  to 
his  farm  in  Beaufort  county,  remaining  there  until  1872,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Newbern  and  turned  his  attention  to  educational  and  liter- 
erary  work.  For  twelve  years  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
Craven  county  schools,  and  in  1878  was  mayor  of  Newbern. 

For  several  successive  terms  Mr.  Long  was  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  Newbern  academy.  In  1867  he  went  on  the  lecture 
platform  with  these  topics,  "  Ethics  of  History"  and  "  Bishop  Bascom." 
First  delivered  in  the  larger  chapel  of  the  L^niversity  of  New  York, 
they  were  repeated  in  Baltimore  and  almost  all  the  principal  towns 
of  North  Carolina.  His  lecture  on  the  "  College  Graduate  in  Pursuit 
of  a  Living,"  was  delivered  before  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
and  also  at  Wake  Forest  college,  and  was  received  in  the  most  flat- 
tering manner.  In  1885  he  delivered  the  memorial  address  at  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  and  the  industrial  address  at  Goldsboro,  and  the 
thousands  of  people  who  heard  them  were  greatly  impressed  with 
the  ability  of  the  lecturer.  ■  In  iSSg  he  delivered  the  annual  address 
at  the  "  Boys'  Home"  in  Baltimore.  His  efforts  as  a  literateur  have 
been  attended  with  like  success.  In  i8(;o  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Long 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity's  chap- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  451 

ter  at  the  Universitj-  of  North  Carolina.  During  the  war  the  chapter 
was  disorganized  and  the  records  destroj'ed.  It  was  then  rechar- 
tered  as  the  Beta  Alpha  chapter.  Columbia  college,  of  New  York, 
having  established  a  chapter  which  took  the  former's  old  name,  re- 
fused to  relinquish  it.  The  matter  was  left  to  arbitration,  and  Dr. 
Long  was  chosen  as  the  representative  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  but  the  plan  failed.  The  fraternity  convention,  which  finally 
settled  the  difference,  met  at  Cincinnati  in  i88S.  North  Carolina's 
university  won  the  day,  and  Dr.  Long  achieved  high  credit  by  the 
result.  In  1852  Dr.  Long  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Marsh,  daughter  of 
James  B.  Marsh,  by  whom  he  has  had  two  children:  Nellie,  the  wife 
of  W.  F.Yost,  of  the  National  Union  bank,  of  Baltimore,  and  Minnie, 
the  wife  of  S.  S.  Willett,  formerly  of  the  United  States  navy.  Mr. 
Long  is  a  member  of  the  Chosen  Friends,  and  also  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor,  and  of  the  Episcopal  church. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  NEAL 

was  born  in  Warren  county.  N.  C,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1823. 
His  parents  were  Cuthbert  and  Lucy  Neal,  the  former  being  a  suc- 
cessful farmer.  When  the  parents  removed  to  Virginia  the  son  was 
still  in  early  boyhood.  His  scholastic  training  was  begun  in  the  "old 
field  school"  in  Mecklenburg  county,  Va.  Subsequently  he  became 
a  student  in  a  private  school  of  high  standing  and  made  remarkable 
progress.  In  1844  he  removed  to  Hertford  county,  N.  C,  and  at- 
tended Buckhorn  apademy  for  some  time.  Being  thoroughly  equip- 
ped for  his  collegiate  career,  Mr.  Neal  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  and  was  graduated  with  due  honor,  after  which  he  turned 
his  attention  to  educational  work.  His  first  experience  as  a  teacher 
had  been  gained  while  he  was  still  a  student,  his  progress  having 
been  so  substantial  as  to  warrant  his  instructors  in  appointing  him  an 
assistant  to  teach  a  few  classes  each  day.  After  leaving  college  he 
returned  to  Buckhorn  academy  as  a  professor,  and  after  three  years 
of  success  there  accepted  an  offer  to  establish  a  male  and  female 
academy  at  Williamston,  N.  C.  Here  he  remained  until  1856,  when 
he  was  elected  professor  of  higher  mathematics  and  ancient  lan- 
guages in  the  Wesleyan  female  college  at  Murfreesboro.  For  three 
years  he  conducted  a  flourishing  school  at  Franklin,  N.  C,  and  at  the 
e.xpiration  of  that  time  was  offered  a  large  salary  to  found  a  college 
at  Marianna,  Fla.  $24,000  was  raised  by  the  trustees  of  the  town  to 
erect  a  suitable  building,  and  Prof.  Neal  entered  upon  his  duties  as 
president  in  November,  i860.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he 
decided  to  return  to  North  Carolina,  and  did  so,  assuming  charge  of 
a  school  at  Franklinton,  N.  C,  where  he  remained  for  seven  or  eight 
years.  In  1870  he  accepted  the  office  of  principal  of  the  Newbern 
academy,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  that  position  with  universal 
satisfaction  for  seven  years.  He  then  became  the  head  of  the  Rock- 
ingham academy,  at   Rockingham,   N.  C,  and  in  the  year  1881    re- 


452  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

turned  to  Newbern  and   opened  a   high  school.     Since  that  time  he 
has  conducted  different  schools  in  the  city  with  uniform  success. 

During  the  last  two  years  Prof.  Neal  has  filled  the  chair  of  higher 
mathematics  and  civil  engineering  in  the  Newbern  collegiate  insti- 
tute. Early  in  his  professional  career  his  alma  mater  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  A.  M.  For  twenty-seven  years  he  has  been  a  local 
preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  now  a  local  elder; 
and  he  has  also  served  as  a  trustee  and  steward  of  the  same  denom- 
ination, and  for  two  years  was  president  of  the  Evangelical  alliance 
at  Newbern.  On  the  5th  of  September,  1854,  Prof.  Neal  formed  a 
marriage  alliance  with  Miss  Fanny  Pauline  Hart,  a  native  of  South- 
ampton county,  Va.  Her  parents  names  were  John  and  Elizabeth  A. 
Hart.  The  children  of  this  union  are:  Fanny,  wife  of  John  Hughes 
Bell,  an  employe'  in  the  pension  bureau  at  Washington,  D.  C;  Wal- 
ter Hart,  attorney-at-law  in  Laurinburg,  N.  C. — at  present  the  attor- 
ney for  the  Carolina  Central  railroad,  chairman  of  the  democratic 
executive  committee  of  the  Sixth  congressional  district,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  democratic  executive  committee;  Lizzie  Clark,  a 
successful  teacher;  Benjamin  Baxter,  junior  member  of  the  firm  of 
L.  H.  Cutler  &  Co.,  and  John  Hughes  Neal,  who  is  at  present  acquir- 
ing a  knowledge  of  the  machinists  trade.  Prof.  Neal  is  a  man  of  un- 
usual ability.  His  predominating  characteristic  is  perseverance.  A 
lifelong  student  he  has  brought  to  his  noble  calling  a  mind  well  stored 
with  knowledge,  and  especially  does  he  excel  as  a  mathematician  and 
scientist.  Few  men  entering  the  ranks  of  educators  succeed  in  more 
thoroughly  grasping  the  details  of  their  work  than  has  this  man.  It 
has  been  his  study  to  get  from  each  student  that  which  was  in  him. 
He  has  elevated  his  position,  which  is  but  true  genius  itself,  by  consist- 
ent, persistent  effort. 

ALEXANDER  MEBANE. 

This  eminent  statesman  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  November  26, 
1754.  In  December,  1776,  he  was  a  member  of  the  provincial  con- 
gress that  formed  the  state  constitution.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  convention  at  Hillsboro,  which  rejected  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  After  this  he  was  almost  unanimousl}'  elected  to  rep- 
resent his  district  in  the  general  assembl)^  which  office  he  held  from 
1783  to  1792.  At  the  end  of  his  legislative  career  at  home,  during 
which  he  had  rendered  such  splendid  services,  he  was  elected  to  a 
seat  in  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  but  died  before  taking  his 
seat.  Mr.  Mebane  was  a  man  distinguished  for  his  stern  integrity 
and  indomitable  firmness.  He  was  married  first  to  Mary  Armstrong, 
of  Orange  county,  and  his  second  wife  was  Mary  Claypole,  of  Phila- 
delphia. Several  of  his  children  survived  him,  James,  William  and 
Dr.  John  A.  Mebane,  of  Greensboro.  The  distinguished  family  to 
which  Mr.  Mebane  belonged  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  south,  and 
the  family  will  be  found  scattered  broadcast  throughout  Tennessee, 
Mississippi,  Indiana,  Kentuckj',  Arkansas,  Texas  and  Virginia. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  45J 


REV.   BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   DIXON, 

late  superintendent  of  the  Cxford  orphan  asylum,  was  born  in  Cleve- 
land county,  N.C.,  March  26,  1846.  His  parents,  Thomas  and  MaryW. 
Di.xon,  were  of  foreign  extraction,  the  one  of  English  and  the  other 
of  Irish  parentage.  Mr.  Dixon's  earlier  education  was  acquired  at  a 
high  school,  which  he  left  when  only  a  boy  of  fifteen  to  enter  the  Con- 
federate service  as  a  private  soldier.  He  joined  Company  D,  of  the 
Fourth  North  Carolina  infantry,  afterward  known  as  the  Fourteenth 
regiment.  He  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  1863,  and  for  gallant 
conduct  before  the  enemy  was  afterward  raised  to  the  captaincy  of  his 
company,  being  still  a  minor.  His  military  career  was  distinguished 
for  daring  bravery  and  coolness  in  battle.  He  was  several  times 
wounded,  receiving  a  shot  in  his  right  arm  at  Drury's  Bluff,  in  the 
left  arm  at  Malvern  Hill,  and  one  in  the  side  at  Petersburg. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Dixon  began  teaching  in  his  native 
county,  which  he  followed  for  two  years.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he 
went  before  an  examining  board  in  theology,  was  approved  and 
joined  the  conference  of  the  South  Carolina  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  south,  thereafter  entering  the  ministry  of  that  church.  His 
first  charge  was  at  Sumter,  S.  C,  where  his  services  were  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  much  good.  He  was  afterward  stationed 
at  Monroe.  Subsequently  he  was  transferred  to  the  North  Carolina 
conference,  was  stationed  at  Monroe,  as  above  noted,  and  then  was 
appointed  upon  the  Shelby  circuit.  His  health  being  somewhat  im- 
paired he  remained  stationary  in  this  circuit.  While  engaged  in 
teaching  he  had  pursued  a  course  of  medical  studies.  At  this  point 
of  time  he  completed  his  course  at  Charleston  and  began  practice  at 
Kings  Mountain.  His  practice  proved  to  be  a  success  and  he  pur- 
sued it  for  ten  years,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  elected  superintend- 
ent of  the  Oxford  orphan  asylum,  the  duties  of  which  he  administered 
with  signal  success  for  six  years. 

In  September,  1890,  he  was  elected  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the 
trustees  as  president  of  the  Greensboro  female  college.  Here  he  not 
only  received  the  highest  approbation  of  the  trustees,  but  gained  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  the  pupils  in  attendance  upon  the  institution. 
He  stands  in  the  very  front  rank  as  an  educator.  He  is  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  a  bright  exemplar 
of  a  Christian  gentleman.  In  July,  1S77,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Nora  C.  Tracy,  daughter  of  L)r.  J.  W.  Tracy,  of  Kings  Mountain. 
They  have  three  children:  Pearl,  Benjamin  ¥.,  and  Wright  T. 
When  Dr.  Dixon  left  the  Oxford  institution,  thaPtiblic  Lc(/_:^a' closed  a 
notice  of  the  event  with  the  following  appreciative  words  of  Mrs.  Dixon: 
A  host  of  friends  in  Oxford  regret  the  departure  of  Mrs.  Dr.  B.  F. 
Dixon  and  her  interesting  family  for  their  future  home  in  Cireens- 
boro.  During  her  long  stay  in  Oxford  she  has  won  the  love  of  all 
classes  of  people,  and  is  looked  upon  by  all  as  being  one  of  the  most 
admirable  women  in  North  Carolina. 


454  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dixon  served  in  the  following  battles  during  the  Civil 
war:  Yorktown,  Seven  Pines,  seven  daj's'  fight  around  Richmond, 
Fredericksburg,  Wilderness,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Drury's 
Bluff,  siege  of  Petersburg,  and  during  the  engagement  at  Five  Forks, 
April  I,  1865,  he  was  captured  by  the  Federal  troops,  and  for  three 
months  was  held  a  prisoner  of  war.  Mr.  Dixon  is  the  son  of  Thomas 
Dixon,  who  was  born  in  Lincoln,  now  Cleveland  county,  N.  C,  in 
1S03.  He  was  a  planter,  and  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  the 
community.  In  1828  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Winter,  daughter  of 
John  Winter,  a  native  of  Ireland.  Her  mother  was  Mary  Dilworth, 
also  of  Irish  birth.  Seven  children  were  born  to  them,  the  two  surviv- 
ing being  Martha,  wife  of  Polk  Collins,  of  Bluntsville,  Ala.,  and  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  Dixon,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C.  The  mother  died  in 
1886,  and  the  father  in  1856.  The  latter  was  a  son  of  Robert  Dixon, 
who  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1771.  Like  his  son,  he  followed 
agriculture  all  his  life,  dying  in  1S57.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
England.  He  came  to  America  in  1760,  and  settled  in  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  was  engaged  in  planting  at  the  time  of  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  for  American  independence.  He  fought  as  a  patriot 
soldier.  The  Winter  family  is  also  an  old  connection  in  this  county, 
and  is  of  Scotch  origin.  Mary  Winter  Dixon  was  a  relative  of  Hon. 
Clement  Clay,  of  Alabama,  who  served  as  a  United  States  senator 
for  many  years.  His  son,  Clement  C.  Clay,  Jr.,  was  also  a  man  of 
great  prominence,  and  was  a  senator  in  the  Confederate  congress, 
being  imprisoned  with  President  Davis.  Major-Gen.  Jones  Winter, 
of  Mobile,  Ala.,  served  with  distinction  in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
John  Winter,  of  Huntsville,  Ala.,  was  assistant  adjutant-general  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  was  a  cousin  of  our  subject's  mother. 


LEONIDAS   L.   POLK. 

This  distinguished  journalist  and  politician,  to  whom  so  much  at- 
tention has  been  recently  called  by  reason  of  his  conspicuity  as  the 
leader  of  the  farmers'  alliance  in  the  south,  is  a  well-known  figure  in 
southern  politics  and  journalism.  His  recent  friendship  to  the  farmer 
is  nothing  new  in  the  history  of  Col.  Polk,  but  a  favorable  political 
opportunity,  for  all  his  life  has  been  devoted  to  advancing  the  condi- 
tion of  that  class  of  men,  as  a  glance  at  his  life  will  show.  He  was 
bornApril  24,  1837,  in  Anson  county.  He  is  of  honorable  Irish  ex- 
traction, one  of  his  ancestors,  Thomas  Polk,  having  been  a  signer  of 
the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  a  colonel  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  He  is  the  son  of  Andrew  Polk,  a  farmer  of  Meck- 
lenburg county,  and  was  himself  educated  for  the  same  calling.  After 
attending  the  common  schools  he  took  a  course  at  the  Davidson  Pres- 
byterian college,  and  studied  especially  scientific  agriculture.  At  the 
age  of  fourteen  he  was  left  an  orphan.  A  few  years  later  he  married 
Sarah  P.  Gacldy,  the  daughter  of  a  prosperous  farmer,  Joel  W.  Gaddy, 
and  purchasing  his  father's  estate  settled  down  to  the  business  of  his 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  455 

life.  He  was  elected  by  the  whigs  to  the  legislature  of  iS6o,  which 
passed  the  ordinance  of  secession. 

Mr.  Polk's  military  career  was  a  bright  one.  He  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Col.  Vance's  regiment,  the  Twentieth  North  Carolina,  of 
which  he  became  sergeant-major,  and  later  on  was  made  first  lieuten- 
ant of  his  company.  His  regiment  did  some  of  the  best  fighting  in 
the  war,  having  participated  in  the  following  campaigns:  Newbern, 
Washington,  Plymouth,  Gettysburg,  where  he  was  seriously  wounded 
in  the  foot;  Richmond,  Hanover  Junction,  Bethesda  Church,  Berry- 
ville,  Kernstown,  Fisher's  Hill,  Cedar  Creek  and  Winchester.  He 
was  called  from  active  dutj-,  in  1864,  to  fill  a  term  in  the  legislature. 
After  the  war  he  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the  duties  of  his 
farm,  and  for  two  years  served  as  a  magistrate,  and  ran  a  weekly 
newspaper  called  the  Ansonian,  besides  conducting  an  extensive  mer- 
cantile business. 

In  1S73  the  Carolina  Central  railroad  approaching  his  farm,  Mr. 
Polk  built  upon  a  tract  near  the  line  a  village  called  Polkton  in  his 
honor.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  state  grange  of 
North  Carolina,  and  assisted  in  drawing  the  bill  for  the  establishment 
of  the  department  of  agriculture,  the  passage  of  which,  by  the  legis- 
lature, he  was  deputed  to  promote  and  succeeded  in  effecting.  The 
bill  as  passed  provides  for  a  commissioner  of  agriculture,  to  be  elected 
by  the  state  board  of  agriculture,  to  consist  of  the  governor  of  the 
state,  the  president  of  the  state  agricultural  society,  the  president  of 
the  state  university,  the  state  geologist,  the  master  of  the  state  grange, 
and  two  practical  agriculturists.  By  this  board,  duly  organized  under 
the  law,  he  was  chosen  commissioner,  April  6,  1S77,  and  at  once  en- 
tered upon  the  discharge  of  the  responsible  duties  of  the  office.  The 
system  of  the  department,  as  defined  in  the  law,  is  more  comprehen- 
sive than  that  of  any  other  like  department  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  sj'stem  finds  in  him  a  zealous  and  efficient  administrator  —  him- 
self a  thoroughly  practical  agriculturist,  familiar  by  actual  experience 
with  every  branch  of  the  art,  and  taking  delight  in  all  of  them. 

JOSEPH  EDWARD  ROBINSON, 

proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Goldsboro  Daily  and  Weekly  Argus,  was 
born  in  Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  September  23,  1858,  his  parents  being 
John  and  Margaret  (Dillon)  Robinson,  both  of  Irish  nationality 
Mr.  Robinson's  parents  removed  to  Goldsboro  while  he  was  an  in- 
fant, consequently  his  career  is  closely  identified  with  that  place.  He 
was  educated  in  the  St.  Charles  college,  of  Maryland  (Society  of  St. 
Suljjice),  graduating  therefrom  in  the  class  of  iSjg,  after  which  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law.  Having  read  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
A.  K.  Smedes,  of  Goldsboro,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S81,  and 
for  four  years  practiced  in  the  Wayne  county  courts.  He  then 
accepted  a  position  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Goldsboro  Messenger, 
and  in  April,  1885,  he  established  the  Daily  and  JVeekly  /Irgiis,  which 
now  ranks  with  the  leading  papers  of  tlie  eastern  portion  of  the  state. 


456  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

It  is  the  only  daily  in  the  county,  and  wields  a  strong  influence  under 
the  able  management  of  its  editor.  Democratic  in  politics,  it  is 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  party  organs  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Robinson  was  as  great  a  success  as  a  lawyer  as  he  is  in  the  editorial 
room.  He  was  attorney  for  the  M.  N.  C.  railroad  from  its  inception 
until  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  During  two  administra- 
tions he  ably  filled  the  office  of  city  attorney  of  Goldsboro  and  re- 
tired from  that  position  to  found  the  Argus.  He  has  held  frequent 
commissions  from  the  governor  for  special  service,  and  is  at  present 
state  proxy  of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  railroad,  and  also  a  member  of  the 
democratic  executive  committee  of  Wayne  county.  Few  men  of  his 
age  attain  such  an  influence  in  a  community  as  has  Joseph  E.  Robin- 
son. He  has  ever  been  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  public  educa- 
tion, was  a  constant  advocate  of  its  claims  through  the  Messenger, 
when  on  the  staff  of  that  paper,  and  has  delivered  a  number  of  tell- 
ing speeches  throughout  the  county  in  favor  of  the  free  school  S3'stem. 
If  life  and  health  be  spared  him  a  brilliant  career  doubtless  awaits 
him. 

THOMAS  R.  JERNIGAN 

was  born  in  Hertford  county,  N.  C,  February  24,  1847.  His  father, 
Lemuel  R.  Jernigan,  was  a  prosperous  planter  and  influential  citizen, 
and  many  years  a  presiding  justice  in  the  court  of  common  pleas  and 
quarter  sessions;  he  was  related  to  Spencer  Jarnigan,  at  one  time  a 
United  States  senator  from  Tennessee.  His  mother  was  Mary  Har- 
rell,  and  a  near  relative  of  the  late  W.  N.  H.  Smith,  chief-justice  of 
the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Jernigan  received  his  pri- 
mary education  at  the  academy  of  his  native  village,  Harrellsville, 
and  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  entered  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  took  a  classical  course  of  two  years,  and  then  studied 
law  for  one  year  at  the  same  institution.  He  obtained  a  license  to 
practice  law  the  year  he  attained  his  majority,  and  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  the  county  in  which  he  was  born.  In  1870  he  was  nomina- 
ted for  the  legislature  by  the  democratic  party  of  his  county,  and 
although  the  usual  republican  majorit}-  was  over  two  hundred,  he  was 
declared  legally  elected  and  given  the  certificate  of  election.  While 
the  election  was  to  every  appearance  fairly  conducted,  and  the  certifi- 
cate awarded  in  strict  conformity  to  law,  a  canvass  of  the  popular  vote 
showed  that  Mr.  Jernigan  was  defeated  by  sixteen  majority.  When 
convinced  that  there  was  no  mistake  in  the  count  of  the  popular  vote 
he  promptly  resigned  his  certificate  of  election,  declining  to  serve. 
Many  of  Mr.  Jernigan's  political  friends  expressed  dissatisfaction  with 
his  course,  but  all  admired  his  manly  firmness,  and  sense  of  equity  and 
justice.  In  1S74  Mr.  Jernigan  was  nominated  by  his  political  friends 
for  the  state  senate.  The  senatorial  district  embraced  seven  counties, 
casting  about  12,000  votes.  Mr.  Jernigan  began  his  canvass  in  the 
face  of  a  republican  majority  of  750,  but  v.'as  elected  by  355  majority. 
He  served  as  state  senator  for  two  years,  was  always  prepared  for  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  457 

work  before   him,  and  aided  in  laying  the  foundation  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  public  debt  of  his  state. 

During  the  presidential  candidacy  of  Gen.  Hancock,  Mr.  Jernigan 
was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  of  his  state,  and  his  canvass  was 
very  highlj'  complimented  by  the  press.  As  a  speaker  he  is  logical 
and  chaste  in  his  language,  aggressive  and  of  easy  manner  and  pleas- 
ant delivery.  In  1SS5  Mr.  Jernigan  was  appointed  by  President 
Cleveland  as  United  States  consul  at  Osako  and  Hiogo,  japan  where 
he  remained  nearlj'  four  years,  and  performed  his  duty  to  the 
marked  satisfaction  of  his  own  government  and  of  the  government 
to  which  he  was  accredited.  Returning  home  he  settled  at  Raleigh, 
the  capital  of  the  state,  where  he  established  the  North  Carolina  In- 
telligencer, edited  and  conducted  by  him  for  one  year,  when  it  was 
consolidated  with  the  N^cics  and  Observer,  the  organ  of  the  democratic 
party  of  North  Carolina,  of  which  he  is  now  one  of  the  chief  editors 
and  a  stockholder.  Mr.  Jernigan  was  married  in  1885  to  Miss  Fan- 
nie Sharp,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  Starkey  Sharp,  who  was  a 
wealth)'  and  highly  influential  citizen  of  Hertford  county.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jernigan  have  three  children,  two  boys  and  one  girl,  all  born  at 
the  United  States  consulate,  Hiogo,  Japan.  A  very  good  likeness  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  appears  in  connection  herewith.  Mr.  Jerni- 
gen  is  of  slender  build,  weighing  about  130  pounds.  He  has  alwaj's 
been  very  active  in  the  public  affairs  of  his  state.  He  is  fearless  in 
the  advocacy  of  whatever  he  believes  to  be  right,  and  his  political 
friends  and  enemies  always  know  where  to  find  him,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  his  firmness  and  ability  he  is  admired  by  both. 

SPEAKER  JOHN  HARVEY. 

The  Harveys  were;  among  the  early  settlers  in  \'irginia,  where 
they  occupied  high  station.  .Shortly'  after  the  first  settlement  was 
made  on  the  shores  of  the  Albemarle,  they  came  southward  and 
located  on  Harvey's  Neck  at  the  mouth  of  Perquimans  river.  In  1679 
John  Harvey  as  president  of  the  council  administered  the  affairs  of 
colony,  and  in  1797,  his  son  Thomas  Harvey  was  as  deputy  gijvernor 
likewise  at  the  head  of  the  colony.  Possessing  wealth  and  education 
as  well  as  vigorous  mental  powers,  the  family  occupied  a  prominent 
position  in  the  province  for  more  than  a  century.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Speaker  John  Harvey,  was  endowed  with  a  vigorous  mind,  and 
having  enjoyed  the  most  liberal  opportunities  for  its  cultivation  he 
added  the  ornaments  of  an  education  to  the  hereditary'  qualities  of  a 
polished  gentleman.  His  first  appearance  in  ijublic  life  was  a  mem- 
ber from  his  native  county  of  Perquimans  in  the  assembly  of  1746, 
when  Gov.  Johnston  sought  to  deprive  the  northern  counties  of  their 
accustomed  representation.  During  the  eight  years  following,  under 
advice  of  himself  and  associates,  Perquimans,  like  the  other  northern 
counties,  was  not  represented  in  the  assembly.  It  was  a  bold  course 
to  pursue,  but  it  was  successful.  In  1754  the  obnoxious  act  was  re- 
pealed by  the  crown,  and  the  upjjer  counties  were  again  represented. 


458  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  from  that  date  to  his  death  John  Harvey  was  a  prominent  actor 
in  North  CaroHna  affairs.  He  was  an  able  coadjutor  of  Swann, 
Starkey  and  Ashe  in  the  conflict  with  Gov.  Dobbs.  With  Gov. 
Tryon's  administration  the  stamp  act  troubles  began,  and  no  assem- 
bly was  convened  by  him  during  their  continuance. 

When  the  stamp  act  was  repealed  in  1766,  a  wave  of  intense  loy- 
alty and  fervid  gratitude  swept  over  the  continent,  and  when  the  new 
assembly  met  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  it  testified  its  good  will  and 
gratitude  by  complying  with  the  desires  of  Gov.  Tryon.  It  fixed  the 
seat  of  government  at  Newbern,  and  gave  him  ^10,000  to  build  him 
a  palace  there.  It  was  in  this  era  of  good  will  that  John  Harvey 
was  elected  speaker  of  the  house,  and  Gov.  Tryon,  who  was  a  most 
accomplished  and  astute  manager,  kept  the  assembly  on  good  terms 
with  him.  The  chief  troubles  of  those  years  were  the  regulation 
disturbances,  and  as  to  them  the  assembly  sustained  the  governor, 
who  kept  it  in  existence  until  1770,  during  the  whole  of  the  period 
Harvey  being  the  speaker.  In  that  year,  1770,  Tryon  expected  to 
leave  the  colony,  and  the  regulators  having  pressed  for  a  new  assem- 
bly, he  issued  writs  for  a  new  election.  When  the  new  bodj'  con- 
vened, Caswell  was  elected  speaker.  The  assembly,  Harvey  being  a 
member,  however,  strongly  sustained  the  governor  in  the  regulation 
troubles,  and  a  majority  of  the  members  went  with  him  on  the  expe- 
dition ending  in  the  battle  of  Alamance. 

Governor  Tryon,  when  about  to  set  out,  wrote  to  Harvey,  thank- 
ing him  for  his  kind  present  last  winter,  and  wishing  him  a  perfect 
re-establishment  of  his  health,  and  "if  you  think  you  can  procure  me, 
with  the  assistance  of  Col.  Taylor,  a  company  of  fifty  men,  I  should 
be  glad  to  take  them.  I  wish  your  son  could  command  the  company." 
His  personal  relations  with  the  governor  seems  to  have  been  friendly, 
and  his  failure  to  be  re-elected  speaker  was  perhaps  due  to  his  ill- 
health.  In  a  few  months  Tryon  had  left  the  colony  and  Josiah  Mar- 
tin succeeded  him.  A  difference  sprung  up  between  this  assembly 
and  Gov.  Martin  about  taxes,  and  he  dissolved  it.  In  the  fall  of  1772 
a  new  election  was  held,  and  when  the  assembly  met  Harvey  was 
chosen  speaker.  From  that  time  onward  the  controversies  with  Gov. 
Martin  as  the  representative  of  the  crown  became  stronger  and 
stronger,  and  Harve}',  in  the  commanding  position  of  speaker,  was 
the  leader  of  the  popular  party. 

On  the  2ist  of  December,  1773,  Gov.  Martin  suddenly  prorogued 
the  assembly.  As  soon  as  the  house  understood  his  purpose  it  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  of  which  John  Harvey  was  the  head,  to  prepare 
an  address  to  the  king,  beseeching  him  to  withdraw  his  royal  in- 
structions to  the  governor;  and  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  ad- 
dress Gov.  Tryon,  who  was  then  in  England,  and  implore  that  he 
would  present  the  address  to  the  king  and  that  he  would  accept  this 
important  trust  as  a  testimony  of  the  great  affection  this  colony  bore 
him.  The  house  met  again  March  ist,  but  after  a  sharp  conflict  with 
Gov.  Martin,  was  dissolved.  The  private  secretarj'  of  the  governor 
mentioned  to  Speaker  Harvey  that  the  governor  did  not  intend  to 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  459 

convene  another  assembly  until  he  saw  a  chance  of  getting  a  better 
one.  Harvej'  replied  that  then  the  people  would  convene  one  them- 
selves. Harvej'  mentioned  this  to  Willie  Jones,  and  then  to  Col. 
Buncombe  and  Sam  Johnston,  who  wrote  to  William  Hooper  about 
it  the  ne.xt  daj',  April  5,  1774,  and  begged  him  to  speak  of  it  to  Mr. 
Harnett  and  Col.  Ashe.  The  result  was  that  some  weeks  later  hand 
bills  were  issued  by  the  Wilmington  committee  inviting  the  people  to 
elect  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  held  in  Newbern,  August  25th. 
Thus  Col.  Harvey's  suggestion  was  the  germ  of  the  first  provincial 
congress,  the  earliest  revolutionary  body  elected  b}'  the  people  in  any 
colon}'.     When  it  met  the  body  elected  him  moderator. 

And  now  the  era  of  the  Revolution  was  reached  and  instead  of 
struggling  for  the  rights  of  the  colony  against  the*instructions  of  the 
king,  Harvey  and  his  associates  struck  out  boldly  for  the  rights  of 
America.  They  resolved  that  after  January  i,  1775,  they  would 
neither  import  nor  purchase  any  goods  of  British  manufacture,  and 
they  took  advanced  whig  ground  in  all  their  actions.  The)-  also  re- 
solved not  to  import  or  purchase  any  slave  brought  into  this  province 
from  any  part  of  the  world  after  the  ist  day  of  November,  1774- 
Having  completed  its  work  this  congress  resolved  that  Col.  Harvey 
should  call  it  together  at  his  pleasure,  and  it  "  thanked  him  for  the 
faithful  exercise  of  the  office  of  moderator  and  the  service  he  has 
thereby  rendered  this  province  and  the  freedom  of  America  in 
general."  His  health  even  then  appears  to  have  been  precarious,  for 
provision  was  made  in  case  of  his  death  for  Sam  Johnston  to  take 
his  place.  On  the  nth  of  February,  1775,  Harvej-,  as  moderator,  is- 
sued notices  requesting  the  people  to  elect  deputies  to  represent 
them  in  a  provincial  congress,  to  meet  on  April  3d,  the  da}'  appointed 
for  the  meeting  of  the  colonial  assembly.  This  was  at  once  de- 
nounced by  Gov.  Martin,  in  a  flaming  proclamation,  but  without 
avail.  The  two  bodies  were  composed  of  nearly  the  same  men.  The 
assembly  chose  Harvey  speaker,  and  the  congress*  elected  him 
moderator.  Four  days  later,  however,  the  governor  dissolved  the 
assembly,  and  that  was  the  last  assembly  that  met  in  North  Carolina 
until  1777.  Within  a  fortnight  after  the  provincial  congress  ad- 
journed Gov.  Martin  fled  from  Newbern;  and  two  months  later, 
June  5,  1777,  the  patriot,  Harvey  himself,  had  passed  away.  He  was 
a  bold  and  strenuous  advocate  of  the  liberties  of  the  colonies,  and 
his  death  was  greatlj'  deplored. 

COL.   R.    B.    CREECY. 

The  only  surviving  member  of  the  family  of  Joshua  S.  and  Mary 
(Benbury)  Creecy  is  the  Hon.  Richard  B.  Creecy,  one  of  the  ablest 
journalists  of  eastern  North  Carolina.  Col.  Creecy  was  born  in 
Chowan  county,  .N.  C,  on  the  igth  of  I^ccember,  1S13.  The  family 
lived  in  Chowan  county  for  several  generations,  and  was  influential 
and  prominent.  Lemuel  Creecy,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was 
an  extensive  planter.     His  son,  Joshua,  was  a  colonel  of  militia,  and 


460  XORTII  CAROLINA. 

rendered  distinguished  service  to  the  government  during  the  war  of 
1812.  He  too  was  a  planter.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Ben- 
bury,  who  served  as  the  first  collector  of  the  port  of  Edenton,  having 
been  appointed  to  that  position  by  President  Washington.  He  served 
in  the  patriot  army  all  during  the  Revolution,  and  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  general  for  valiant  field  work.  Thomas  Benbury  was 
speaker  of  the  house  of  commons  of  North  Carolina.  Joshua  Creecy 
died  in  1S17,  and  his  wife  in  1822.  Their  son  Richard  was  given  ex- 
ceptional educational  advantages,  and  in  1835  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  In  1842  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  in  the  following  year  located  at  Elizabeth  City,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  successful  practice  until  1851,  at  which  time  he  retired  and 
turned  his  attention  to  agriculture.  In  1872  Col.  Creecy  resumed  ac- 
tive work  in  his  profession,  and  at  that  time  became  the  owner  and 
editor  of  the  Economist.  He  has  made  this  the  leading  journal  of  the 
county,  and  one  of  the  most  important  and  ablest  democratic  organs 
in  the  state.  Possessed  of  a  superior  mind,  he  has  greatly  enlarged 
and  broadened  it  by  years  of  careful  study  and  reading;  keen  and 
ready,  with  unusual  versatility,  he  has  won  a  widespread  reputation 
as  a  safe  and  brilliant  writer.  In  early  life  Col.  Creecy  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  state  senate,  but  was  defeated.  President  Cleveland  ap- 
pointed him  collector  of  the  port  of  Elizabeth  City,  and  he  served 
during  that  administration.  In  1844  he  was  most  happily  married  to 
Miss  ^lary  B.  Perkins,  daughter  of  Edmund  Perkins,  of  this  county. 
In  1868  Mrs.  Creecy  died,  leaving  nine  children,  viz.:  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Winston,  of  Windsor,  N.  C;  Edward  P.,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Mrs. 
Mary  Lawton,  of  Philadelphia;  Mrs.  Ella  G.  Lamb,  of  Elizabeth  City; 
Richard  B.,  Jr.,  of  Elizabeth  City;  Henrietta,  Joshua  C,  Nannie  B. 
and  Paul  are  at  home,  with  the  exception  of  Joshua  C,  who  resides 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

JAMES  INNES. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Scotland,  of  a  distinguished 
family.  We  first  knew  of  him  as  a  resident  of  New  Havover,  where, 
in  1734,  he  was  made  a  justice  of  the  peace.  In  the  same  year 
Gov.  Johnston  recommended  him  as  a  member  of  the  council.  The 
next  year  he  was  appointed  assistant  baron  of  the  exchequer  court. 
It  appears  that  he  had  seen  service  in  the  British  arm}',  and  in  1740, 
when  Gov.  Johnston  raised  a  North  Carolina  battalion  to  send  to 
Florida,  he  appointed  Innes  to  the  command.  The  same  troops  went 
under  him  in  the  expedition  against  Carthagena,  in  South  America. 
There  he  appears  to  have  won  an  enviable  reputation.  Later  he 
was  colonel  of  militia  in  New  Hanover  county  and  one  of  Granville's 
agents  for  the  sale  of  land.  In  1750  he  was  appointed  a  member  of 
the  council  in  the  place  of  Eleazer  Allen,  who  had  died.  When  the 
French  and  Indian  war  broke  out,  in  1754,  North  Carolina  promptly 
responded  to  the  appeal  of  Virginia  for  aid  and  took  steps  to  raise  a 
regiment,  Col.  Innes  being  appointed  its  colonel.     Gov.   Dinwiddle 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  46 1 

who  seems  to  have  known  him  well,  addressing  him  as  "  dear  James" 
and  conveying  in  his  letters  messages  from  "  his  wife  and  daughters," 
tendered  him  the  position  of  commander-in-chief  of  the  expedition. 
This  Col.  Innes  hesitated  to  accept  because  of  his  age,  and  sent  John 
Ashe,  as  his  aide-de-camp,  to  Virginia,  to  see  the  governor,  who  in- 
sisted, saying  that  his  merit  required  him  to  take  the  command. 
And  Col.  Washington  declared  that  he  would  be  glad  to  serve  under 
such  an  experienced  officer  and  man  of  sense. 

Thus  pressed.  Col.  Innes  accepted  the  chief  command,  and  hast- 
ened on  the  Virginia  frontier.  Five  months  later,  however,  in  Nov- 
ember, 1754,  the  king  designated  Gov.  Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  as 
commander-in-chief,  and  Col.  Innes  proposed  to  retire.  But  Gov. 
Dinwiddle  prevailed  on  him  to  remain  in  the  service,  and  appointed 
him  camp-master-general,  and  he  remained  at  Fort  Cumberland  on 
the  confines  of  Virginia,  making  treaties  with  the  Indians,  construct- 
ing forts  and  virtually  in  command.  On  June  24,  1755,  Gen.  Braddock 
reached  Fort  Cumberland  on  his  ill-fated  march,  and  he  appointed 
Innes  governor  of  Fort  Cumberland,  who  remained  there.  Later, 
in  August,  after  Braddock  had  fallen,  and  his  demoralized  forces  had 
returned,  Col.  Dunbar  then  in  command,  hastened  on  to  Philadel- 
phia, to  go  into  winter  quarters,  and  left  Innes  with  400  sick  and 
wounded  to  care  for  at  Fort  Cumberland,  and  to  defend  the  frontier. 
In  September,  1755,  Col.  Innes  returned  to  North  Carolina,  whereon 
September  5,  1759,  he  died  at  Wilmington.  In  his  will,  made  in  1754, 
he  left  his  plantation  and  considerable  personal  property  "  for  the  use 
of  a  free  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  j'outh  of  North  Carolina." 


JOSEPHUS  DANIELS, 

son  of  Josephus  and  Mary  Seabrook,  was  born  in  Washington,  N.  C, 
May  18,  1862.  lie  was  educated  in  Wilson  collegiate  institute,  a 
high  school  in  Wilson.  When  about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  quit 
school  to  engage  as  local  editor  of  the  IVtlsoii  Advance.  The  year 
after  he  became  editor-in-chief  of  the  same  paper,  and  continued  in 
the  capacity  of  editor  and  proprietor  until  18S5.  During  that  year 
he  read  law  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  in  October, 
1885,  was  licensed  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  to  practice.  Mr. 
Daniels  never  practiced,  however,  but  in  the  same  month  purchased 
a  controlling  interest  in  the  Raleigh  Sfatc  Chronicle,  succeeding  the 
late  Capt.  Randolph  A.  Shotwell.  Under  his  superior  management 
and  control,  the  paper  has  prospered  and  has  now  the  largest  daily 
and  weekly  circulation  of  any  paper  at  the  capital.  In  January,  1887, 
Mr.  Daniels  was  elected  state  printer;  was  re-elected  in  January,  1889, 
and  in  January,  1890,  he  was  re-elected  unanimously  by  acclamation. 
May  2,  1888,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Addie  Worth  Bag- 
ley,  daughter  of  Maj.  William  M.  Bagley,  clerk  of  the  supreme  court 
of  North  Carolina. 


462  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


CAPT.  RANDALL  A.  SHOTWELL 

was  born  in  West  Liberty,  Va.,  December  13,  1844.  He  was  the  eld- 
est of  three  brothers,  sons  of  Nathan  Shotwell,  of  Virginia.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Martha  Abbott,  a  native  of  Massachusetts. 
At  an  early  age  Capt.  Shotwell  entered  Media  college,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  pursued  a  three  years'  course  of  study,  his  father's  inten- 
tion being  to  prepare  him  for  the  senior  class  at  Princeton.  About 
the  time  he  was  ready  to  enter  Princeton,  his  father's  ahna  »iafcr,  the 
Civil  war  came  on,  and  he  immediately  left  his  studies  to  join  in  the 
defense  of  his  southern  home.  On  his  way  to  Virginia  he  encoun- 
tered numerous  adventures.  He  met  the  Virginia  volunteers  just  in 
time  to  participate  in  the  battle  of  Leesburg.  Though  a  mere  boy 
he  joined  the  Confederate  volunteers  and  followed  the  flag  through 
seventeen  hard-fought  battles.  He  led  the  sharpshooters  of  a 
brigade  —  Pickett's  division  —  in  the  fatal  charge  at  Gettysburg,  and, 
for  his  valor  and  excellent  tactics,  was  tendered  a  special  commission 
from  Secretary  Seddon,  by  order  of  President  Davis.  Toward  the 
last  of  the  war  he  was  captured  as  a  spy.  He  escaped  from  his  cap- 
tors, but  was  taken  by  another  party  of  Federals  to  Fort  Delaware, 
and  there  confined  as  a  prisoner  of  war  until  three  months  after  the 
southern  flag  had  been  furled  at  Appomatox.  He  came  to  North 
Carolina  in  1866,  his  father's  family  having  preceded  him.  They  had 
removed  to  Rutherfordton  in  1858.  Capt.  Shotwell  then  discarded 
the  military  habiliments  he  had  worn  with  so  much  honor  and  brav- 
ery, exchanging  the  sword  for  the  pen,  the  mightier  weapon  of  the 
two.  With  the  latter  he  has  not  ceased  to  defend  the  principles  he 
deemed  sound  and  right.  He  went  to  Newbern,  N.  C,  and  with 
Con.  Stephen  D.  Pool  established  the  Newbern  Journal  of  Commerce. 
After  two  years  here  he  removed  to  Rutherfordton  and  started  the 
Vindicator,  through  which  he  denounced  in  scathing  terms  the  Red 
Strings  and  Renegades  of  that  region,  and  thence  began  the  political 
warfare  that  ended  only  after  he  had  suffered  all  the  persecution  that 
could  be  heaped  upon  him  by  his  political  enemies.  Before  his  ar- 
rest, his  friends  advised  him  to  follow  the  example  of  others,  but  he 
said:  "No,  I  have  done  or  said  nothing  but  what  I  believed  to  be 
for  the  best  interest  of  my  people,  and  I  shall  stay  and  defend  my 
course  and  maintain  my  honor  with  my  life,  if  need  be." 

Without  capias  or  warrant  Capt.  Shotwell  was  arrested,  in  July, 
1870,  and  was  subjected  to  rough  and  inhuman  treatment.  He  was 
tried  at  Raleigh  and  convicted  by  a  partisan  judge.  Before  the 
assemblage  in  the  senate  chamber,  where  he  was  tried,  his  arms  were 
pinioned  with  ropes  and  he  was  remanded  to  jail.  October  5th  he 
was  again  handcuffed  and  taken  to  Albany,  N.  Y.,  to  serve  in  the 
penitentiary  a  term  of  six  years'  imprisonment  and  to  pay  a  fine  of 
$15,000.  He  quietly  outlived  the  severe  treatment  to  which  he  was 
subjected.     He  was  repeatedly  offered  his  freedom  if  he  would  im- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  463 

plicate  other  prominent  Xortli  Carolinians,  whicli  he  as  often  refused 
to  do.  Final!}',  in  obedience  to  an  almost  unanimous  appeal  from 
North  Carolina,  President  Grant  accorded  him  an  unconditional 
pardon.  Returninj^  to  North  Carolina  he  went  to  Charlotte  and 
engaged  with  Col.  Hill  in  the  editorial  management  of  The  Soitthcni 
Home.  A  few  years  later  the  people  of  Mecklenburg  county  nomi- 
nated and  elected  him  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He  took  his  seat 
in  the  session  of  1S76  and  boldly  struck  out  for  the  people's  rights. 
In  1S7S  Capt.  Shotwell  went  to  Raleigh,  and  associating  himself  with 
Mr.  John  W.  Dowd,  bought  out  T/ie  Fanner  and  Alee/ianie,  sl  p3.T^e}: 
up  to  that  time  published  in  the  interest  of  the  North  Carolina 
Patrons  of  Husbandry.  The  paper  at  once  began  to  exhibit  the  evi- 
dences of  his  individuality  and  independence  as  an  editor.  A  few 
months  later  he  became  sole  proprietor  of  the  concern.  Six  weeks 
before  his  death  The  S/a/e  Chronicle  and  Farmer  and  Mechanic  were 
merged  under  the  name  of  the  State  Chronicle,  retained  as  the  title  of 
the  consolidated  paper.  Capt.  Shotwell  assumed  the  editorship  in 
chief.  Having  been  appointed  by  Gov.  Scales  as  state  librarian,  after 
long  years  of  struggle,  Mr.  Shotwell  began  to  enjoy  the  dawn  of  an 
era  of  success.  At  length  few  men  in  North  Carolina  had  before 
them  so  promising  a  future  as  Capt.  Shotwell  and  it  is  well  under- 
stood that  he  would  have  been  the  next  governor  of  the  state  had 
his  eventful  life  been  spared,  a  fit  vindication  from  the  aspersions 
which  had  been  cast  upon  him  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  career. 

THOMAS  POLLOCK. 

The  first  mention  made  in  the  colonial  records  of  Thomas  Pollock 
who  took  such  a  high  position  in  the  colony  of  North  Carolina  is  that 
at  the  assembly  of  November  12,  1701,  he  was  appointed  on  the  ves- 
try of  Chowan  precinct,  his  name  being  ne.xt  to  that  of  President 
Walker.  Prom  that  time  onward  he  resided  on  the  Chowan  near 
where  Edenton  was  subsequentl}'  built,  and  at  his  house,  for  many 
years,  the  council  was  regularly  held,  he  representing,  as  deputy. 
Lord  Carteret.  He  was  among  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  province, 
and,  besides  cultivating  his  plantation,  doubtless  was  engaged  in  traffic 
with  the  Indians  —  which  was  very  lucrative.  When  the  troubles  that 
had  their  origin  in  the  enforcement  of  the  British  act  of  parliament 
in  reference  to  oaths  of  office  disturbed  the  quiet  of  the  colony,  Col. 
Pollock  sided  with  the  government  and  was  a  supporter  of  the  faction 
that  insisted  upon  obeying  the  act.  He  therefore  sustained  Glover, 
and  when  the  assembly  of  1708  decided  adversely  to  that  sidt;,  Col. 
Pollock  fletl  with  Glover  to  Virginia,  where  he  remained  until  17 10, 
being  unwilling  as  he  expressed,  to  live  under  an  illegal  government. 
He  was  a  strong  churchman,  a  man  of  strong  characteristics,  educated 
and  self-respecting.  He  would  not  give  countenance  to  Carey's  gov- 
ernment by  residing  in  the  colony  under  his  administration.  P'or  the 
want  of  decision  and  because  of  the  vacillating  course  of  the  lords 
proprietors,  he  expressed  a  low  opinion;  and  when  on  Hyde's  acces- 


464  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

sion  to  the  administration,  he,  himself,  became  the  power  behind  the 
throne,  he  pressed  his  views  to  their  logical  conclusion.  He  caused  all 
the  acts  of  the  government  for  the  two  years  of  Carey's  administra- 
tion to  be  annulled  as  illegal,  and  pushed  measures  against  Carey 
and  Porter  and  Moseley  to  such  an  extremity  that  in  the  ensuing 
hostile  demonstration  Carey's  force  made  a  descent  on  his  premises, 
which  were  the  seat  of  the  new  government. 

Soon  after  Hyde's  administration  began,  the  Indian  massacre  oc- 
curred, and  the  governor  dying  of  fever,  September  12,  1712,  Pollock 
as  president  of  the  council,  succeeded  to  the  administration.  He  took 
the  most  active  measures  that  he  could  to  bring  the  war  to  an  early 
close,  and  although  Moseley  again  controlled  the  assembly,  and  the 
feeling  between  them  was  still  bitter,  the  danger  compelled  co-opera- 
tion among  all.  He,  however,  charged  Moseley  with  the  purpose  of 
having  him  displaced  and  securing  the  administration  either  for  Col. 
Barnwell  or  himself.  On  the  other  hand,  Moseley  obtained  from  the 
assembly  resolutions  remonstrating  against  Pollock's  acts  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  war.  On  the  2Sth  of  Alay,  1714,  Gov.  Eden,  having 
arrived,  took  the  oaths  of  office,  and  during  his  administration  Col. 
Pollock  continued  to  be  the  -chief  adviser  of  the  governor  in  public 
matters.  And  notably  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  Moseley  pun- 
ished for  "  seditious  conduct,  "  relative  to  the  Teach  affair,  and  de- 
clared incapable  of  holding  office  for  three  years.  In  March,  1722, 
Gov.  Eden  dying.  Col.  Pollock  was  again  elected  president  of  the 
council,  but  his  own  life  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  and  after  a  second 
administration  of  five  months  he  died,  August  30,  1722.  Col.  Pollock 
kept,  during  his  residence  in  the  colony,  a  letter-book,  which  has  for- 
tunately been  preserved,  and  which  throws  much  light  upon  that 
early  period  of  colonial  history.  He  was  a  man  whose  excellence  of 
character  and  integrity  are  acknowledged  by  all,  even  though  his  an- 
tagonisms may  have  led  him  to  express  at  times  too  harsh  an  opin- 
ion of  those  who  differed  with  him.  The  descendants  of  Col.  Pollock 
have  been  among  the  most  cultured,  refined  and  wealthiest  of  the 
citizens  of  North  Carolina. 

ALEXANDER  BOYD  ANDREWS. 

North  Carolina  has  no  son  who  has  attained  greater  prominence 
in  the  important  field  of  transportation  and  railway  management 
than  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  nor  any,  the  story  of  whose  life  so 
forcibly  illustrates  the  truth  of  the  homely  maxim  that  "blood  will 
tell."  His,  paternal  grandfather  was  an  English  gentleman  who 
made  his  home  in  Edgecombe  county  where,  after  a  life  of  useful  en- 
ergy, he  died  in  1810.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Col.  Jonas  John- 
ston, a  Revolutionary  hero,  who  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Moore's 
Creek,  and  finally  sealed  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his  country, 
dying  from  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of  Stono,  in  June,  1779. 
William  J.  Andrews,  a  son  of  the  marriage,  was  born  in  Edgecombe 
county  in  1S02,  and  was  a  leading  merchant  at  Sparta  and  at  Hender- 


^.yrr> 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  465 

son.  In  1S33  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  \'irffinia  Hawkins, 
a  daughter  of  Col.  John  D.  Hawkins,  of  Franklin  county,  and  his 
wife,  Jane,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Boyd,  a  gentleman  of 
Scotch  descent,  then  residing  in  Mecklenburg  count}',  Va.  They 
had  ten  children,  of  whom,  however,  but  eight  reached  maturity: 
Bettie  A.,  the  wife  of  Col.  John  \V.  Atkinson,  of  Wilmington;  Alex- 
ander Boyd;  Ann  S.,  the  wife  of  William  J.  Robards,  of  Henderson; 
Lucy  D.,  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Clifton,  of  Louisburg;  Ella  H.,  the 
wife  of  Thomas  H.  Haughton,  of  Charlotte,  and  Phil  H.  Andrews, 
Esq.,  of  Raleigh.  In  1S52  these  young  children  were  called  on  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  their  mother,  and  within  a  year  were  bereft  of 
their  father.  The  orphaned  household  thus  became  the  object  of 
the  tender  care  of  their  grandparents,  Col.  and  Mrs.  Hawkins,  and 
never  were  orphans  more  fortunate  in  their  lot. 

The  eldest  boy,  Alexander  Boyd,  was  born  July  23,  1841,  and  was 
but  eleven  years  old  when  he  was  committed  to  Col.  Hawkins'  pa- 
rental direction  and  guidance,  and  in  his  after  career  one  discerns 
how  much  he  was  benefited  by  the  admirable  training  then  received. 
For  five  years  he  attended  school,  exhibiting  unusual  aptitude  for  his 
studies,  particularly  that  of  mathematics.  When  he  had  finished  his 
course,  he  was  already  trained  in  self-command,  and  to  habits  of 
diligence  and  promptness,  and  in  the  spirit  of  obedience,  industry 
and  application.  With  these  qualifications  early  discovered,  his 
uncle,  Gen.  Phil.  B.  Hawkins,  who -had  a  large  railroad  contract  in 
South  Carolina,  employed  him,  when  less  than  eighteen  years  of  age, 
as  general  superintendent,  purchasing  agent,  and  paymaster.  The 
young  man  soon  proved  himself  equal  to  the  man}'  intricate  duties  of 
his  responsible  position,  and  here  took  his  first  lessons  in  the  work  of 
railway  construction,  which  in  after  years  was  to  engage  his  mature 
powers  and  make  him  an  instrument  in  upbuilding  the  prosperity  and 
material  interests  of  his  native  state.  While  thus  employed,  the  alarm 
was  sounded  that  called  the  sons  of  North  Carolina  to  her  defense, 
and  young  Andrews,  not  yet  of  age,  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  First 
North  Carolina  regiment  of  cavalry,  commanded  by  Col.  Robert 
Ransom,  who  subsequently  became,  by  merited  promotion,  major- 
general  in  the  army  of  Virginia.  Soon  appointed  a  lieutenant,  the 
young  soldier,  during  the  first  year  of  his  service,  attained,  step  by 
step,  to  the  post  of  captain  of  Company  B,  of  his  regiment.  It  was 
his  fortune  to  participate  in  all  the  memorable  campaigns  of  that 
dashing  leader,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  and  when  Stuart  fell,  Wade  Hampton 
became  his  commander.  As  gallant  as  were  the  spirits  of  that  fine 
command,  there  were  none  who  displayed  more  devotion,  a  more  un- 
flinching courage,  than  Capt.  A.  B.  Andrews.  On  September  22, 
1863,  at  Jack's  shop,  near  Gordonsville,  there  was  a  bloody  fight 
between  2,000^  Confederate  cavalry  and  Kilpatrick's  corps,  6,000 
strong.  The  Confederate  regiments  had  been  greatly  depleted  by 
their  recent  engagmcnts  and  heavy  marching.  That  to  which  Capt. 
Andrews  belonged  carried  into  the  battle  but  130  men,  but  every  man 
was  a  veteran.  It  was  a  hard-fought  field.  The  adjutant  of  the  reg- 
B— 30 


466  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

iment,  wrote  to  the  Fayetteville  Observer  a  short  while  after  the 
battle,  as  follows:  "  While  cheering  on  his  men,  the  gallant  captain 
Andrews  fell,  shot  through  the  lungs.  No  braver  or  better  man  has 
fallen  during  the  war.     He  was  universally  beloved." 

And  such  indeed  would  have  been  a  fitting  epitaph,  penned  by  the 
adjutant  of  the  command,  had  the  colonel  then  expired.  But  though 
Capt.  Andrews  was  mourned  as  dead,  his  life  was  spared  for  works 
of  greater  usefulness  in  other  fields.  The  wound  was  truly  a  des- 
perate one,  the  ball  having  passed  directly  through  the  left  lung  and 
in  its  exit  having  injured  the  spine.  Others  despaired  of  his  life,  but 
by  the  exercise  of  indomitable  pluck  and  will,  he  maintained  his  own 
hope  and  eventually  rallied  from  the  shock.  Tlten  followed  weary 
months  of  suffering  and  convalesence.  Twice  in  the  following  year 
he  essayed  to  return  to  duty,  but  his  strength  proved  unequal  to  the 
exertion.  At  last,  when  Lee  surrendered,  he  hastened  to  join  Gen. 
Johnston's  army,  and  shared  its  fortunes  in  the  last  days  of  the  war, 
and  was  paroled  along  with  the  veterans  of  that  army. 

The  hrst  work  that  engaged  his  attention  was  in  the  line  of  his 
former  business.  The  bridge  at  Gaston  had  been  destroyed,  and  in 
connection  with  the  railway  companies  where  communication  had 
been  thus  interrupted  he  established  a  ferry  across  the  Roanoke  at 
that  point,  which  proved  a  profitable  venture.  In  July,  1867,  Dr. 
William  J.  Hawkins,  then  the  president  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston 
railroad,  appreciating  the  fine  capacity  of  his  young  kinsman,  secured 
his  appointment  as  superintendent  of  that  line.  The  duties  were 
comprehensive  and  embraced  not  only  the  department  of  transpor- 
tation but  also  that  of  construction;  but  with  ease  Capt.  Andrews 
fitted  himself  to  the  work,  and  during  his  eight  years  of  service,  not 
only  was  that  road  greatly  improved,  but  many  miles  of  the  Raleigh 
&  Augusta  Air  Line  were  built. 

The  Richmond  &  Danville  R.  R.  Co.  had,  in  1S71,  leased  the  North 
Carolina  road,  and  thus  became  a  competitor  with  the  Seaboard  line. 
Recognizing  the  ability  of  Capt.  Andrews,  in  1875,  that  road  obtained 
him  as  superintendent  of  its  North  Carolina  division.  In  this  posi- 
tion he  exhibited  still  greater  capacity,  and  with  a  broader  field  and 
enlarged  duties  won  still  higher  reputation.  Particularly  did  he  ad- 
dress himself  to  identifying  the  interests  of  the  company  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  towns  and  industries  along  the  lines 
controlled  by  his  system.  His  administration  was  wise  and  efficient. 
The  lease  of  the  North  Carolina  Central  road  to  a  foreign  corpora- 
tion had  been  a  source  of  much  irritation  among  the  people  of  the 
state,  and  no  one  could  have  succeeded  better  than  Capt.  Andrews  in 
allaying  this  feeling  and  establishing  pleasant  relations  between  the 
people  and  his  company.  Of  his  loyalty  to  his  state  he  had  given  indis- 
putable proof,  and  by  his  wise  management  he  largely  reconciled  the 
people  to  the  existence  of  the  lease,  and  even  those  who  remained 
hostile  never  questioned  that  the  ofificer,  while  true  to  the  company, 
remained  true  to  the  interests  of  his  state. 

When  Z.  B.  Vance  was  elected  governor,  in  1876,  he  asked  Capt 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  467 

Andrews  to  become  a  member  of  his  staff  with  tlic  rank  of  colonel, 
and  this  position  he  continued  to  hold  under  Gov.  Jarvis'  administra- 
tion. Thus  he  was  thrown  in  close  relations  with  the  governors  of 
the  state,  and  he  has  exerted  a  quiet  but  effective  influence  on  public 
matters  that  has  redounded  to  the  advantage  of  the  democratic 
party  and  to  the  benefit  of  the  public.  In  recognition  of  the  ability 
and  services  of  Col.  Andrews,  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  superintend- 
ent of  the  North  Carolina  division,  he  was  appointed  assistant  to  the 
president  of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  system;  and  he  sat  at  the 
council  board  of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  by  successive  steps;  through 
the  acquirement  of  other  properties,  the  road  reached  from  Charlotte 
to  Atlanta,  to  Augusta,  Birmingham  and  remote  points  at  the  south, 
and  from  Richmond  to  West  Point;  from  Danville  to  Washington 
and  other  points  at  the  north,  until  it  has  become  among  the  greatest 
systems  of  the  world,  controlling  about  6,000  miles  of  road.  Of  this 
great  system  he  became  third  vice-president  in  1SS6,  and  second  vice- 
president  in  January,  1890.  He  is  also  president  of  several  of  the 
Richmond  &  Danville  roads.  Piedmont  railroad,  the  Charlotte,  Col- 
umbia &  Augusta  railroad,  the  Columbia,  Greenville,  Danville  & 
Western,  with  the  Winston,  N.  C,  railroad,  now  extended  to  Wilkes- 
boro;  the  Oxford  &  Henderson,  the  Oxford  &  Clarkesville,  and  the 
Western  North  Carolina  railroad.  This  latter  road,  begun  by  the 
state  before  the  war.  had  come  to  such  a  pass  that  in  18S0  the  legisla- 
ture sold  it  to  the  Best  syndicate.  Mr.  Best's  associates,  when  they 
came  to  examine  the  property,  flew  the  bargain  and  the  contract  was 
about  to  be  forfeited.  To  prevent  a  failure  of  the  work,  Col.  An- 
drews, associating  with  himself  Col.  Buford,  Gen.  Logan  and  Mr. 
Clyde,  of  the  Danville  system,  advanced  $50,000  in  cash,  and  began 
the  construction  of  the  road  westward.  Shortly  afterward  he  induced 
the  Richmond  &  Danville  syndicate  to  purchase  the  contract.  This 
was  done  and  the  company  was  re-organized.  Col.  Andrews  became 
its  president,  and  at  the  cost  of  more  than  $3,000,000  completed 
the  branch  to  Paint  Rock,  and  then  over  the  Balsam  to  Murphy,  its 
extreme  western  terminus.  Thus  has  been  realized  the  dream  of  our 
statesmen,  and  the  people  of  the  western  counties  have  enjoyed  the 
fruition  of  their  hopes. 

At  one  time  Col.  Andrews  was  also  superintendent  of  the  A.  &  N.  C. 
R.  R.,  which  he  ran  in  connection  with  the  interior  lines,  thus  making 
a  continuous  line,  operated  practically  as  one  road,  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  sea.  As  busy  as  Col.  Andrews  has  been  all  through  life, 
he  has  not  been  devoted  exclusively  to  railroad  work.  For  a  number 
of  years  the  city  of  Raleigh  had  his  services  as  alderman,  and  he  has 
been  an  active  promoter  of  industrial  enterprises,  and  is  a  director  in 
various  insurance  and  manufacturing  companies,  and  is  also  vice- 
president  of  the  Citizens'  national  bank,  at  Raleigh;  he  is  one  of  the 
vice-presidents  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  is  on  sev- 
eral im])ortant  committees.  In  September,  iS6q,  he  was  happily  mar- 
ried to  Julia,  a  daughter  of  Col.  William  Johnston,  of  Charlotte,  by 
whom  he  has  five  children.     In  1874  he  moved  to  Raleigh,  where  he 


468  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

has  since  resided,  bringing  with  him  the  aged  grandmother,  who  had 
so  lovingly  replaced  his  sainted  mother  in  the  years  of  his  youth. 
Col.  Andrews  has  never  sought  political  preferment.  He  has  found 
congenial  occupation  in  his  work  as  a  railroad  manager,  and  indeed 
by  his  railway  construction,  he  has  conferred  more  benefit  on  the 
people  of  his  native  state  than  he  could  possibly  have  done  as  a 
politician. 

WILLIAM  SMITH, 

general  superintendent  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  and  Raleigh  &  Au- 
gusta Air  Line  railroads,  with  their  branches,  is  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful railroad  men  in  North  Carolina.  He  was  born  at  Smithville, 
now  Southport,  Brunswick  county,  August  i,  1834,  and  after  receiving 
his  education  at  the  Odd  Fellows'  academy  in  Wilmington,  N.  C,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  entered  life  as  a  civil  engineer.  He  found  em- 
ployment on  the  line  of  the  road  now  known  as  the  Cape  Fear  & 
Yadkin  V^alle}',  and  was  engaged  there  until,  at  the  age  of  about 
twenty-one,  he  w^as  appointed  clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  Bruns- 
wick, which  office  he  held  for  two  years.  He  then  purchased  a  coast- 
ing vessel  and  traded  along  the  coast,  but  finally,  about  1857,  he 
entered  the  transportation  department  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon 
Railroad  company  at  Wilmington,  serving  as  ticket  agent  and  yard 
master  until  April,  1861.  When  hostilities  broke  out,  Capt.  Smith 
joined  the  Wilmington  light  infantry,  of  which  John  L.  Cantwell  was 
then  captain,  and  was  soon  elected  a  lieutenant  and  was  put  on  duty 
as  acting  commissary.  At  the  same  time  he  had  displaj"ed  such  ca- 
pacity as  a  railroad  man,  that  the  president  of  the  road,  Mr.  William  S. 
Ashe,  promoted  him  to  be  master  of  transportation  of  the  entire  line, 
and  for  the  entire  period  of  the  war  he  discharged  with  acceptability 
the  onerous  and  exacting  duties  of  that  post,  dispatching  troops  and 
provisions  over  the  line,  when  all  the  material  and  equipment  of  the 
road  were  exhausted  in  the  heavy  and  long  continued  service.  Just 
before  the  evacuation  of  Wilmington,  he  was  again  promoted  to  be 
assistant  general  superintendent  of  the  road,  and  he  established  the 
shops  of  the  company  at  Magnolia  and  Enfield,  and  had  charge  of 
them,  and  virtually  he  had  charge  of  the  road  during  the  period  of 
1864-65. 

On  the  return  of  peace,  and  when  the  companj-'s  affairs  were  re- 
organized, he  was  again  elected  master  of  transportation,  and  served 
as  such  for  five  years,  when  he  was  emploj'ed  to  build  a  part  of  the 
road  from  Columbia  to  Sumter,  and  on  the  completion  of  that  line,  he 
was  employed  on  the  Carolina  Central  road  between  the  Pee  Dee  river 
and  Monroe,  and  he  remained  with  that  compan}^  until  1882,  when  he 
was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  R.  R.,  and  of 
the  Raleigh  &  Augusta  Air  Line  R.  R.  and  its  branches,  which  posi- 
tion he  has  filled  to  the  eminent  satisfaction  of  the  railroad  authori- 
ties. By  his  energy,  sagacity  and  watchfulness,  he  has  steadily  risen 
as  a  railroad  man  to  the  high  position  he  occupies  in  the  confidence 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4^9 

of  his  company.  Capt.  Smith  was  married  in  1S57  to  Miss  Abbe  C- 
Smith,  daughter  of  John  Smith,  of  Middlctown,  tonn.,  and  to  them 
were  born  tour  children,  of  whom  there  now  survives  but  one,  Abbe, 
wife  of  Mr.  Cam.  Gales.  Mrs.  Abbe  Smith  dying  in  1867,  Capt. 
Smith,  in  1S70,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Josephine  Macon,  of 
Richmond,  Va.,  by  whom  he  has  had  five  children,  three  of  whom  are 
yet  living:  Josephine,  Roberta  and  William  M.  C.  Smith.  Capt. 
Smith's  father,  Isaac  Baker  Smith,  was  a  native  of  Brunswick  county, 
N.  C  where  he  was  born  in  1806.  In  early  life  he  was  a  farmer;  then 
he  went  into  merchandise,  but  in  after  life  he  was  commodore  of  the 
steamship  "Gladiator,"  which  plied  between  Wilmington  and  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  and  he  was  so  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1S52. 
His  grandfather,  Elias  Smith,  came  to  North  Carolina  from  New 
York,  where  he  was  born,  and  in  early  manhood  settled  in  Brunswick 
county,  where  the  family  have  long  resided,  being  ever  held  in  high 
esteem  by  the  people  of  that  count3\ 


EDWARD  MOSELEY. 

But  few  men  have  left  a  deeper  impress  upon  a  state  when  its 
institutions  were  in  a  formative  period  than  Edward  Moseley  made 
on  the  colony  of  North  Carolina.  Of  his  history  prior  to  1705  we 
know  nothing.  In  that  year  he  was  a  householder  in  Albemarle  and 
living  in  Chowan  precinct.  The  council  of  which  he  was  a  member 
then  met  at  his  house.  The  next  j'ear,  1706,  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween the  colony  and  Virginia  came  into  dispute  and  Moseley  was 
designated,  together  with  John  Lawson,  to  run  the  line  on  the  part 
of  the  lords  proprietors.  In  1707  he  was  appointed  chief-justice  of 
the  colony.  About  that  time  the  troubles  between  the  church  of 
England  adherents  and  the  Dissenters  began,  and  Moseley,  although 
a  strong  churchman,  threw  himself  on  the  side  of  the  latter,  who 
sought  to  maintain  their  old  privileges  under  the  charter  and  con- 
stitution of  the  colony.  He  was  elected  to  the  assembly  from  Chowan 
in  1 70S,  but  his  election  was  disputed.  The  assembly,  however,  ad- 
mitted him  and  chose  him  speaker.  He  and  the  body  decided  in 
favor  of  Care}'  and  after  that  the  Glover  and  Pollock  party  fiercely 
denounced  him.  He  was  a  meml)er  of  the  succeeding  assemblies 
and  opijosed  Col.  Pollock's  administration  in  some  of  his  measures 
taken  during  the  Indian  war.  Indeed  it  was  alleged  that  he  was  ar- 
ranging with  Col.  Moore  to  have  a  new  administration  —  perhaps 
with  Moore  for  governor.  Notwithstanding  the  failure  of  the  Carey 
movement,  which  involved  Moseley  so  deeply,  he  maintained  a  strong 
hold  upon  the  people,  and  was  made  treasurer  by  the  assembly'  and 
entrusted  with  the  issuing  of  the  government  notes  for  the  expenses 
of  the  war.  This  office  of  treasurer  he  continued  to  hold  until  the 
close  of  his  life.  Having  married  the  widow  of  Gov.  Henderson 
Walker,  a  daughter  of  Gov.  Lillington,  he  became  closely  connected 
with  the  Porters,  Maurice  Moore,  the  Swanns,  John    Baptista  Ashe, 


470  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  the  Lillingtons;  and  he  sought  to  preserve  the  fame  of  the 
colony  untarnished. 

In  Gov.  Eden's  time,  he  believed  that  the  administration  was 
conniving  with  the  pirate,  Teach,  and  to  obtain  evidence  of  it,  he 
held  forcible  possession  of  the  secretary's  room  and  examined  the 
papers;  this  led  to  a  conflict  between  him  and  Gov.  Eden.  He  was 
found  guiltj'  of  seditious  conduct  and  debarred  from  holding  office 
for  three  years.  As  soon  as  the  disability  ceased,  he  was  again 
elected  to  the  assembly  and  chosen  speaker.  He  was  surveyor-gen- 
eral of  the  colon}',  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  in  1728 
ran  the  Virginia  line.  He  was  always  employed  in  such  matters. 
Circumstances  show  him  to  have  been  a  very  accomplished  surveyor, 
and  his  familiarity  with  instruments,  together  with  his  scholarly  at- 
tainments, indicate  that  he  had  been  trained  in  the  best  schools  in 
England.  During  Burrington's  second  administration  he  was  speaker 
of  the  house,  and  strongly  opposed  Burrington's  measures.  Indeed 
he  was  then  as  before  at  the  head  of  the  people's  party.  When  Gov. 
Johnston  came,  in  1734.  he  brought  a  commission  transferring  Mose- 
ley  to  the  upper  house,  and  he  remained  in  that  body  until  his  death, 
in  1749.  But  this  did  not  change  his  principles.  He  still  co-operated 
with  .Swann  and  the  other  popular  leaders.  The  assembly  continued 
him  in  the  position  of  general  treasurer  of  the  province,  which  he 
held  to  his  death.  Toward  the  close  of  his  life  he  was  also  the  agent 
of  Lord  Granville,  and  chief-justice  of  the  province.  The  laws  of 
the  state  had  never  been  printed,  and  the  few  manuscript  copies 
were  very  imperfect.  In  1746  he  and  Swann  were  appointed  to  re- 
vise and  print  them;  he  reported  to  the  assembly,  1749,  that  the  re- 
visal  was  completed,  but  he  died  before  they  were  printed.  About 
1735  he  removed  from  Chowan  to  Rocky  Point,  where  many  of  his 
friends  had  preceded  him. 

By  his  first  wife  JMr.  Moseley  had  two  sons.  Col.  Sampson 
Moseley  of  the  Revolution  and  Edward;  and  by  a  second  wife,  Ann 
Hazell,  sister  of  James  Hazell,  acting  governor  in  1771,  he  had  a 
large  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  Of  this  distinguished  patriot, 
to  whom  North  Carolina  is  so  much  indebted,  Dr.  Hawks  says: 
"Gale,  Little,  Moseley  and  Swann  were  all  men  who  wouldhave  been 
deemed  fit  associates  for  the  most  intelligent  men  to  be  found  in  any 
of  the  English  colonies  of  their  day."  "Among  our  old  ecclesiastical 
documents  we  find  Mr.  Moseley  in  another  aspect  than  that  of  lawyer 
and  politician.  We  find  him  in  communication  with  the  Missionary 
society,  informing  them  of  the  true  state  of  religion  among  the  people 
and  begging  them  to  send  missionaries  of  the  proper  kind.  He  sent 
to  England  and  purchased  prayer  books  as  well  as  works  of  practical 
religion  for  gratuitous  distribution  in  Carolina.  He  bought  also  quite 
a  library  and  presented  it  to  the  society  for  propagating  the  gospel, 
as  a  foundation  of  a  provincial  library  to  be  deposited  in  Edenton  for 
general   use.     Most  of  these  books  were  well  selected   and   costly." 

And  of  him,  Mr.  Geo.  Davis  has  written:  "Of  all  the  men  who 
watched  and  guided  the  tottering  footsteps  of  our  infant  state,  there 


-inj^^-<)nimt' 


i^ 


^^' 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  471 

was  not  one  who,  in  intellectual  ability,  in  scholarly  cultivation  and 
refinement,  in  solid  and  polite  learning,  in  courage  and  endurance,  in 
high  Christian  morality,  in  generous  consideration  for  the  welfare  of 
others,  in  all  the  true  merit,  in  fine,  which  makes  a  man  among  men, 
could  equal  Edward  Moseley." 

MAJ.  W.  W.  VASS. 

North  Carolina  has  produced  few  greater  railroad  men  than  Maj. 
W.  \'V.  Vass.  For  nearly  half  a  century  he  has  held  the  highest  posi- 
tions in  the  management  of  railroads,  and  is  to-day  one  of  the  best 
known  railroad  financiers  and  managers  in  the  south.  Maj.  Vass  was 
born  in  Granville  county,  N.  C,  February  19,  1S21.  He  was  given  a 
good  preliminary  schooling  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
county.  He  began  active  business  life  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Maj. 
John  S.  Eaton,  with  whom  he  remained  for  about  eight  years,  the  last 
two  years  of  which  time  he  was  a  partner  in  the  concern.  January  i, 
1845,  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  original  Raleigh  &  Gaston  rail- 
road, and  held  that  office  until  1848.  In  the  latter  year  the  state  of 
North  Carolina  became  the  owner  of  the  road,  and  it  was  managed 
by  the  governor  and  a  board  of  commissioners.  They  elected  Maj. 
Yass  president  of  the  corporation,  and  he  continued  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  that  responsible  office  until  the  state  disposed  of  the  road 
to  a  new  company  under  a  new  organization.  This  was  consummated 
September  18,  1S51,  and  the  company  retained  the  same  name.  At 
the  first  meeting  of  the  directors  Mr.  Vass  was  elected  treasurer,  and 
he  has  since  continuously  held  that  office.  In  October,  1S62,  he  was 
made  treasurer  of  the  Chatham  railroad  company,  known  since  1872 
as  the  Raleigh  &  Augusta  Air  Line  railroad  company,  and  still  holds 
that  position.  For  over  fifty  years  Maj.  Vass  has  been  an  earnest 
and  consistent  communicant  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  has  ever  car- 
ried his  religion  into  his  every-day  business  life.  His  name  is  held 
in  the  warmest  esteem  and  confidence  wherever  known.  His  ability 
is  great,  his  honesty  crystal.  He  has  been  twice  married,  his  first 
marriage  having  been  to  Miss  Freeman,  of  Granville  county,  N.  C, 
who  died  about  a  year  afterward  without  issue,  and  in  1866  he  was 
married  to  his  present  wife,  Miss  Lillie,  daughter  of  Rev.  James 
McDaniel,  D.  D.,  of  Fayettville,  N.  C.  Three  children  survive  to 
bless  their  union:  William  W.,  Jr.,  Eleanor  and  Lilla  May.  It  will 
be  of  interest  to  insert  here  the  following  extracts  from  the  State 
Chronicle,  in  regard  to  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  Maj.  Vass  as  treas- 
urer of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  railroad  company.  The  following 
letter  explains  itself:  • 

President's  OfTice,  Seabcinl  Line,  Baltimore,  January  l6,  1886. 
Maj.  W,  W.  Vass:  My  Dear  Sir — Tlie  lioard  of  directors  of  tlie  Raleigli  &•  Gaston  railroad  com- 
pany have  commissioned  Mr.  Hoffman  and  myself  to  select  a  piece  of  silverware  lo  be  presented  lo  you 
on  the  part  of  the  company  as  evidence  of  the  esteem  which  they  believe  is  entertained  for  you  by  every 
stockholder.  It  seems  fitting  that  the  opportunity  of  iicknowlcilging  in  sonie  way  your  long  period  of  ser- 
vice should  not  be  lost  on  the  ending  of  its  fortieth  anniversary.  In  sending  yoii  a  silver  pitcher  and 
stand,  I  beg  to  express  to  you,  on  llie  part  of  the  board,  their  sincere  and  alTeclionate  regard. 

I  am,  yours  very  respectfully, 

.  '  '  JoHX  M.   Roni.\sON,  President. 


472  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  reply  reads  as  follows: 

Raleigh,  N.  C,  January  19. 
John  M.  Robinson:  Dear  Sir — You  may  imagine  my  surprise,  but  not  my  gratification,  on  re- 
ceiving this  morning  by  express  a  box  containing  tlie  superb  silver  pitcher  and  stand,  selected  with  such 
elegant  taste  by  yourself  and  Mr.  Hoft'man,  and  presented  on  behalf  of  the  hoard  of  directors  and  stock- 
holders of  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  railroad  company  as  a  testimonial  of  personal  regard  and  recognition  of 
oflicial  duty  fof  an  uninterrupted  term  of  forty  years.  The  gift,  costly  and  beautiful  in  itself,  and  bearing 
as  it  does  a  suggestive  inscription,  is  greatly  enhanced  in  value  to  me  by  the  kind  and  generous  tone  of 
your  letter  of  presentation  accompanying  the  same.  I  beg  to  return  to  you  and  Mr.  Hoffman,  and  to  each 
member  in  particular  of  the  board  of  directors,  my  warmest  thanks  and  acknowledgment  for  the  honor 
done  me,  and  to  signify  my  entire  willingness  to  serve  the  company  in  the  same  capacity  for  the  next  forty 
years,  if  you  will  Ije  pleased  to  pardon  the  very  modest  intimation  of  my  growing  appetite  for  even  greater 
official  longevity.  Again  thanking  you,  Mr.  President,  permit  me  to  express  the  wish  that  your  beautiful 
gift  in  its  solid,  sterling  purity  may  ever  fitly  represent  the  company's  financial  condition,  as  it  does  to-day 
under  your  able  and  wise  administration,  as  evidenced  by  my  official  balance-sheet,  showing  no  bills  pay- 
able outstanding,  while  its  bonds  command  in  the  public  market  twenty-five  per  cent,  above  par. 

I  am,  gratefully  and  sincerely, 

W.  W.   Vass,   Treasurer. 

Thomas  Vass,  the  father  of  the  distinguished  subject,  was  born  in 
King  and  Queen  county,  Va.,  and  was  a  descendant  of  the  Huguenots 
Avho  fled  from  France  after  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes. 
Thomas  was  born  in  1776,  and  came  with  his  father  to  North  Caro- 
lina when  a  boy.  They  settled  in  Granville  county,  and  there  Thomas 
followed  farming  all  his  life.  He  died  in  184Q,  and  his  wife  in  1856. 
He  was  the  son  of  Thomas,  also  a  Virginian.  He  was  a  pioneer  Bap- 
tist preacher,  and  settled  in  North  Carolina  in  1790,  where  he  died. 


J.  R.  KENLY, 

the  general  manager  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  line,  was  born  in  Balti- 
more, January  21,  1847.  He  spent  his  early  life  in  that  city,  and  when 
but  sixteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted,  in  1863,  in  Company  A,  First 
Maryland  cavalr}-.  Confederate  States  army,  as  a  private  and  re- 
mained with  that  regiment  until  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee's  army  at 
Appomatox  Court  House  in  1865.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  and  the  battles  around  Richmond.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  entered  railroad  service,  in  West  Virginia,  as  rodman  in  an 
engineering  corps  and  continued  in  this  position  and  as  assistant  en- 
gineer until  the  summer  of  1868.  He  then  entered  the  service  of  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  at  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  as  resident  engineer 
on  construction  of  the  Pittsburg  &  Connellsville  railroad.  On  Janu- 
ary I,  iS7i,he  entered  the  service  of  the  Union  railroad  of  Baltimore, 
as  resident  engineer  on  construction  of  the  Union  railroad  tunnel, 
From  November  25,  1871,  until  April  5,  1872,  he  was  engineer  and 
superintendent  in  the  employ  of  that  road.  On  April  5,  1872,  he  en- 
tered the  service  of  the  Richmond  &  Petensburg  railroad  as  super- 
intendent with  headquarters  at  Richmond,  Va.  On  January  i,  1875, 
he  was  made  superintendent  of  transportation  of  the  Atlantic  Coast 
line,  with  headquarters  at  Wilmington,  N.  C.  On  January  i,  1889,  he 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  assistant  general  manager,  and  on 
July  I,  1 891,  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  general  manager  of 
the  Atlantic  Coast  line,  with  headquarters  at.  Wilmington,  N.  C. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  473 


J.  R.  NOLAN, 


general  manager  of  the  Western  South  Carolina  line,  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  Md.,  July  19,  185 1,  and  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that 
citj-.  When  quite  a  boy  he  learned  telegraphy,  and  when  but  seven- 
teen years  of  age  he  was  given  an  office  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad. 
From  1S70  to  1S72  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Western  Union  com- 
pany, and  during  these  years  was  stationed  at  Chicago.  From  that 
time  until  iSSi  or  1SS2  he  filled  the  position  of  chief  dispatcher  of  the 
Union  Station  at  Baltimore  on  the  P.  R.  R.  R.  R.  In  that  year  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  train  dispatcher  and  depot  master  at  Roanoke, 
\*a..  for  the  Shenandoah  X'alley  railroad,  and  remained  there  for 
three  years.  In  1S83  Mr.  Nolan  acted  as  chief  dispatcher  with  the 
Atlantic  Coast  line  on  the  Charleston  &  Columbia  division.  This 
position  he  held  about  three  years,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  assistant  superintendent  of  transportation  on  the  line 
south  of  Weldon,  where  he  stayed  until  April,  1SS9.  At  this  time  he 
was  appointed  to  the  position  he  now  holds,  and  is  acceptably  filling 
the  same.  Mr.  Xolan  was  married  in  1S75,  and  is  the  father  of  one 
son  and  two  daughters.  He  has  never  taken  any  active  interest  in  the 
political  affairs  of  his  county  and  state,  preferring  to  devote  his  at- 
tention to  the  railroad  business,  and  it  is  owing  to  this  fact  that  he 
now  occupies  the  prominent  position  held  by  him. 


THOMAS  W.  WHISNANT, 

the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  born  at  Shelby,  in  the  county  of  Cleve- 
land, X.  C,  Jul}'  3,  1847.  His  parents  were  natives  of  that  section  of 
the  state  and  were  among  its  most  highly  respected  citizens.  His 
father  was  a  merchant  and  mill  owner  who  was  possessed  of  indom- 
itable energy  and  one  of  character.  His  father,  P.  S.  Whisnant,  was 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  on  his  way  to  his  mill  on  the  Atlanta  railroad 
when  by  a  collision  of  trains,  he  lost  his  life.  Thomas  W.  Whisnant 
first  came  into  notice  in  the  C.  C.  railroad,  as  foreman  of  its  night 
force,  on  the  nth  of  April,  1S7S.  In  1880  he  was  promoted  to  the 
position  of  roadmaster  of  the  second  or  western  division,  where  he 
showed  great  aptness  and  developed  a  general  knowledge  of  his 
business,  which  made  him  the  rising  man  of  the  system.  W'hen  the 
lamented  L.  C.  Jones  died,  July  12,  i88g,  Capt.  T.  W.  Whisnant  was 
designated  by  the  officers  of  the  road,  by  the  employers,  and  the 
public  and  patrons  of  the  road  as  the  man  to  succeed  to  the  superin- 
tending of  the  C.  C.  railroad.  Before  the  close  of  that  month  he 
was  tendered  the  position  and  he  immediatel}'  entered  upon  its 
duties.  Since  his  induction  into  this  office  he  has  fulfilled  every  ex- 
pectation of  his  most  ardent  admirers  and  is  recognized  among  rail- 
road men  as  a  very  superior  and  efficient  officer,  while  his  popularity 
with  the  public  has  suffered   no  diminution.     He  is  a  practical  and 


474  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

superior  business  man  and  witli  such  a  history,  at  his  time  of  Hfe,  it  is 
reasonable  to  expect  that  the  future  has  much  in  store  for  him  in  the 
line  of  the  profession  he  has  chosen. 

JAMES  FRANCIS  POST,  JR., 

secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  line,  was  born  in  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  February  24,  1S50.  His  father,  James  F.  Post,  a 
descendant  of  the  old  Dutch  settlers,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1818, 
studied  architecture  in  New  York  city,  removed  to  Petersburg,  Va., 
about  1843,  where  he  married  Mary  A.  Russell,  and  finally  settled  in 
Wilmington,  N.  C,  in  1849,  of  which  city  he  has  been  a  resident  for 
the  last  forty-two  years.  He  is  skilled  in  his  profession,  and  has 
planned  and  executed  many  of  the  finest  buildings  in  this  and  neigh- 
boring cities.  The  subject  of  this  notice  was  the  third  son,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  grammar  schools  of  Wilmington.  When 
but  a  mere  boy  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon 
railroad  company,  as  freight  clerk.  In  1S73  '""^  was  made  cashier  of 
that  road  and  of  the  Wilmington,  Columbia  &  Augusta  railroad, 
which  position  he  held  for  four  years.  In  1877  he  was  appointed 
through  freight  agent  of  those  two  roads,  which  position  he  held  for 
nine  years,  and  the  duties  of  which  he  discharged  to  the  entire  satis- 
faction of  his  emploj'ers  and  the  general  public.  In  1886  he  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  assistant  treasurer  of  the  W^.  &  W.,  W.  C. 
&  A.,  the  Central  and  A.  &  R.  railroad  Co.'s,  and  served  as  such  until 
July  I,  1887,  when  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  line, 
composed  of  the  following  roads:  Wilmington  &  Weldon,  Wilming- 
ton, Columbia  &  Augusta,  A.  &  R.,  M.  &  A.,  Florence,  Central  of 
S.  C,  W'ilson  &  .Summerton,  and  Hartsville  railroads.  He  has  been 
re-elected  at  every  annual  meeting  of  the  directors  since  1887,  and 
that  fact  alone  is  sufficient  evidence  of  his  trustfulness  and  capacity. 
Beside  attending  to  the  arduous  duties  of  his  responsible  office,  he 
has  also  been  interested  in  various  institutions  as  president,  stock- 
holder and  director,  serving  for  a  number  of  3'ears  as  secretary  of  a 
life  insurance  compan}'. 

Mr.  Post  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Knights  of 
Honor,  and  the  Masonic  fraternit}'.  In  1889  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  the  city  of  Wilmington,  and  was  re- 
elected in  1891,  and  is  now  serving  as  such,  and  has  served  repeat- 
edly as  acting  mayor,  and  justice  of  the  police  court,  chairman  of  the 
sanitary  and  fire  committees,  and  has  done  much  to  improve  the  con- 
dition of  the  city  in  these  departments.  He  is  an  official  member  of 
Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  takes  great  interest  in  the 
Sunday-school  work  of  that  denomination,  and  of  which  he  is  at 
present  the  active  and  energetic  superintendent.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Sunday-school  union  society  of  his  city  and  county.  He 
was  married,  in  1876,  to  Miss  Sarah  V.  Jacobs,  of  this  city,  and  has 
been  blessed  with  five  children,  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of 
whom  are  living.     Mr.  Post  entered  upon  the  active   duties  of  life  a 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  475 

poor  boy,  but  by  his  energy,  his  industry  and  strict  integrity,  has  won 
positions  of  trust  and  of  honor,  and  has  been  equal  to  t-he  require- 
ments of  every  situation  which  he  has  been  called  upon  to  fill. 

JESSE  FRANKLIN 

was  born  in  Orange  county,  \"a.,  March  24,  1760.  This  was  a  time, 
just  on  the  eve  of  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  when  the  oppor- 
tunities for  acquiring  an  education  at  home  were  meager,  and  young 
Franklin's  education  was  therefore  limited.  While  he  was  young, 
his  father  removed  to  Surry  county,  N.  C,  just  before  hostilities 
were  opened  against  the  mother  country.  There  was  a  large  element 
in  the  state  hostile  to  the  war  —  men  who  anxiously  desired  to  main- 
tain their  loyalt}'  to  the  British  crown.  These  were  the  tories  of  the 
Revolution  and  they  became  so  intolerant  and  hostile  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary party  as.  to  seriously  endanger  their  lives  and  property. 
This  part}'  spirit  ran  so  high  that  the  whigs  were  compelled  to  erect 
forts  and  raise  forces  to  defend  themselves  and  families  and  preserve 
their  property  from  spoliation.  It  also  became  necessarj^  to  raise 
troops,  and  young  Franklin  was  among  the  number  to  volunteer, 
under  Col.  Cleveland,  his  maternal  uncle,  for  protection  against  the 
tories,  and,  if  need  be,  to  take  up  the  offensive  against  them.  Col. 
Cleveland  entered  upon  his  duties  with  great  zeal  and  with  not  a 
little  rashness  and  severit}'.  At  the  memorable  battle  of  Kings 
Mountain,  in  which  Col.  Cleveland  played  so  conspicuous  a  part, 
Franklin  was  his  adjutant  and  bore  himself  with  such  gallantry  that 
he  won  high  praise  from  his  commander.  At  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Court  House  he  took  an  equally  courageous  part,  and  was  particu- 
larly serviceable  in  the  bitter  warfare  which  was  kept  upbj'the  tories, 
until  those  troublesome  persons  were  driven  from  this  part  of  the 
state. 

After  the  war  was  over  the  country  had  need  of  statesmen,  not 
only  to  inaugurate,  but  year  by  year  to  strengthen,  the  new  gov- 
ernment, and  in  1792  Mr.  Franklin  was  elected  to  the  house  of 
commons,  to  take  part  in  the  legislation  of  the  state.  He  was  the 
next  year  re-elected,  and  on  the  completion  of  this  legislative  term 
he  was  sent  to  congress  to  represent  the  Surry  district  in  that  body. 
At  the  close  of  his  congressional  term,  he  returned  home  and  was 
again  elected  to  the  state  legislature.  In  1799  he  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate,  and  served  the  full  term  of  six  years.  During 
his  last  year  in  the  senate,  he  was  chosen  its  president.  While  he 
was  thus  presiding  in  the  senate,  Hon.  Nathaniel  Macon,  another  dis- 
tinguished North  Carolinian,  was  speaker  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives. No  sooner  was  Mr.  Franklin's  senatorial  term  finished  than 
he  was  elected  to  his  own  state  senate  for  a  term  of  two  years.  He 
was  then,  in  1S07,  sent  back  to  the  United  States  senate,  where  he 
remained  until  March  3,  1813.  His  frequent  elections  and  re-elections 
were  some  indication  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  his  occupancy  of  the  presidential  chair  and  of  high  places 


476  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

in  the  most  important  committees  of  the  United  States  senate,  dem- 
onstrated tbat  he  was  equally  appreciated  in  that  illustrious  body. 
When  his  term  closed  in  the  senate,  he  was  offered  a  re-election,  but 
he  declined  and  retired  to  the  more  restful  scenes  of  private  life. 
But  his  state  had  not  yet  paid  him  its  highest  honor,  and  in  1820,  he 
was  elected  its  chief  magistrate,  by  the  legislature,  as  the  successor 
of  Gov.  John  Branch.  The  completion  of  his  gubernatorial  term  was 
the  close  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  honorable  official  careers 
of  which  the  history  of  North  Carolina  contains  an\'  record.  The 
final  end  came  in  1S24,  when  he  had  reached  the  sixty-fifth  year  of 
his  eventful  life. 

HON.  PHILEMON  BENJAMIN  HAWKINS. 

Among  North  Carolina's  most  enterprising  and  patriotic  sons 
may  be  found  the  name  of  the  Hon.  Philemon  Benjamin  Hawkins, 
who,  for  many  years,  was  as  actively  identified  with  the  growth  and 
advancement  of  the  state  as  any  other  one  man.  Born  in  Franklin 
county  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1S23,  from  that  time  until  his  death  on 
the  2nd  of  January,  iSqi,  his  life  was  spent  in  his  native  state.  Mr. 
Hawkins  was  given  a  liberal  education,  having  been  graduated  from 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  After  the  completion  of  his  col- 
legiate course  he  turned  his  attention  to  railroad  building,  his  first 
contract  having  been  in  South  Carolina.  Some  time  later  he  held  the 
contract  for  extensive  work  around  Old  Point,  Va.,  and  during  the 
Civil  war  had  large  contracts  from  the  Confederate  government  for 
salt.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  south,  Mr. 
Hawkins  resumed  railroad  contracting,  and  remained  in  that  business 
until  about  the  3'ear  1875,  when  he  retired  from  active  life  to  his 
plantation  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  where  he  lived  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  the  upper  house  of  the  state  legis- 
lature for  several  terms,  both  before  and  after  the  war,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  was  a  count}'  commissioner  of  Franklin  county.  A 
director  in  the  North  Carolina  railroad  for  an  extended  period,  he 
ever  evinced  the  greatest  interest  in  every  movement  looking  toward 
the  development  of  his  native  state.  President  Harrison  made  him 
a  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  at  the  beginning  of  his  term, 
and  on  Mr.  Hawkins'  death,  which  occurred  Januarj'  2,  iSqi,  William  J. 
Hawkins,  his  son,  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  fourth  dis- 
trict. A  prominent  Mason  for  a  number  of  years,  he  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Hawkins'  marriage  to  Miss 
Fannie  M.  Hawkins,  daughter  of  Philemon  Hawkins,  of  Louisburg, 
N.  C,  was  solemnized  in  May,  1863,  and  resulted  in  the  birth  of  two 
children,  named:  Bettie,  wife  of  Walter  B.  Boyd,  of  Warrenton, 
N.  C,  and  William  J.  Hawkins,  who  survived  his  father  only  a  few 
months,  having  been  taken  with  a  congestive  chill,  and  died  after  a 
few  days'  illness  the  21st  of  April,  1891.  The  death  of  this  young  man 
was  peculiarly  sad  and  greatly  lamented  by  his  many  close  friends 
and  his  grief-stricken  mother  and  sister,  who  almost  idolized  him. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4"] 


ROBERT  R.   BRIDGERS, 


one  of  the  prominent  railroad  men  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in 
Tarboro,  X.  C,  December  i,  1854.  He  received  his  education  at 
Troy  institute,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  at  the  Polytecnic  institute,  and  at  Prince- 
ton, Mass.  His  course  of  instruction  was  thorough  and  he  was  twent}'- 
five  years  of  age  before  he  tinished  his  education.  Leaving  college, 
he  went  into  the  service  of  the  Western  Atlantic  railroad,  with  head- 
quarters at  Atlanta,  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  engineer,  and  he 
remained  in  that  position  two  years.  His  next  employment  was  as 
surveyor  on  the  extension  of  the  Richmond  &  x\lleghany  railroad. 
For  one  j'ear  he  was  in  charge  of  the  Roanoke  machine  shops,  at 
Roanoke,  Va.,  and  then  he  was  employed  on  the  East  Tennessee, 
\'irginia  &  Georgia  R.  R.,  in  building  the  railroad  shops  and  termi- 
nal facilities  of  that  line,  at  Atlanta.  This  important  work  was  com- 
pleted in  nine  months,  when  Mr.  Bridgers  accepted  a  position  in  the 
ofifice  of  engineer  of  maintenance  of  way  of  the  Pennsylvania  rail- 
road, at  Altoona,  Penn.  Here  he  remained  six  months,  and  then 
was  appointed  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Pennsj'lvania  railroad, 
with  headquarters  at  Wall,  Penn.  Later,  he  was  employed  as  super- 
visor of  the  same  road,  with  headquarters  at  Trenton,  N.  J.  In  these 
two  positions  he  spent  two  years  and  a  half,  and  gained  most  valua- 
ble experience,  and  exhibited  a  high  capacity  for  the  exacting  duties 
of  railroad  supervision.  He  was  then  tendered  the  position  of  engi- 
neer of  maintenance  of  way  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad, 
y/ith  headquarters  at  Asheville,  N.  C,  and  was  so  employed  for  eight- 
een months,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  August,  iSSS,  he  was  transfer- 
red in  the  same  capacity  to  the  \'irginia  Midland  railroad,  where  he 
remained  until  March,  1889. 

Thus  far  Mr.  Bridgers  had  exhibited  all  the  elements  of  a  success- 
ful railroad  man;  cautious,  painstaking  and  energetic,  while  his  judg- 
ment had  ripened  with  maturing  years,  and  his  scholastic  acquirements 
and  training  at  the  institutions  of  learning  had  found  ready  applica- 
tion in  the  school  of  experience.  He  had  been  practiced  in  every 
department,  and  railroad  work  of  all  kinds  was  practically  familiar 
to  him.  and  he  made  himself  master  of  every  detail  of  the  business. 
When  he  had  performed  the  work  desired  on  the  \^irginia  Midland, 
the  management  asked  his  services  as  superintendent  of  the  North 
Carolina  division  of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  R.  R.,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Durham,  and  he  was  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  new 
lines  then  building.  On  June  i,  1890,  his  headquarters  were  trans- 
ferred to  Raleigh,  and  after  a  year's  service  there  he  was  again 
transferred  to  the  Western  North  Carolina  R.  R.,  with  headquarters 
at  Asheville,  in  the  capacity  of  general  manager.  Thus,  step  by  step, 
each  year  making  an  advance,  Mr.  Bridgers  has  gone  forward  in  his 
profession,  winning  new  honors  and  establishing  his  reputation  on  a 
firm  foundation  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  valuable  railroad  men 
in  the  south.    Indeed,  when  we  consider  his  thorough  preparation,  his 


478  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

aptitude,  capacity,  judgment  and  practical  experience,  we  may  antic- 
ipate tliat  witli  the  passing  years  he  will  attain  a  reputation  second  to 
none  in  his  line  in  the  United  States. 

On  June  i,  1890,  Mr.  Bridgers  was  married  to  Anna  King,  daughter 
of  Dr.  James  F.  King,  of  Durham,  N.  C.  Mr.  Bridgers'  social  posi- 
tion is  of  the  highest.  His  family  have  long  been  among  the  most 
esteemed  citizens  of  Edgecombe  county,  N.  C,  where  his  father, 
Hon.  Robert  R.  Bridgers  was  born,  November  23,  1S19.  Mr.  Robert 
Bridgers  was  prepared  for  college  by  Benjamin  Sumner,  and  gradu- 
ated at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  in  1841,  with  honors  in  a 
class  with  Gov.  Ellis,  Samuel  F.  Phillips,  Dr.  Charles  Phillips,  John  F. 
Hoke  and  others  of  equal  merit.  He  read  law  at  the  university 
with  Gov.  Swain,  and  obtaining  his  license  in  1841  began  the  practice 
in  Edgecombe,  where  he  soon  established  a  lucrative  business.  He 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  as  a  democrat  in  1844,  and  again  in 
1856-58-60.  But  during  these  years  he  also  was  engaged  In  farm- 
ing, and  together  with  his  brother,  Mr.  John  L.  Bridgers,  he  enjoyed 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  and  most  practical  and 
progressive  planters  in  the  state.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Confederate  congress,  and  there 
took  rank  among  the  first  men  of  the  south  for  high  capacity.  After 
the  war  ended,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon 
railroad  company  and  here  he  found  an  ample  field  for  the  exercise 
of  his  fine  powers.  Taking  the  road,  when  a  perfect  wreck,  he  built 
it  up  until  it  became  without  doubt  the  best  line  in  the  south,  and  by 
his  business  combinations  and  management,  the  value  of  the  property 
has  been  more  than  doubled.  It  is  to-daj^  a  monument  to  his  practi- 
cal wisdom  and  splendid  management.  Soon  after  his  election  to 
this  office  Mr.  Bridgers  removed  to  Wilmington,  where  he  was  resid- 
ing at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  iSSS.  He  was  married,  in  1S48,  to 
Margaret  E.Johnston,  daughter  of  Henry  Johnston,  of  Tarboro,  N.C., 
and  to  them  were  born  ten  children,  of  whom  six  now  survive: 
Emily,  Robert  R.,  Preston  L.,  George  J.,  Mary  and  Frank  W. 
Bridgers. 

GEORGE  HENDERSON, 

the  efficient  agent  of  the  Southern  Express  company,  and  also  for 
the  Eastern  Carolina  Dispatch  line,  was  born  in  Quebec,  Canada, 
September  11,  1840,  his  parents  being  Alexander  and  Mary  (Chip- 
chase)  Henderson,  of  Scotch  and  Irish  descent,  respectively.  He 
was  reared  In  his  native  country  and  educated  In  the  public  schools. 
In  i860  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and  three  years  later  located 
In  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  entered  the  service  of  the  American 
telegraph  company.  In  1863  he  entered  the  service  of  the  United 
States  military  telegraph  line  and  accompanied  the  Federal  army 
through  Virginia.  After  the  war  he  followed  telegraphy  in  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  and  later  in  Wilmington,  N.  C.  In  1866  he  came  to  New- 
bern  and  took  charge  of  the  Western  Union  telegraph  oftice  at  that 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  47Q 

place.  In  i86q  he  was  tendered  the  position  of  agent  for  the  South- 
ern express  company,  and  has  since  held  that  office.  When  the  East- 
ern Carolina  Dispatch  line  was  organized  in  1SS7,  Mr.  Henderson 
became  its  agent,  and  has  since  continued  as  such.  For  the  past 
eighteen  years  he  has  held  the  agency  for  several  different  insurance 
companies.  He  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  public  im- 
provements of  Xewbern,  and  has  done  much  to  assist  in  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  town,  being  considered  a  leading  citizen  and  a 
business  man  of  much  abilitj'.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  John's  lodge 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.  In  1S71  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lisette  Bell,  daugh- 
ter of  David  W.  Bell,  of  Newbern.,  Two  children  have  blessed  this 
happy  union,  named,  Emma  and  George.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hen- 
derson are  valued  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
he  at  present  holds  the  office  of  steward  in  the  church  at  Newlaern. 

MAJ.  GRIFFITH  JOHN  McREE, 

a  Revolutionary  officer  of  distinction,  was  born  in  Bladen  county, 
N.  C,  February  i,  1758,  his  father,  Samuel  McRee,  having  emigrated 
from  Ireland  and  settled  in  that  county  about  1740.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  Revolution,  young  McRee  ardently  espoused  the  cause 
of  liberty,  and  was  elected  a  captain  of  the  Wilmington  district,  and 
was,  April  16,  1776,  commissioned  a  captain  in  the  Sixth  North  Caro- 
lina continentals.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Moultrie,  and  later 
at  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown  and  Monmouth.  Early 
in  March,  1779,  he  was  transferred  to  the  I'irst  North  Caroliha  con- 
tinentals, and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  marched  again  to  South  Caro- 
lina, where  he  endured  the  hardships  of  the  protracted  siege  of 
Charleston,  and  became  a  prisoner.  For  many  months  he  was  con- 
fined with  the  other  prisoners  of  Lincoln's  army  at  Charleston,  being 
exchanged  February  27,  1781.  He  hastened  to  join  Gen.  Greene,  and 
fought  at  Guilford  Court  House,  and  later  at  Hobkirk's  Hill  and 
Eutaw  Springs.  For  his  gallantry  in  this  last  battle  he  was  promoted 
to  be  major,  and  breveted  lieutenant-colonel.  When  Gen.  Greene 
entered  Charleston  ui:K)n  its  evacuation  he  designed  to  give  preced- 
ence to  the  South  Carolina  troops,  but  Maj.  McRee  protested  so  vig- 
orously that  Gen.  Greene  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  superior  claims 
of  the  North  Carolina  line.  In  1784  Maj.  McRee  was  appointed  a 
commissioner  to  sell  the  confiscated  property  of  the  torics,  and  ren- 
dered satisfactory  accounts  of  the  proceeds.  He  married,  in  1785, 
Miss  Ann  Fergus,  of  Wilmington,  and  cultivated  rice  on  his  planta- 
tion, Lilliput,  below  Wilmington.  He  was  appointed  captain  in  the 
corps  of  artillerists  and  engineers,  December  26,  1794,  by  President 
Washington,  and  he  qualified  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.  He  was  placed 
in  command  of  Fort  Johnson,  and  while  so  employed,  March  30,  1798, 
he  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  for  the  Wilmington  district. 
He  died  at  Smithville,  October  30,  1801  — a  faithful  Christian  at  a 
time  of  great  infidelity.  He  was  a  meml)er  of  the  society  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  was  a  delegate  to  the  general  convention  of  the  order  in 


480  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

17S4.  Of  his  ten  children  only  five  attained  maturit}-;  Dr.  Griffith 
John  McRee,  who  was  a  physician  in  Wilmington,  and  died  in  1S31; 
William,  Dr.  James  Fergus,  Samuel,  and  Margaret,  who  married  Dr. 
Morrison,  of  Kentucky,  a  surgeon  in  the  navy,  and  died  in  iS:;::. 

Col.  William  McRee,  the  eldest  son  of  Maj.  Griffith  McRee,  was 
born  December  13,  1787.  He  entered  West  Point  at  an  early  age 
and  graduated  in  1805  with  the  highest  honors,  being  assigned  to  the 
engineer  corps.  He  was  a  brilliant  officer,  and  served  with  Gen. 
Scott  in  the  Lundy  Lane  campaign,  which  Gen.  Swift,  in  his  history 
of  New  York,  says  he  planned,  attributing  to  Col.  McRee  the  merit 
of  having  brought  success  to  the  American  arms  bj'  his  genius.  He 
rose  rapidly  in  his  corps  and  was  esteemed  the  best  engineer  officer 
in  the  army.  He  was  chief  engineer  of  the  United  States  armx-  com- 
manded by  Gen.  Brown  in  1814;  was  breveted  lieutenant-colonel  "for 
gallant  conduct  in  battle  of  Niagara;"  and  also  "for  distinguished  and 
meritorious  service  in  defense  of  Fort  Erie."  He  was  appointed 
lieutenant-colonel  of  engineers  in  i8r8.  He  resigned  in  1S19.  He 
was  United  States  surveyor  of  public  lands  in  Illinois,  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  from  1S25  to  1S32.  He  died  in  St.  Louis,  May,  1833,  un- 
married 

Col.  Samuel  McRee,  the  j-oungest  son  of  Maj.  Griffith  McRee, 
was  born  October  6,  1801.  He  entered  West  Point  at  the  age  of  fif- 
teen and  graduated,  with  credit,  July,  1820.  He  was  appointed  lieu- 
tenant of  the  Eighth  infantry,  but  was  transferred  to  the  First  infantry. 
In  1831  he  waspromoted  to  be  captain  and  served  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  In  1839  he  was  made  major  and  quartermaster.  On  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war,  he  was  at  New  Orleans,  and  ap- 
plied to  be  assigned  to  the  line,  but  was  ordered  to  report  to  Gen. 
Taylor  as  chief  quartermaster,  with  whom  he  served  until  detached 
to  assume  charge  of  the  important  post  at  Point  Isabel.  Here  his 
efficiency  won  unstinted  commendation.  Later  he  served  as  chief 
quartermaster  of  Gen.  Scott's  army.  In  May,  184S,  he  was  breveted 
lieutenant-colonel  "for  meritorious  conduct  while  serving  in  the 
enemj-'s  country."  He  died  at  St.  Louis,  July  iS,  1849.  His  services 
in  the  Mexican  war  were  of  unestimable  value  to  the  American  army. 
He  married  Mrs.  Mary  Wheaton.  who  was  a  Miss  Urquahart,  of  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  and  left  two  sons. 

Dr.  James  Fergus  McRee  was  another  son  of  Col.  Griffith  McRee. 
He  was  born  November  iS,  1794.  His  mother  being  in  straitened 
circumstances,  James  Fergus  was  denied  the  highest  educational  ad- 
vantages. He  was  put  to  school  at  Wilmington,  and  taught  the 
younger  boys  in  school  to  pay  for  his  own  education.  Having  per- 
fected himself  in  mathematics  and  Latin,  he  studied  medicine  with 
Dr.  Nat  Hill,  and  after  serving  several  years  with  him  was  finally 
admitted  into  partnership.  He  perfected  himself  in  the  French 
language,  and  thus  obtained  the  practice  of  the  French  sailors  who 
frequented  that  port.  When  the  yellow  fever  became  epidemic  at 
Wilmington  in  1822  and  depopulated  the  town.  Dr.  McRee  faced  the 
pestilence  and  was  very  successful  in  his  treatment.     His  practice 


o^u^6.-c<j    <::>2£-^^-<^-*-*^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  48 1 

then  became  general  and  extensive,  and  he  steadily  gained  eminence 

in  his  profession  until  he  came  to  be  regarded,  at  the  north  as  well  as 
at  the  south,  as  one  of  the  most  eminent  phj'sicians  of  his  day.  He 
became  a  man  of  rare  scholarly  attainments,  wrote  with  ease  and  ele- 
gance, was  fond  of  the  classics,  was  equally  at  home  in  the  researches 
of  philosoph}',  the  mazes  of  metaphysics,  the  natural  sciences  and  the 
polite  literature  of  the  day.  He  was  one  of  the  first  botanists  of  his 
time;  was  a  skilled  entomologist,  and  an  expert  conchologist.  When 
Lyell,  the  celebrated  geologist,  visited  America,  he  and  Mrs.  Lyell 
made  Dr.  McRee  a  visit  at  his  country  residence  at  Rocky  Point,  as 
did  also  other  distinguished  savants  of  Europe.  He  was  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  royal  society,  and  obtained  a  European  reputation. 
His  house  was  a  seat  of  elegance,  refinement  and  culture.  To  his 
great  learning  he  united  the  loftiest  virtue,  and  the  noble  character- 
istics of  mankind.  He  was  a  devoted  Christian  and  stainless  gentle- 
man—  an  ornament  of  his  generation.  He  married  Marj'  Hill,  a 
granddaughter  of  Gen.  John  Ashe,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons:  Dr. 
James  F.  NicRee,  Jr.,  and  Griffith  J.  McRee.  He  died  August  9,  1869, 
in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  age.  His  son.  Dr.  James  F.  McRee,  was  a 
physician  of  fine  reputation  —  served  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army  and  died  at  Asheville,  X.  C. 

Griffith  J.  McRee  graduated  with  distinction  at  Princeton,  studied 
law,  and  became  one  of  the  finest  belle  lettre  scholars  of  his  day  in 
North  Carolina.  He  was  the  author  of  "The  Life  and  Letters  of 
Justice  Iredell,  of  the  L^nited  States  supreme  court."  He  married 
Miss  Penelope  Iredell,  and  died  in  1S71,  in  the  fifty-second  3ear  of 
his  age. 

JULIUS  LEWIS. 

The  name  of  Julius  Lewis  is  one  that  is  emblematical  of  what  may 
be  accomplished  by  unrelaxing  industr}'  and  unswerving  integrity. 
Of  New  England  birth,  he  early  imbibed  those  qualities  which  have 
rendered  the  Yankee  nation  famous  the  world  around  for  their  inge- 
nuity, thrift  and  perseverance.  He  was  born  in  .Southington,  Conn., 
November  9,  1S29.  His  education  was  somewhat  limited,  and  he 
abandoned  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  At  that  time  of  life  he  began 
the  active  duties  which  are  usually  taken  up  by  men  at  a  much  later 
age.  Engaging  for  a  while  in  a  machine  shop  in  his  native  town,  he 
continued  there  until  1S57.  In  that  year  he  left  his  boyhood  home 
and  took  his  way  to  Newbern,  N.  C.  At  the  latter  place  he  followed 
the  business  of  a  tradesman  for  eleven  years,  establishing  in  that 
time  a  high  reputation  for  fair  dealing.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he 
located  in  Raleigh,  where  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  on 
an  extensive  scale,  and  from  that  time  to  this  has  turned  his  attention 
to  his  constantly  increasing  trade  in  this  line.  In  1862,  while  a  resi- 
dent of  Newbern,  he  was  a  member  of  the  militia  in  that  place,  and 
there,  on  the  14th  of  April  of  that  year,  he  was  engaged  in  battle. 
His  broad-minded  and  liberal  ideas  concerning  the  transaction  of 


4S2  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

business,  have  enabled  him  to  accumulate  a  comfortable  competence. 
He  is  now  president  of  the  Raleigh  Water-works  company  and  of 
the  North  Carolina  Car  works  and  of  the  Raleigh  Cotton  factory,  and 
is  director  of  the  Raleigh  National  bank.  Mr.  Lewis'  parents  were 
Timothy  and  Sallie  (Teasdale)  Lewis.  The  former  was  also  a  native 
of  Southington,  of  which  he  was  for  several  years  its  mayor.  In  early 
life  he  was  a  farmer.  Their  marriage  occurred  in  1814,  and  to  them 
were  born  eight  children,  these  four  surviving:  Francis,  Harriet, 
Julius  and  Billings.  Timothy  Lewis  departed  this  life  about  the  year 
1845,  and  his  wife  in  1855.  Julius  Lewis  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Abigail  Hart  in  1S50,  who  was  also  born  in  Southington,  Conn.,  a 
daughter  of  Julius  Hart. 

JOSEPH  GRAHAM. 

Gen.  Joseph  Graham,  one  of  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution,  and 
the  progenitor  of  the  Graham  family  in  North  Carolina,  was  born  in 
Chester  county,  Penn.,  October  13,  1759.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  quite  young,  leaving  his  mother  to  care  for  a  family  of  six  chil- 
dren, with  but  slender  means  for  her  and  their  support.  She  re- 
moved to  North  Carolina  when  Joseph  was  only  ten  years  of  age 
and  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  county.  Young 
Graham  attended  the  academy  in  Charlotte,  and  there  distinguished 
himself  by  his  mannerly  bearing  and  good  scholarship.  He  was  an 
apt  student  in  history.  The  study  of  Caesar's  Commentaries  and 
other  histories  of  battles  in  the  old  world  gave  him  some  idea  of  the 
conflicts  of  armies  such  as  he  was  destined  soon  to  be  engaged  in. 
He  was  in  Charlotte  when,  on  the  20th  day  of  May,  1775,  some  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  Mecklenburg  county,  through  a  committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose  made  a  declaration  of  independence,  more 
than  a  year  anterior  to  the  signing  of  that  immortal  instrument 
whose  signing  we  year  by  year  celebrate.  At  the  age  of  nineteen, 
Mr.  Graham  enlisted  in  the  Fourth  regiment  of  North  Carolina 
troops,  commanded  by  Col.  Archibald  Lytle.  The  regiment  was 
ordered  to  Bladensburg,  Md.,  but  on  arriving  at  that  place  the  events 
of  the  war  had  so  changed  that  their  services  were  not  needed  at  that 
historic  point.  Mr.  Graham  was  granted  a  furlough,  and  returned  to 
his  home. 

In  1778  he  was  again  called  to  serve  in  the  defense  of  his  country 
under  Gen.  Rutherford,  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Stono,  which 
occurred  June  20,  1779.  The  next  year  he  was  discharged  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health,  having  been  seized  with  a  fever,  and  again  returned 
to  his  home.  His  health  being  restored  and  the  British  troops  hav- 
ing come  uncomfortably  near  to  his  mother's  farm  when  he  was  en- 
gaged tilling  a  field  for  her,  he  joined  the  Mecklenburg  regiment,  of 
which  he  was  appointed  adjutant.  The  regiment  was  ordered  to  Char- 
lotte, there  to  join  Gen.  Davis.  When  the  British  troops  entered 
Charlotte,  September  26,  1780,  Gen.  Graham  was  detailed  to  cover 
the  retreat  of  Gen.  Davis.     A  sharp  conflict  took  place  not  far  from 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  4^3 

Salisburj',  in  which  Col.  Locke  was  killed  and  Gen.  Graham  received 
several  severe  wounds,  the  marks  of  which  were  honoralile  memen- 
toes of  his  gallant  conduct,  which  he  carried  with  him  through  the 
remainder  of  his  daj-s.  After  recovering  from  the  effects  of  these 
wounds.  Gen.  Graham  raised  a  company  of  mounted  riflemen,  and 
joined  Gen.  Davidson's  command,  whose  army  was  disputing  the 
'  progress  of  Lord  Cornwallis  toward  Cowan's  Ford  on  the  Cata\yba. 
While  the  British  forces  were  crossing  the  ford.  Gen.  Graham's  rifle- 
men kept  up  a  galling  fire.  In  this  fight  Gen.  Davidson  was  mortally 
wounded,  and  the  command  of  the  North  Carolina  troops  fell  to 
Gen.  Graham,  who,  with  his  riflemen  and  other  troops,  followed  up 
the  British  forces  on  their  route  to  Virginia,  constantly  harassing 
their  outposts.  He  soon  united  his  forces  with  those  of  Gen.  Lee, 
and  attacked  and  defeated  a  large  body  of  tories  near  Hillsboro. 

When  the  British  retired  to  Wilmington,  Gen.  Graham  raised  a 
cavalry  force,  of  which  he  was  appointed  major,  and  near  Fayette- 
ville  defeated  a  large  force  of  tories;  the  fight  taking  place  at  Mc- 
Fall's  Mill.  He  had  other  encounters  with  the  tories,  in  which  he  was 
generally  victorious.  At  the  close  of  this  campaign  Gen.  Graham 
retired  from  the  service  in  which  for  so  long  he  had  been  engaged, 
and  in  which  he  had  rendered  such  important  aid  in  his  country's 
cause.  In  1788  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  Mecklenburg 
county,  and  was  several  times  re-elected.  He  was  again  called  into 
the  military  service  in  1814,  in  the  fight  with  the  Creek  Indians,  being 
in  the  command  of  a  brigade  at  the  battle  of  the  Horse  Shoe,  which 
ended  the  war.  He  was  afterward  appointed  major-general  of  the 
Fifth  division  of  the  state  militia.  In  later  years  he  removed  to  Lin- 
coln county  and  became  interested  in  an  iron  foundry,  which  he  con- 
ducted with  great  success  for  man}' years.  He  died  November  12, 
1836,  in  the  seventj-eighth  year  of  his  age.  Upon  the  stone  which 
marks  the  place  of  his  burial  in  the  graveyard  at  McFall's  Mill,  is  an 
inscription  recounting  his  bravery  and  his  distinguished  services  to 
his  country,  which  closes  with  these  eulogistic  words:  "His  life  was 
a  bright  and  illustrious  pattern  of  domestic,  social  and  public  virtue; 
modest,  amiable,  upright  and  pious,  he  lived  a  noble  ornament  to  his 
country  and  a  rich  blessing  to  his  family,  and  died  with  the  hope  of 
a  blessed  immortality." 

COL.  'WILLIAM  L.  DeROSSET. 

This  gentleman  is  a  native  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  the  eldest  son 
of  Dr.  A.  J.  and  Eliza  J.  DeRosset,  and  was  born  in  the  year  1832. 
He  was  prepared  for  college  at  St.  Timoth3''s  Hall,  Md.,  and  entered 
the  university  of  the  state  in  June,  1849,  but  his  stay  there  was  quite 
brief,  as  he  left  the  college  in  December,  1850.  He  soon  afterward 
engaged  in  business  in  New  York  in  his  father's  office,  but  having  a 
turn  for  mechanics  he  entered  a  machine  shop  in  Massachusetts,  and 
served  an  apprenticeship  in  that  business  until  his  health  compelled 
him  to  abandon  it.     He   returned  to  his  home  in  Wilmington,  and 


484  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

again  entered  into  the  commission  business,  in  which  he  remained 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  In  1S54  he  was  elected  captain  of 
the  Wilmington  light  infantry,  and  was  serving  in  that  position  when 
his  company,  with  others,  was  ordered  b}^  the  governor  to  occupy 
Fort  Caswell  in  1S61.  He  was  soon  afterward  sent  with  his  company 
to  Federal  Point,  which  afterward  became  known  as  Fort  Fisher,  and 
commanded  that  fort  for  some  time.  When  the  legislature  author- 
ized the  raising  of  ten  regiments  to  serve  during  the  war,  he  was  ap- 
pointed major  of  the  Third  regiment,  and  served  as  such  until  May, 
1S62,  when  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel,  upon  the  resigna- 
tion of  Lieut-Col.  Cowan,  and  upon  the  death  of  Col.  Meares,  who 
fell  upon  the  bloody  field  of  Malvern  Hill,  in  1S62,  he  was  promoted 
to  the  colonelcy  of  the  regiment,  and  served  with  distinction  in  that 
capacity.  At  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  while  gallantly  leading  his 
regiment,  he  received  a  wound  which  incapacitated  him  for  active 
service  in  the  field,  and  compelled  him  to  resign,  greatly  to  his  regret, 
for  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged  and  for  which  he  perilled  his 
life  and  limb  was  very  near  his  heart.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
•again  resumed  business,  in  connection  with  his  father  and  brother, 
under  the  firm  name  of  DeRosset  &  Co.,  but  in  1S77  he  withdrew 
from  the  firm,  and  connected  himself  with  the  Navassa  Guano  com- 
pany, as  superintendent  of  agencies,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
He  never  sought  public  office  nor  took  any  active  part  in  politics,  but 
served  one  term  as  alderman  of  the  cit}-.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  high 
character,  frank  and  manl}'  in  his  intercourse  with  the  world,  sin- 
cere and  upright  in  all  of  his  actions,  and  a  worthy  representative  of 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  prominent  families  of  the  lower  Cape  Fear. 

MONTFORD  STOKES. 

Montforcl  Stokes,  senator,  was  born  in  Wilkes  county,  N.  C,  in 
1760.  In  early  life  he  was  a  seafaring  man,  in  the  merchant  service. 
When  our  Revolutionary  struggle  began,  however,  he  went  into  the 
naval  service  under  the  distinguished  Commodore  Stephen  Decatur. 
In  1776,  during  one  of  his  cruises,  he  was  captured  near  Norfolk  by 
the  British,  and  imprisoned  on  ship  board  in  New  York  harbor.  The 
war  over,  he  abandoned  sea-going  and  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
superior  court,  residing  at  Salisbur}-.  He  held  this  ofifice  for  a  long 
series  of  years,  discharging  its  duties  with  much  abilit}'  and  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  parties  concerned.  This  was  a  good  training  school 
for  more  general  clerical  work,  and  he  was  chosen  chief  clerk  of  the 
state  senate,  for  which  office  he  was  abundantly  equipped.  From 
this  he  was  elected  to  the  senate  itself,  in  which  he  wielded  a  power- 
ful influence  and  became  one  of  the  leading  members  of  that  body. 
He  was  elected  United  States  senator,  but  declined  to  serve.  He 
was,  however,  again  elected  in  1816,  and  served  the  full  term  of  six 
years. 

In  1823  Mr.  Stokes  was  elected  governor  of  the  state  by  the  legis- 
lature.    He  resigned  this  office  to  accept,  at  the  hands  of  President 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  485 

Andrew  Jackson,  the  Indian  agency  in  Arkansas,  where  he  remained 
till  his  death  in  -1842.  His  death  was  unquestionably  hastened  by  a 
wound  which  he  received  in  a  duel  with  Jesse  A.  Pearson,  which  took 
place  near  Salisbury.  He  was  a  type  of  the  chivalry  of  those  days, 
and  was  quick  to  resent  an  insult.  He  possessed  learning,  genius  and 
talents  of  a  high  order,  but  his  early  habits,  acquired  upon  the  "  roll- 
ing deep"  to  some  extent  subordinated  the  steadier  habits  of  the 
clerical  vocation,  and  gave  him  a  taste  for  less  sedative  employments. 
He  married  Miss  Irwin,  sister  of  Capt.  Henry  Irwin,  one  of  the  illus- 
trious continental  troops,  who  fought  and  fell  in  the  historic  battle 
of  Germantown  in  1777.  She  died,  leaving  him  one  daughter.  He 
married  again,  his  second  wife  being  Rachel,  daughter  of  Hugh 
Montgomery,  who  borehim  a  family  of  five  sons  and  five  daughters. 

OSGOOD  PIERCE  HEATH. 

Among  the  most  successful  business  men  of  Charlotte,  Osgood 
Pierce  Heath  holds  a  prominent  place.  He  is  a  native  of  Lancaster 
county,  S.  C,  and  was  born  on  a  farm  December  26,  1856.  His  par- 
ents, Moses  O.  and  Mary  (Morrow)  Heath  were  both  natives  of 
South  Carolina.  Mr.  Heath  was  reared  upon  the  farm  owned  and 
cultivated  by  his  father  and  here  learned  the  lessons  of  industry, 
economy  and  perseverance  which  have  so  characterized  his  business 
career  and  contributed  to  his  success  in  life.  He  was  taught  farm 
work,  spending  many  days  in  the  field  while  a  youth.  He  attended 
the  "  old  field"  schools  of  his  neighborhood,  where  he  gained  his 
early  education,  which  was  broadened  by  subsequent  attendance  in 
the  schools  of  Fort  Mills,  S.Cand  the  Rutherford  college,  of  North 
Carolina.  He  began  life's  struggle  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  by  fol- 
lowing the  pursuit  of  farming  in  his  native  county.  He  also  took  up 
merchandising  at  a  country  store  in  which  he  did  a  general  business, 
continuing  his  farming  until  the  fall  of  1S82,  when  he  removed  to  the 
town  of  Lancaster,  S.  C,  and  entered  into  mercantile  co-partnership 
with  his  brother,  E.  J.  Heath.  With  him  he  continued  in  business 
till  the  fall  of  1885,  when  he  bought  out  the  interest  of  his  brother 
and  formed  a  co-partnership  with  others,  becoming  the  senior  partner 
of  the  firm  of  Heath,  Springs  &  Co.  In  1889  he  withdrew  from  this 
firm  and  located  in  Charlotte,  where  he  has  since  been  dealing  in 
cotton  and  operating  a  private  bank.  His  cotton  business  is  carried 
on  by  O.  P.  Heath  &  Co.,  his  brother,  B.  D.  Heath,  being  his  partner. 
The  banking  business  is  conducted  under  the  name  of  Heath 
Brothers. 

Mr.  Heath  is  a  thoroughly  practical  business  man  and  success  has 
crowned  all  his  business  undertakings.  He  is  emphatically  self-made 
and  has  achieved  success  through  sturdy  industry,  perseverance  and 
close  application.  He  is  a  typical  business  man,  and  as  a  citizen  en- 
joys the  respect  and  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  friends.  He  is  a  gen- 
tleman of  exemplary  character,  strictl}'  honest  and  conscientious, 
moral  and  religious.     He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist 


486 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Episcopal  church.  In  1S7S  Mr.  Heath  was  married  to  Miss  Annie 
Lee  Potts,  of  Lancaster.  S.  C.  Aside  from  his  cotton  and  banking 
operations,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Charlotte  chamber  of  commerce, 
a  director  in  the  Charlotte  Consolidated  Construction  Co., 'and  in  all 
the  best  aspects  a  progressive  man. 

JOSEPH  LENOIR  CHAMBERS, 

of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  is  one  of  the  enterprising  business  men  and  man- 
ufacturers of  that  city.  He  is  a  native  of  Burke  county,  N.  C,  and 
was  born  July  15,  1854.  His  father,  Pinckney  Brown  Chambers,  is  a 
prominent  farmer  in  Iredell  county,  in  which  county  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  principally  reared.  The  maiden  name  of  Mr.  Cham- 
bers' mother  was  Jestina  Avery.  Both  parents  are  native  North  Car- 
olinians of  early  families  in  the  state.  Mr.  Chambers  was  but  thirteen 
years  of  age  when  he  was  placed  in  Bingham's  school  at  Mebanes- 
ville,  where  he  was  fitted  for  Davidson  college,  whence  he  graduated 
in  1873,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years.  Immediately  after  his  gradua- 
tion he  began  teaching  school  at  Greensboro,  N.  C,  but  his  taste  was 
not  for  teaching  and  he  continued  in  that  calling  for  only  one  year. 
Subsequently  he  held  the  position  of  clerk  for  one  year  in  the  office 
of  the  auditor  of  North  Carolina  railroad  company.  In  August  1876, 
he  came  to  Charlotte  and  accepted  the  position  of  local  editor  of  the 
Chj'Oiticle  and  Observer  newspaper,  and  in  this  capacity  and  that  of  as- 
sociate editor  he  remained  on  the  editorial  staff  of  that  journal  five 
years.  In  the  journalistic  field,  Mr.  Chambers  gave  evidence  of  abil- 
ity and  adaptability'  as  a  writer,  but  the  force  of  circumstances  forced 
him  to  leave  the  profession  and  embark  in  a  more  remunerative  pur- 
suit, and  thus  journalism  lost  an  educated  and  cultured  votary  and  an 
able  and  brilliant  writer.  . 

When  Mr.  Chambers  left  the  newspaper  field,  he  was  induced,  at 
the  instance  of  his  father-in-law,  the  late  Robert  I.  McDowell,  to 
invest  in  the  manufacturing  business  of  Lidell  &  Co.,  of  which  com- 
pany Mr.  McDowell  was  a  member.  Since  that  time  (18S0)  he  has 
chiefly  been  superintendent  of  the  mechanical  department  of  that 
concern,  the  business  of  which  consists  of  the  manufacture  of  engines, 
boilers,  cotton  presses  and  sawmills.-  The  manufactory  has  been  pros- 
perous. Mr.  Chambers  at  various  times  has  been  identified  with 
other  manufactories.  During  the  present  year  he  has  been  elected 
president  of  the  chamber  of  commerce,  the  youngest  president  dur- 
ing the  ten  years'  existence  of  that  body,  who  has  been  called  to  pre- 
side over  its  deliberations.  His  previous  service  on  the  board  of 
directors,  combined  with  his  educational  and  business  qualifications, 
has  well  fitted  him  for  the  higher  position,  and  enabled  him  to  suc- 
cessfully administer  the  affairs  of  the  organization.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  board  of  directors  of  the  stock  company  owning  and 
controlling  the  Charlotte  Daily  Chronicle,  and  has  now  served  con- 
tinuously on  that  board  for  three  j'ears.  He  is  also  a  director  in  the 
Mecklenburg  monumental  association.     Mr.  Chambers  is  one  of  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  487 

originators  and  founders  of  the  Charlotte  Consolidated  Construction 
Co.,  organized  for  the  purpose  of  developing  and  improving  the  city, 
and  this  conipanj'  owns  and  operates  the  Charlotte  street  car  system. 
He  is  a  director  in  the  company  and  its  secretary.  Mr.  Chambers 
may  with  truth  be  said  to  be  a  progressive  and  enterprising  citizen,  a 
prudent  and  judicious  business  man,  and  a  pleasant  and  intelligent 
gentleman,  a  lover  of  history  and  literature.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Charlotte  Literary  and  Library  association  and  exhibits  a  warm  in- 
terest in  every  department  of  education.  He  has  been  twice  married. 
In  18S0  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Emma  McDowell,  who 
died  in  1883,  leaving  him  one  child,  a  daughter  named  Rebecca.  In 
1S87  he  was  again  married,  his  second  wife  being  Miss  Grace  Dewey, 
of  Charlotte,  by  whom  he  has  had  one  daughter,  Elizabeth  Chambers. 


JAY    HIRSHINGER, 

proprietor  of  the  Dixie  Pants  company,  of  Charlotte,  is  a  native  of 
Bavaria,  Germany,  born  October  25,  1839.  His  parents  were  Herman 
and  Babette  Hirshinger,  both  of  whom  lived  and  died  in  Bavaria. 
They  had  two  daughters  and  one  son,  the  latter  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Ja}'  Hirshinger  acquired  a  fair  German  education  in  his  native 
country,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  began  to  serve  an  apprentice- 
ship of  three  years  as  clerk  and  bookkeeper  in  a  mercantile  estab- 
lishment. For  several  years  thereafter  he  followed  that  business  at 
various  places  and  for  various  parties.  In  1866  he  emigrated  to 
America,  landing  at  New  York  city.  A  few  weeks  later  he  went  to 
McGregor,  Iowa,  where  he  was  engaged  one  year  as  a  clerk  and  then 
became  a  partner  in  a  general  merchandise  business  at  Thomasville, 
Ga.  Here  he  continued  until  1883,  during  which  year  he  locatetl  in 
Charlotte,  where  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  J.  Moyer  in  the 
shoe  business,  which  continued  till  1888,  when  the  partnership  was 
dissolved.  Mr.  Hirshinger  then  embarked  in  the  manufacture  of 
pants,  and  has  since  conducted  an  extensive  business  in  that  line. 
He  now  has  facilities  for  making  about  300  pairs  of  pants  daily,  em- 
ploys from  forty  to  fifty  hands,  and  has  so  extended  his  operations 
that  he  has  an  annual  business  of  not  less  than  $120,000.  The  prod- 
ucts of  his  work  are  sold  in  both  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.  lie  is 
a  thoroughly  practical  business  man  and  has  met  with  great  success 
in  his  undertakings.  All  his  business  plans  are  thoroughly  matured 
and  carried  out  on  strictly  methodical  principles  which  insure  success. 
In  1873,  Mr.  Hirshinger  was  married  to  Miss  Marion  Heineman,  of 
Philadelphia,  an  educated  and  accomplished  lady,  a  graduate  of  the 
Philadelphia  normal  school.  They  have  three  children,  whose  re- 
spective christian  names  are  Herbert,  Sadie  and  Edna.  Mr.  Hirsh- 
inger is  a  leading  member  of  the  K.  of  H.,  of  the  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum  and  of  the  B'nai  B'rith.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Charlotte  chamber  of  commerce.  Besides  being  an  energetic  and 
progressive  business  man,  he  takes  a  warm  interest  in  educational 


488  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

improvement.  In  iSSg  he  was  elected  a  school  commissioner,  an 
office  for  which,  both  by  taste  and  ability,  he  is  thoroughly  qualified 
to  administer. 

W.  N.  HACKNEY, 

now  deceased,  was  born  in  Nash  county,  N.  C,  on  the  the  26th  of 
January,  1823.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  wheel-vvright,  and  located 
in  Wilson,  N.  C,  in  the  year  1S53.  A  partnership  was  formed  with 
Pomeroy  Clarke,  and  they  engaged  in  the  manufacuring  of  wagons 
and  carts.  Such  was  the  humble  beginning  of  the  present  extensive 
carriage  factory  operated  by  Messrs.  Hackney  Bros.  &*  Simpson. 
Subsequently  Mr.  Clarke  withdrew,  and  for  several  years  thereafter 
the  business  was  continued  under  the  firm  name  of  Hackney  & 
Parker.  Mr.  Parker  becoming  associated  in  business  with  a  Mr. 
Murray,  the  established  business  was  then  conducted  under  the  firm 
name  of  Parker,  Murray  &  Co.,  till  Mr.  Parker's  death,  after  which 
date  the  style  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  Hackney  &  Murray,  and  re- 
mained as  such  up  to  1878,  when  W.  D.  Hackney,  son  of  the  elder  Hack- 
ney, was  admitted  to  a  partnership;  and  C.  N.  Nurney  also  becom- 
ing a  partner  the  style  of  the  firm  was  again  changed  to  Hackney, 
Nurney  &  Co.,  which  was  succeeded  in  turn  by  W.  N.  Hackney  & 
Son.  Mr.  W.  N.  Hackney's  death  occurred  December  6,  1887,  and 
his  so.ns,  Thomas  J.  and  George  Hackne3^  becoming  interested  in  the 
business  with  their  brother  W.  D.  Hackney,  the  business  was  contin- 
ued under  the  name  of  Hackney  Bros.,  until  January  i,  1891,  when 
Mr.  William  P.  Simpson  purchased  an  interest,  and  the  present  firm 
of  Hackney  Bros.  &  Simpson  was  established.  The  business  has 
steadily  grown  to  its  present  enormous  proportions  for  the  past -quar- 
ter of  a  century  and  more.  Notwithstanding  times  of  depression,  the 
substantial  character  of  the  men  who  have  been  at  its  head  has  given 
it  an  enviable  reputation  over  a  wide-spread  territorj'.  Buggies, 
wagons,  carts,  and,  in  fact,  all  kinds  of  vehicles  are  turned  out  in  large 
quantities  by  this  enterprising  concern.  Hackney  Bros.  &  Simpson 
carry  on  one  of  the  finest  carriage  and  wagon  factories  in  the  south 
—  probably  the  most  extensive.  They  employ  many  skilled  laborers 
and  their  pay  roll  each  week  amounts  to  a  little  over  $350.  They 
have  capacity  and  turn  out  about  2,000  buggies,  wagons  and  other 
vehicles  each  year.  They  have  a  branch  business  at  Rocky  Mount, 
eighteen  miles  north  from  Wilson.  Their  repository,  paint,  storage, 
smith,  machine  and  wood  shops  at  Wilson  cover  an  area  of  two  acres, 
and  are  well  arranged,  and  here  is  done  the  bulk  of  their  work.  A 
specialty  is  made  of  light  buggies,  phaetons  and  surreys. 

This  great  and  stupendous  business,  now  grown  to  an  annual  vol- 
ume of  more  than  $100,000  practically  began  with  no  capital,  and  its 
founder,  W.  N.  Hackney,  deceased,  and  who  is  the  direct  subject  of 
this  sketch,  may  be  justly  paid  the  tribute  of  having  placed  the  enter- 
prise on  a  safe  and  sound  basis.  He  was  a  leading  business  man  and 
citizen,  and  was  a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  ever  maintaining  a  strict 


ijl/^t^^^CLofUi.^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  489 

character  for  probitj-;  and  in  business  transactions,  fair,  punctual 
and  honest.  He  came  of  a  respected  familj',  as  for  three  generations 
the  Hackney  family  resided  in  Nash  county,  where  their  name  be- 
came to  be  honored  and  prominent.  \V.  N.  Hackney  was  prominent 
as  a  Mason  and  was  a  Christian  gentleman,  holding  for  years  the 
office  of  deacon  in  the  Disciples  church.  He  was  three  times  happily 
married,  and  his  domestic  relations  were  the  most  pleasant  and 
happy.  His  children  are:  Thomas  J.,  of  Rocky  Mount,  born  Aug- 
ust 17,  1S51;  George,  born  September  19,  1S54;  W.  D.,  born 
March  21,  185S;  Martha  Ann,  wife  of  R.  T.  Stevens,  of  Wilson; 
Mary  Ellen  and  Orpha;  and  with  the  exception  of  the  first  named, 
all  reside  in  Wilson.  Each  of  the  sons  have  become  interested  in 
and  identified  with  the  established  business  of  the  father,  and  are  the 
brothers  now  comprehended  in  the  firm  name  of  Hackney  Bros.  & 
Simpson;  and  to  their  sagacious  and  sapient  business  qualities  and 
excellent  management  is  largely  due  the  upbuilding  of  the  stupend- 
ous and  important  business  of  the  firm,  and  following  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  worthy  father  it  is  worthy  of  them  that  they  have  exemplified 
the  excellent  character  and  business  principles  of  their  father. 

As  has  been  observed,  William  P.  Simpson  became  associated  with 
the  Hackney  Brothers  January  i,  1891,  at  which  time  he  purchased  a 
one-fourth  interest  in  the  concern  of  which  he  is  now  a  member;  he 
managing  the  financial  part  of  the  business.  He  was  born  at  Greens- 
boro, Guilford  county,  X.  C.,  September  30,  1851.  In  18S0  Mr.  Simp- 
son accepted  a  position  with  the  mercantile  house  of  Branch  &  Co., 
of  Wilson,  as  bookkeeper.  In  January,  1S86,  he  became  associated 
with  the  banking  firm  of  Branch  &  Co.,  with  whom  he  remained  till 
becoming  a  co-partner  with  the  Hackney  Bros.  Mr.  Simpson  has  be- 
come intimately  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  \\  ilson.  He 
has  been  president  of  the  tobacco  board  of  trade  since  its  organiza- 
tion in  1889;  he  is  a  director  in  the  Wilson  Cotton  mills,  of  which  he 
was  secretary  and  treasurer  for  one  year;  and  he  is  also  extensively 
interested  in  agriculture  in  Halifax  county.  As  a  democrat  he  is 
active  and  efficient.  His  wife,  who  is  a  valued  communicant  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  Wilson,  became  his  wife  in  1874.  She 
was  Miss  Anna  R.  Williams,  daughter  of  Capt.  W.  T.  Williams,  of 
Halifax  county,  X.  C.  The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  has  been 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  four  children,  viz.:  Anna  Price,  Edgar  Will- 
iams, William  Preston  and  Re/in  Burgess. 

HUGH  WADDELL 

was  born  in  Lisburn,  county  Down,  Ireland,  in  1734.  He  came  to 
America  and  settled  in  Xorth  Carolina  in  1753,  and  was  clerk  of  the 
council  in  1754-5,  and  in  the  same  year  was  a  lieutenant  in  Col. 
James  Innes'  regiment,  and  did  good  service  in  the  Virginia  cam- 
paign, for  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  in  1755. 
He  built  Fort  Dobbs  and  commanded  there  in  1756-7.  In  1758  he 
led  the  Xorth  Carolina  detachment  with  the  rank  of  major  in  the 


490  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

expedition  to  Fort  DuOuesne,  and  became  colonel  the  next  year. 
In  1765  Mr.  Waddell  was  selected  to  lead  the  armed  resistance  to  the 
landing  of  the  English  sloop  of  war  "  Diligence,"  which  contained  the 
government  stamps,  seized  the  ship's  boat,  and  forced  Gov.  Tryon  to 
deliver  to  the  people  William  Houston,  the  stamp  master,  from  whom 
they  exacted  a  pledge,  which  he  signed  in  the  market  place,  that  he 
would  never  receive  any  stamped  paper  which  might  arrive  from 
England,  nor  ofificiate  in  any  way  in  the  distribution  of  stamps  in  the 
province  of  North  Carolina.  This  act  of  patriotism  was  of  no  less 
importance  in  the  revolutionary  movements  in  North  Carolina  than 
that  of  the  Boston  tea-party  in  Massachusetts.  In  1771  he  com- 
manded the  expedition  against  the  regulators  with  the  rank  of  major- 
general.  He  served  several  terms  in  the  legislature  and  died  in 
April,  1773. 

WILLIAM  P.  SIMPSON, 

one  of  the  leading  manufacturers  of  the  south,  was  born  at  Grans- 
burgh,  Guilford  county,  N.  C,  September  30,  1851.  James  P.  and 
Sarah  (Jacobs)  Simpson,  his  parents,  were  natives  of  Baltimore,  Md. 
The  Rev.  James  P.  Simpson,  at  one  time  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Baltimore  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  removed 
to  North  Carolina  in  1848,  and  has  been  stationed  in  different  places 
in  the  state  as  pastor,  and  is  now  residing  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C. 
The  other  children  born  to  these  parents  are  F.  A.,  a  commercial 
traveler,  of  Wilson;  William  P.,  James  D.,  and  Lizzie.  The  mother 
died  and  Mr.  Simpson  married  a  second  time,  Money  Williams, 
of  Pitt  county,  N.  C,  becoming  his  wife.  Mr.  William  P.  Simp- 
son was  graduated  from  Trinity  college,  N.  C.  In  1869  he  began 
his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  a  shoe  and  hat  store  at  Mar- 
tinsburg,  W.  Va.  After  remaining  there  for  some  time  he  went  to 
Raywood,  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  and  from  1871  to  18S0  was  engaged 
in  agriculture  in  Halifax  county.  In  the  latter  year  Mr.  Simpson 
came  to  Wilson  and  accepted  a  position  with  the  mercantile  house  of 
Branch  &  Co.,  as  bookkeeper.  In  January',  1886,  he  became  associa- 
ted with  the  firm  of  Branch  &  Co.,  bankers,  and  remained  with  them 
until  January  i,  1891,  when  he  purchased  a  one-fourth  interest  in  the 
concern  of  which  he  is  now  a  member.  Hackney,  Bratton  &  Simpson. 
Mr.  .Simpson  manages  the  financial  part  of  the  business.  This  house 
is  the  largest  carriage  and  wagon  manufacturers  south  of  Baltimore, 
and  its  owners  are  men  of  sagacity  and  great  business  abilitj^  In 
1874  Miss  Anna  R.  Williams,  daughter  of  Capt.  W.  T.  Williams,  of 
Halifax  county,  N.  C,  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Simpson,  and  their 
home  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  four  children:  Anna  Price, 
Edgar  Williams,  William  Preston  and  Rezin  Burgess.  Mr.  Simpson 
has  become  intimately  identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Wilson. 
He  has  been  president  of  the  tobacco  board  of  trade,  since  its  organ- 
ization in  1SS9;  is  a  director  in  the  Wilson  cotton  mill,  of  which  he 
was  secretary  and  treasurer  for  one  year,  and  he  is  now  vice-presi- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  491 

dent  of  the  State  bank,  of  Wilson,  and  is  also  very  extensively  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  in  the  county.  As  a  democrat  he  is  active  and 
efficient.  Both  himself  and  wife  are  valued  communicants  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  Wilson,  and  are  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  in  the  community.  Rczin  B.  Simpson,  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  at  one  time  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Baltimore, 
Md.,  and  amassed  a  large  fortune. 

JAMES  F.  TAYLOR, 

secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Orion  knitting  mills,  of  Kinston,  X.  C, 
was  born  in  Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1864,  and 
is  a  son  of  F.  G.  and  Jane  (Hooker)  Taylor.  The  family  originated 
in  England,  the  hrst  of  the  name  to  come  to  this  country  having 
settled  in  Lenoir  county,  N.  C.  Staunton  Taylor,  the  grandfather  of 
Mr.  James  F.  Taylor,  was  born  in  Lenoir  county,  and  became  one  of 
the  most  prominent  planters  in  that  section  of  the  country.  Two  of 
his  sons,  S.  B.  and  F.  G.  Taylor,  are  still  living.  The  last  mentioned 
gentleman  was  born  in  182 1,  and  received  a  good  common  school 
education,  after  which  he  went  to  tilling  the  soil,  and  is  now  one  of 
the  successful  planters  of  the  community.  A  leading  democrat,  he 
has  served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years,  and  has  also 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  public  education.  Both  himself  and  wife 
are  active  and  valued  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south.  Of  the  eight  children  born  to  these  parents,  seven  are  now 
living.  James  F.  Taylor,  the  next  youngest  in  the  family,  was  given 
a  thorough  scholastic  training  in  the  township  schools,  the  Kinston 
collegiate  institute,  and  later  in  the  Kings  Mountain  high  school. 
For  a  time  he  was  engaged  in  keeping  books  for  a  firm  in  Bennetts- 
ville,  S.  C,  and  for  the  succeeding  five  years  was  a  broker  in  cotton, 
fertilizers,  etc.,  and  for  one  year  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
McRea  &  Taylor,  cracker  and  confectionery  manufacturers,  and  also 
of  the  firm  of  Taylor  &  Co.  In  January,  iSgo,  he  retired  from  that 
business  to  organize  the  Orion  knitting  mill  company,  which  was  in- 
corporated June  i6th,  1890,  and  he  is  one  of  its  heaviest  stockholders, 
and  since  its  organization  has  acted  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Southern  Pine  Chewing  Gum  company,  of 
Kinston.  In  giving  to  the  community  these  new  and  important  in- 
dustries, Mr.  Taylor  performed  a  service  which  cannot  be  too  highly 
estimated.  He  is  a  man  of  great  business  ability  and  energy,  and 
has  the  confidence  of  the  people  to  a  marked  extent,  because  he  has 
ever  evinced  sterling  integrity  in  his  every  deal.  Should  life  and 
health  be  spared  him,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  his  future  success. 

EDWARD  B.  DUDLEY. 

Edward  Bishop  Dudley,  governor  of  North  Carolina,  was  l)orn  in 
Onslow  county,  N.  C,  December  15,  1787.  Though  he  was  the  son 
of  a  wealthy  i)lanter,  his  early  education  was  defective,  but  he  made 


492  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

* 

Up  for  this  by  the  force  and  energy  with  which  he  was  cliaracterized, 
and  rose  to  great  eminence  among  his  fellow-citizens.  When  only 
twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the 
state  legislature,  and  was  twice  re-elected.  In  1814  he  was  elected  to 
the  state  senate,  a  place  which  his  father  had  held  before  him.  In  the 
legislature  he  was  distinguished  by  his  strong  and  effective  advocacy 
of  internal  improvements  under  state  patronage.  He  was  twice 
afterward  elected  to  the  legislature  to  represent  Wilmington.  He 
was  a  strong  advocate  for  railroad  extension,  and  subscribed  a  large 
amount  for  the  construction  of  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  railroad, 
of  which  corporation  he  was  made  president.  In  the  politics  of  the 
times  he  was  a  Jackson  democrat,  and  in  1829  was  elected  to  congress 
by  that  party,  serving  for  the  full  term  of  two  years.  He  was  offered 
a  re-election,  but  he  became  disgusted  with  the  intrigues  of  partisan- 
ship and  declined.  He  was  elected  the  first  governor  under  the 
amendment  of  the  state  constitution  in  1835  which  provided  for  the 
election  by  popular  vote  instead  of  by  the  legislature.  His  election 
was  the  spontaneous  act  of  the  people,  the  office  not  having  been 
solicited  by  him,  and  he  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term. 

Gov.  Dudley's  reputation  was  that  of  one  of  the  most  liberal,  gen- 
erous and  public-spirited  men  in  the  state.  He  was  a  person  of 
pleasing  address;  was  large  and  commanding  in  form  and  suave  in 
his  manner.  He  was  tolerant  toward  other  people's  opinions  but 
firmly  decided  in  his  own.  He  was  a  strong  partisan,  but  believed 
that  political  integrity  should  be  as  strictly  adhered  to  as  personal  in- 
tegrity, and  that  the  latter  should  be  spotless  and  incorruptible.  His 
public  speeches  were  marked  for  their  strong  common  sense,  for  their 
public  spirit  and  for  their  comprehensive  patriotism.  He  was  the 
heir  of  a  large  estate,  but  used  his  means  with  an  almost  unbounded 
generosity,  and  no  worthy  person  ever  applied  to  him  for  assistance 
in  vain.  His  charities  were  on  a  grand  scale  and  he  fulfilled  and  il- 
lustrated the  scriptural  idea  of  neighborly  kindness.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  H.  Haywood,  of  Raleigh,  by  whom 
he  had  several  sons  and  daughters.  He  died  at  Wilmington,  October, 
30.  J  855. 

W.  H.  WILLIAMS. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Morris  county,  N.  J., 
June  19,  1848.-  His  father  was  William  Williams,  and  his  mother 
Susan  Wortman  Wiggins.  His  father  was  brought  up  from,  a  boy  in 
the  iron  business,  the  old-fashioned  open  fireplace  forge,  and  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  in  starting  this  great  industry  in  the  south,  moving 
with  his  family  from  Rockawa3^  N.  J.,  to  Kings  Mountain,  N.  C,  when 
his  son,  William  H.,  was  five  years  old.  There  he  started  up  the  ex- 
tensive Kings  Mountain  iron  works  for  Mr.  Benjamin  Breggs,  and  in 
i860  bought  the  Maiden  Creek  iron  works  in  Catawba  county.  This 
place  is  seven  miles  south  of  Newton,  and  here  the  present  subject,  on 
account   of  his  restless   activity  and   buoyant  spirits,  became  as  dis- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  493 

tinctly  the  leader  in  boyish  sports  and  all  undertakings  having  mis- 
chief at  their  bottom,  as  he  has  in  maturer  j-ears  become  the  leader 
in  all  business  and  public  enterprises  in  his  community  that  require 
great  capacity,  nerve  and  unerring  knowledge  of  human  nature  to 
bring  them  to  successful  issues.  His  educational  advantages  were 
few,  but  being  blessed  with  a  brilliant  mind,  and  being  thrown  when 
young  in  all  classes  of  society,  he  largely  made  up  for  his  lack  of 
school  privileges.  He  was  married  at  the  age  of  eighteen  to  Miss 
Martha  S.  Finger,  daughter  of  Michael  Finger  and  Rachel  Warlick, 
of  Lincoln  county,  and  this  important  event  caused  him  to  enter  upon 
an  active  business  career  at  a  correspondingly  early  age. 

After  farming  two  years  on  rented  land,  Mr.  Williams  moved  to 
Newton  in  1S69,  and  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business.  He  had 
but  a  slender  capital,  but  more  than  made  up  this  deficiency  in  pluck 
and  energy,  and  his  tact  at  adapting  himself  to  circumstances.  At 
the  time  he  set  out  in  business  the  railroad  facilities  of  Xewton  were 
very  unsatisfactory,  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  this  improvement. 
He  has  been  for  several  years  a  director  in  the  C.  &  L.  road.  He 
continued  in  the  mercantile  business  until  18S3,  and  his  success  was 
phenomenal.  In  that  year  he  was  the  leading  spirit  in  organizing  the 
Newton  Cotton  Mills  company,  and  was  elected  president  of  the 
same,  which  position  he  still  holds.  Although  started  on  a  small  scale 
this  plant  has  been  from  time  to  time  enlarged  until  it  has  become 
one  of  the  finest  mills  of  its  kind  in  the  south.  Encouraged  by  the 
success  of  this  mill,  a  company  has  been  -organized  to  build  in  New- 
ton another  mill,  the  Middlcbrooke  mill,  and  Mr.  Williams  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  comj^any.  He  is  also  president  of  the  New- 
ton Roller  Mill  company,  and  president  of  the  Newton  branch  of  the 
North  Carolina  Building  and  Loan  association.  He  is  also  quite  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  farming. 

In  a  political  way  Mr.  Williams  has  never  been  a  candidate  for 
.  ofifice,  but,  always  taking  an  active  part  in  promoting  the  fortunes  of 
the  democratic  party,  he  has  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  the  politics 
of  his  county,  district  and  state.  One  of  the  first  things  done  by  the 
late  Daniel  G.  Fowle,  after  he  was  inaugurated  governor  of  North 
Carolina,  in  1889,  was  to  appoint  Mr.  Williams  a  member  of  his  staff, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel.  Along  with  Gov.  Fowle  he  attended  the 
constitutional  centennial  in  New  York,  in  May,  18S9,  was  one  of  the 
military  representatives  from  North  Carolina  at  the  funeral  of  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  in  New  Orleans,  in  December,  1889,  and  took  part  in  the 
unveiling  ceremonies  of  the  Lee  monument,  in  Richmond,  in  May, 
1890.  He  attended  the  funeral  of  Gov.  Fowle,  and  before  leaving 
Raleigh  tendered  his  resignation  to  Gov.  Holt,  who  succeeded  to  the 
office,  but  it  was  not  accepted. 

Col.  Williams  is  uniformly  kind  and  considerate  towards  his  em- 
ployes, and  never  forgets  to  keep  in  view  their  best  interests.  To 
many  a  poor  family  he  has  been  a  real  benefactor,  and  his  kindness 
and  generosity  are  almost  without  limit.  His  career  is  a  fine  e.xample 
of  a  bov  starting  out  in  poverty  and  by  energy  and  integrity  rapidly 


494  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

rising  to  competence,  and  while  he  helped  himself  proved  a  blessing 
and  a  help  to  the  whole  community  in  which  he  lives. 

HENRY  FRANKLIN  SCHENCK 

was  born  November  29,  1S35,  near  Gardner's  Ford,  Rutherford 
county,  now  Cleveland  county,  N.  C.  His  paternal  ancestors  were 
of  Swiss  origin.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  colony 
of  Mennonite  protestants,  being  driven  from  Svi^Itzerland  by  the  intol- 
lerance  and  cruelty  of  the  Romish  hierarchy,  settled  in  Lancaster 
county,  Penn.  Among  these  were  the  progenitors  of  the  Schenck 
family.  From  this  county,  Michael  Schenck,  who  was  an  adventurous 
disposition,  emigrated  with  a  small  colony  into  North  Carolina  and 
settled  in  Lincoln  count}'  about  the  year  1790.  In  this  county,  near 
Lincolnton,  on  a  small  stream,  he  built,  in  the  year  1813,  the  first  cot- 
ton factory  erected  south  of  the  Potomac  river.  Afterward,  in  1819, 
he  formed  a  company  and  erected  a  large  factory,  running  about 
3,000  spindles,  near  the  same  place  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Catawba 
river,  and  this  was  the  third  and  largest  cotton  mill  that  was  built 
south  of  the  Potomac  up  to  that  time.  Henry  Schenck,  eldest  son  of 
Michael,  like  his  father,  was  progressive  and  enterprising,  and  as- 
sisted his  father  in  building  and  managing  the  business  of  the  second 
mill,  but  he  finally  married  and  settled  down  to  merchandising  and 
farming  at  Gardner's  Ford,  now  in  Cleveland  county.  He  succeeded 
in  accumulating  a  large  amount  of  property  for  that  section  of  the 
county.  Henry  Franklin  Schenck  was  the  only  son  of  Henry  Schenck. 
He  received  an  academic  education  and  was  a  schoolmate  of  Gens. 
R.  F.  Hoke  and  S.  D.  Ramseur,  both  of  military  fame  in  the  Confed- 
erate army.  Afterward  he  attended  school  at  Cokesburg,  S.  C,  and 
at  Shelby,  N.  C.  While  at  the  latter  school,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
he  had  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia,  from  the  effects  of  which  he 
has  never  fully  recovered.  He  was  advised  by  ph^'sicians  to  abandon 
the  further  pursuit  of  his  studies,  which  advice  he  followed,  and  em- 
barked in  merchandising  in  Catawba  county.  /\t  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  was  elected  colonel  of  the  militia  and  held  that  rank  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Civil  war.  He  then  raised  a  company  and  volunteered 
in  the  Confederate  service,  being  assigned  to  the  Fifty-sixth  North 
Carolina  regiment,  on  the  organization  of  which  he  was  elected 
major.  In  this  capacity  he  served  until  1863,  when  the  condition  of 
his  health,  which  had  all  along  been  on  the  decline,  became  so  crit- 
ical that  he  was  compelled  to  resign  his  commission  and  quit  active 
service. 

The  close  of  the  war  found  Mr.  Schenck  still  in  wretched  health, 
and  his  financial  condition  nearly  as  bad.  But  the  exigencies  of  the 
hour  and  the  necessities  of  his  family  spurred  him  on  to  effort,  and 
he  established  a  small  merchandising  business  in  Cleveland  county, 
and  this,  with  persistent  outdoor  work  on  the  farm,  gradually  im- 
proved the  condition  of  his  health,  and  his  business  being  quite  suc- 
cessful he  soon  added  to  his  enterprise  a  flouring  mill  and  a  cotton 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  495 

gin.     In  1S73   Maj.  Schenck  erected  a  small  cotton  factorj'  in   Cleve- 
land county,  on  a  tributary  of  First  Broad  river.     In  connection  with 
his  factory  he  carried  on  an  enlarged  mercantile  business,  and  in  18S8 
joined  with  a  northern  firm,  the  corporation  which  was  established 
being  known  as  the  Cleveland  cotton  mills,  of  which   he  is  the  presi- 
dent.    He   erected  a   new  and   large   factory  on   First   Broad  river, 
about  a  mile  and  a   half  below  his  other  mill.     The   product  of  his 
mills  are  carpet  warp,  ball  twine  and  rope.     A  store  was  also  estab- 
lished in  connection  with  this  new  mill.     In  the  progress  and  devel- 
opment of  his  section,  Maj.  Schenck  has  always  been  ready  to  take 
the  lead,  and  the  establishment  of  this  mill  and  of  his  mercantile 
business  makes  a  new  era  in   the  history  of  his  district.     There  has  ' 
been  a  steady  yet  rapid  improvement  in  the  material  interests  of  the 
surrounding  country  ever  since  he  led  off  in  these  enterprises,  and 
his  policy  has  been  to  treat  his  help  with  consideration,  and  as  conse- 
quence  he  is  never  without  applications   from   good  county   families 
for  work  in  his  factories.     Among  his  operatives  he   has  established 
the  rule  of  temperance,  by  which  he  secures  industrious,  sober  help, 
and  his  influence  in  the  community  toward  the  promotion  of  temper- 
ance and   good  citizenship  is  most  salutary.     l\Iaj.  .Schenck  is  not  a 
politician,  much   less  an  office  seeker,  and   has  steadily  declined  all 
proffers  for  office,  except  in  i8S6,  in  the  fall  of  which  year  he  was 
drawn  into  a  political  campaign.     He  was  always  a  firm  democrat, 
ever  desiring  the  success  of  that  party,  and  he  finally  consented  to 
run  for  the  legislature  on  the   democratic   ticket.     Cleveland  county 
was  divided  into  factions,  which  endangered   the  success  of  his  party 
and  to  bring  about  a  union  if  possible,  he  made  a  canvass  and  was 
elected  by  a  large  plurality,  in  one  of  the  bitterest  contests  ever 
known  in  the  county.     He  has  had  other  important  offices  thrust  upon 
him,  and  has  performed  his  public  duties  in  a  quiet,  undemonstrative 
manner.     I'Vom  his  youth  up  to  1882  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  at  that  period  joining  the  church  to 
which   his  wife  and  children  were  attached,  the  Missionary   Baptist. 
For  eight  consecutive  years   he  has  been  moderator  of   the   Kings 
Mountain  Baptist  association.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order 
and  is  a  Master  Mason. 

Maj.  Schenck  was  married  in  1868, to  Miss  Lou  Lattimore,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  prominent  family  in  Cleveland  county.  Her  great-grand- 
father, John  Lattimore  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Cleveland 
county  and  was  in  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  where  he  received 
a  British  bullet  in  his  thigh  which  he  carried  for  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  He  came  from  the  battle  field  borne  by  a  horse  he  had  cap- 
tured from  a  British  trooper.  Maj.  Schenck  and  wife  have  two  daugh- 
ters and  one  son.  Their  eldest,  Minnie,  is  now  married  to  Thomas  J. 
Ramsauer,  a  stockholder  and  treasurer  of  the  Cleveland  cotton  mills. 
The  second  daughter,  Maggie,  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Osborn,  of 
Cleveland  county.  The  son  and  youngest  child  is  John  Franklin 
Schenck,  born,  April  17,  1865,  received  his  (preparatory  education  at 
Kings  Mountain   high  school,  and  in  the  first  year  won  the  medal 


496  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

offered  for  the  best  debater.  He  entered  Wake  Forest  college  in 
1882  with  more  than  an  average  standing  in  the  classes.  In  the  elo- 
cutionary contest  between  the  literary  societies,  he  won  the  medal. 
In  the  fall  of  1884,  Mr.  Schenck  entered  the  state  university  in  the 
junior  class  and  graduated  in  1S86,  receiving  several  honors  during 
his  stay  in  the  university.  After  a  rest,  made  necessary  by  the  state 
of  his  health,  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1888. 
His  first  field  of  work  was  in  Shelby,  then  in  Durham,  where  he  prac- 
tised with  fair  success  for  a  year.  His  father  finally  prevailed  upon 
him  to  abandon  the  profession  for  a  livelihood,  and  he  has  located 
permanently  at  his  original  home  engaging  in  the  more  lucrative 
"business  of  assisting  his  father  in  his  manufacturing  operations.  He 
is  and  always  has  been  a  total  abstainer  from  intoxicants  and  a  thor- 
ough advocate  of  prohibition.  He  was  the  leader  in  an  effort  which 
secured  local  option  in  Cleveland  county. 

BENJAMIN  WILLIAMS. 

Governor  Benjamin  Williams  was  born  in  Moore  county,  N.  C, 
in  1754.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  congress  in  1793,  for  the 
full  term  of  two  years.  In  1799  he  was  elected  governor  of  the 
state  by  the  legislature  thereof,  and  was  again  elected  to  that 
office  in  1809.  He  was  state  senator  from  1807  to  i8og.  When  Gov. 
Davie  accepted  the  mission  to  France  b}^  appointment  of  President 
John  Adams,  Benjamin  Williams  became  his  successor  as  chief  magis- 
trate. He  was  not  highly  educated;  was  simple  and  unostentatious 
in  his  manners.  He  was  a  man  of  honest  intentions  and  of  most  ex- 
emplary character.  He  was  undemonstrative,  and  his  integrity  was 
above  reproach  or  suspicion.  What  he  lacked  in  greatness  he  made 
up  in  a  pure  and  honest  purpose,  in  a  strict  regard  for  justice  and  all 
the  proprieties  of  life.  He  died  at  his  home  in  his  native  county  in. 
1814.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Eaton  Jones,  daughter  of  Robin  Jones, 
of  Halifax,  who  bore  him  two  sons.  They  were  named  Allen  and 
William  Williams,  and  both  received  their  education  at  Eton  college, 
England. 

GEN.  ROBERT  HOWE 

was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  men  who  ever  adorned  the  annals  of  North 
Carolina.  His  grandfather.  Job  Howe,  was  an  influential  planter  in 
South  Carolina  and  married  Marj^  Moore  (then  widow  Clifford),  a 
daughter  of  Gov.  James  Moore,  by  Elizabeth  Yeamans,  daughter  of 
Sir  John  Yeamans.  Their  son,  Job  Howe,  settled  on  the  Cape  Fear, 
where  he  married  Jane  Jones,  a  granddaughter  of  Col.  Sam  Swann, 
by  Elizabeth  Lillington,  and  had  issue  Robert  Howe,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  was  born  in  1732.  Young  Robert  was  earlj' bereft  of 
his  parents,  his  father  dying  in  1748.  Finely  educated,  with  a  hand- 
some fortune  greatly  increased  by  an  early  marriage  with  an  heiress. 
Miss  Grange,  and  of  close  kin  with  the  Moores,  the  Swanns  and 
Ashes,  he  attained  man's  estate  with  brilliant  prospects  before  him. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  497 

Having  spent  two  years  in  England,  with  his  bride,  he  returned  to 
CaroHna  in  1766,  and  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  Fort  John- 
son and  was  commissioned  baron  of  the  exchequer.  When  the 
troubles  with  the  mother  country  began  he  warmly  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  native  country  and  was  an  influential  leader  in  the 
assembly,  and  he  prepared  the  address  to  Gov.  Martin,  in  1774, 
which  is  a  masterpiece  of  composition.  He  was  a  member  of  all  the 
provincial  congresses  until  the  war  called  hipi  to  the  field,  and  many 
of  the  state  papers  of  that  period,  whose  excellence  reflects  much 
credit  on  North  Carolina,  are  attributed  to  his  pen.  When  the  con- 
gress, in  August,  1775,  organized  the  provincial  forces,  he  was  ap- 
pointed colonel  of  the  Second  regiment.  His  first  important  service 
was  in  \'irginia,  when  Lord  Dunmorewas  ravaging  the  region  around 
Norfolk. 

In  December,  1775.  Howe  arrived  with  his  regiment  in  the  vicin- 
ity, two  days  after  the  battle  of  Great  Bridge,  and  being  in  command 
made  such  successful  use  of  his  forces  as  won  for  him  the  thanks  of 
both  the  X'irginia  and  North  Carolina  assemblies.  Writing  from  the 
presence  of  the  enemy  he  said:  "Thej'  shall  have  no  rest  for  the  soles 
of  their  feet."  So  effective  was  he  that  when  Clinton's  forces  lay  at 
Brunswick,  they  ravaged  his  plantation,  and  he  was  honored  by  being 
excluded  from  the  oftice  of  pardon.  He  was,  on  March  i,  1776,  ap- 
pointed brigadier-general  by  the  continental  congress,  and  marched 
with  his  cousin.  Gen.  James  Moore,  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  Charleston. 
After  the  repulse  of  the  British  at  Fort  Moultrie,  he  went  with  Gen. 
Lee  on  the  expedition  to  Florida,  Moore  being  left  in  command  at 
Charleston.  Lee  soon  went  north;  Gen.  Moore  was  ordered  north 
but  died,  and  Howe  was  given  command  of  the  southern  depart- 
ment. He  was  appointed  major-general  October  20,  1777,  and  was 
active  in  making  defense  against  the  movements  of  the  British  who 
were  approaching  Savannah  from  Florida.  He  led  an  expedition 
through  the  wilderness  from  Savannah,  in  the  summer  of  1778,  and 
drove  the  enemy  back  to  Fort  Tonyn  on  St.  Mary's  river,  took  that  fort 
and  caused  them  to  retreat  to  St.  Augustine.  In  December,  the  Brit- 
ish being  largely  re-inforced  from  the  north,  where  operations  in  the 
winter  were  impracticable,  again  approached  Savannah,  and  after  a 
hard  fight  succeeded  in  putting  the  Americans  to  rout.  Gen.  Lincoln 
who  had  been  sent  south  reached  the  Savannah  river  with  re-inforce- 
ments,  a  few  days  later,  and  Gen.  Howe  proceeded  to  the  north  to 
join  Washington's  army.  The  South  Carolina  and  the  Georgian  au- 
thorities had  both  been  restless  because  Howe  was  in  command  there, 
and  Gen.  Gadsden  having  made  some  reflections  on  Howe,  a  duel 
ensued,  Howe's  bullet  brushing  Gadsden's  ear.  They  then  shook 
hands.  Maj.  Andre,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  officers  in  the 
British  army,  wrote  an  amusing  account  of  the  duel  to  the  tune  of 
Yankee  Doodle,  of  which  one  stanza  ran: 

"  Such  honor  difl  they  both  display 
They  hit;hly  were  comiiiended. 
And  thus,  in  short,  their  gallant  fray 
Without  mischance  was  ended." 

B—  X2 


498  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

At  the  north,  Howe  co-operated  with  Gen.  Wayne  in  1779  in  the 
attack  on  Stony  Point,  and  was  entrusted  by  Washington  with  the 
command  of  West  Point;  but  Arnold,  who  then  stood  so  high  in  the 
confidence  of  all,  subsequently  secured  an  appointment  to  that  post. 
He  sought  to  surrender  it  and  Andre  was  captured.  Howe  was  de- 
tailed on  the  court-martial  that  tried  Andre  on  the  charge  of  being  a 
spy  and  sentenced  him  to  death.  Howe  was  chiefly  employed  on  the 
Hudson.  Washington  reposed  the  utmost  confidence  in  Howe,  and 
in  January,  1781,  sent  him  to  quell  the  mutiny  among  the  New  Jersey 
troops,  and  for  his  judicious  performance  of  this  duty,  Howe  was 
thanked  in  general  orders.  The  Georgia  authorities  having  requested 
an  examination  into  the  conduct  of  this  case  while  Howe  was  at  the 
south,  Gen.  Washington  summoned  a  court-martial  of  thirteen 
officers.  Baron  DeKalb  being  president,  to  pass  upon  the  charges, 
and  after  a  rigid  examination  of  six  weeks,  the  court  acquitted  Gen. 
Howe  "  with  the  highest  honors  "  and  congress  approved  of  the  action 
of  the  court.  Gen.  Howe  remained  in  the  army  after  the  war,  and  in 
July,  17S3,  congress  directed  him  to  quell  a  mutiny  in  the  Pennsylvania 
troops,  and  he  again  won  approbation  for  his  firm  conduct.  In  May, 
1785,  he  was  appointed  by  congress  to  treat  with  the  western  Indians. 
In  the  spring  of  that  year  he  returned  home,  and  was  welcomed  by 
public  honors  at  Fayetteville  and  elsewhere  in  the  state.  He  was 
elected  to  the  assembly  that  summer  from  Brunswick,  but  died  in 
November,  1785,  greatly  lamented.  He  left  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
who  never  married.  Gen.  Howe  was  not  only  a  brave  soldier,  an 
accomplished  officer,  a  warm  patriot  and  a  man  of  lofty  character, 
but  he  was  a  man  of  brilliant  parts,  a  man  of  elegant  culture  and  of 
noble  sentiments. 

CALEB   B.  PRICE, 

a  representative  merchant  of  Mount  Olive,  is  a  North  Carolinian 
by  birth,  having  first  seen  the  light  in  Duplin  county,  on  the  12th  of 
May,  1837.  His  parents  were  Caleb  and  Olive  (Kennedy)  Price,  both 
natives  of  North  Carolina.  Two  of  their  five  children  still  survive  them, 
namely:  Francis  M.  and  Caleb  B.  The  latter  was  given  a  common 
school  education  and  then  apprenticed  to  the  carpenter's  trade,  which 
he  followed  for  ten  5^ears.  In  1861  he  joined  the  Confederate  army 
as  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Grays  from  the  Franklin  institute, 
and  subsequently  was  a  member  of  Company  C,  Second  North  Caro- 
lina state  troops,  and  from  a  private  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy. 
Shortly  before  the  final  surrender  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  taken 
to  Hart's  Island.  His  war  record  is  an  honorable  one.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battles  of  Fredricksburg,  Sharpsburg,  Boonesborough, 
Cedar  Gap,  second  Bull  Run,  Gettysburg,  Horse-shoe,  Spottsylvania, 
Petersburg,  was  in  the  seven  daj's'  fight  around  Richmond,  and  several 
other  engagements  of  minor  importance.  Returning  to  Wayne 
county  after  the  close  of  the  struggle,  Mr.  Price  was  engaged  in  teach- 
ing during  the  winter  and  in  farming  in  the  summer  season  for  the 


KOKTH  CAROLINA.  499 

next  four  years,  after  which  he  went  to  South  Carolina  and  entered 
the  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  was  engaged  for  two  years.  He 
then  returned  to  Wayne  county  and  worked  at  his  trade  for  some 
time.  For  five  years  he  was  superintendent  of  a  mercantile  business 
at  Mount  Olive  for  Mr.  Kornegy,  and  in  January,  1885,  he  estalished 
the  concern  which  he  has  since  operated.  Mr.  Price  has  served  as 
town  commissioner  for  four  years,  and  is  an  active  democrat.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  large  mercantile  interests  he  carries  on  an  extensive 
plantation.  In  1866  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ada  A.  Price, 
daughter  of  Whitman  Price.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price  are  valued  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  is  a  steward. 

WILLIAM  H.  HAMPTON, 

one  of  the  most  successful  and  extensive  merchants  of  Plymouth, 
N.  C,  is  a  native  of  that  city,  having  been  born  there  on  the  26th  of 
October,  1843,  the  son  of  J.  H.  and  Catherine  (Salisbury)  Hampton. 
The  mother  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  the  father  of  Currituck 
county,  X.  C.     In  1830  he  removed  to  Plymouth,  and  for  many  years 
conducted   a  hotel  in  that   place,  and  so  successful  was  he  that  he 
owned  the  two  principal  hotels  of  the  city.     In  1854  he  retired  to  his 
plantation  in  Washington  county,  and  died  there  in  1S65.     Mr.  Hamp- 
ton was  one  of  the  largest  land  and  slave  owners  in  the  county,  and 
was   prominent  as  a  democrat.     His  wife  died  in  1862.     She  was  a 
life-long  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  lived  a  most  use- 
ful and  beautiful  life,  dying  in  the  firm  belief  of  her  Saviour's  power  to 
save.     Four  children  were  born  to  these  parents  who  reached  the 
years  of  maturity.     They  are:   J.  T.  Hampton,  M.  D.,  of  Philadelphia, 
Penn.;  Patty,  wife  of  A.  M.  Johnston,  of  Washington  county,  N.  C; 
Catherine  and  William   H.  Hampton.     Mr.  Hampton  was  reared  in 
Plymouth,  and  received  his  education  in  the  excellent  schools  of  the 
county.     May  20,  1861,  he  enlisted   in  the  Confederate  cause  as  a 
member  of  Company  H,  Seventeenth  North  Carolina  regiment,  under 
Capt.   (afterward  major)  H.  A.  Gillam,  and  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  having  taken  a  valiant  part  in  the  battles  of  Richmond, 
Petersburg  and   Five   Forks,  and  was  wounded  in    the  battle  near 
Richmond  and  in  the  trenches  of  Petersburg.     March  8,  186s,  at  Five 
Forks,  he  was  again  wounded,  and  this  time  was  captured  "and  con- 
fined in  prison  until  June,  1865.     After  peace  was  declared  he  re- 
turned to  Plymouth,  and  there  engaged  in  the  fishing  business.     He 
has  since  continued  in  this  enterprise,  and  now  owns  and  operates  no 
fewer  than  eight  different  fisheries,  being  the  the  largest  dealer  in 
eastern  North  Carolina.     His   markets  are  New  York  and   Philadel- 
phia and  Richmond.     Mr.  Hampton  is  also  extensively  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  shingles,  owning  several  vessels  to  transport  them 
to  northern  markets.     In  1S81   he  established   his  present  mercantile 
business  in   Plymouth,  and  in  addition  to  this  very  extensive  estab- 
lishment he  operates  a  large  area  of  plantation  land.     Mr.  Hampton 
is  a  democrat,  and  has  served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  also  as 


500  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

treasurer  of  the  city.  He  is  a  member  of  tlie  Knights  of  Honor.  In 
iS86  Miss  Lulu  Blount,  daughter  of  Mr.  Levi  Blount,  of  Plymouth, 
became  his  wife,  and  R03'  and  Clara  are  the  two  children  born  to 
their  union.     The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

HON.  JONAS  W.  CROWELL, 

sheriff  of  Wilson  county,  N.  C,  was  born  April  22,  1S41,  in  Nash 
county,  N.  C,  and  was  one  of  six  children  born  to  William  D.  and  Mary 
Ellen  (Hamilton)  Crowell,  the  other  children  being:  P.  J.,  the  eldest, 
was  a  dealer  in  live-stock;  he  served  in  the  Confederate  army,  as  a 
member  of  Capt.  Cole's  company  from  Greensboro,  and  died  in  Char- 
lotte: he  fills  an  honored  soldier's  grave;  Sally,  married  W.  B.  Strick- 
land, and  died  leaving  two  children;  Mary  Ellen,  the  wife  of  J.  R. 
Thomas,  of  Texas,  is  the  twin  sister  of  Jonas  W.,  and  they  are  the 
only  surviving  members  of  the  family.  The  Crowell  family  has  been 
in  this  country  for  many  years,  and  has  been  intimately  identified 
with  its  settlement  and  growth.  The  connection  is  directly  descended 
from  the  Crowell  family  of  England,  that  family  having  first  set- 
tled in  Philadelphia,  and  later  removing  to  Northampton  county,  Va., 
they  subsequently  found  a  permanent  home  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C. 
James  D.  Crowell,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  the 
latter  county,  and  became  an  extensive  planter  and  slave  owner,  and 
also  dealt  largely  in  live-stock.  He  was  an  ardent  democrat,  and  was 
prominent  in  church  work.  Miss  Boshaba  Williams,  a  native  of  that 
portion  of  Edgecombe  county,  now  included  in  Wilson  county,  became 
his  wife  and  bore  him  five  children:  Isily,  married  William  Ferrill,  of 
Nash  county,  and  is  now  deceased;  Eveline,  married  Willis  Barbee, 
and  is  also  deceased;  Susan,  married  Willis  Barbee;  William  and 
Jonas,  the  latter  having  died  in  Sumter  county,  Ala.  The  father 
died  in  Wilson  county  in  1850.  Col.  Crowell,  the  brother  of  James  D. 
Crowell,  settled  on  the  Chattahoocha  river  in  Georgia,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  was  Indian  agent.  William  D.  was  born  in  Nash 
county,  N.  C.,  in  181 2.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  sec- 
tion and  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture.  As  a  loyal  southerner 
he  served  throughout  the  Civil  war  as  a  member  of  a  Confederate 
company  organized  in  Nashville.  His  demise  occurred  in  1879,  his 
wife  having  preceded  him  to  rest  in  1841. 

Jonas  W.  Crowell  was  reared  in  Nash  county,  and  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  the  latter  and  Wilson  counties.  He  learned  the 
tailor's  trade  and  began  active  life  as  a  clerk.  In  1861  he  joined 
Company  I,  Fifth  Alabama  regiment,  and  after  a  service  of  two 
years  was  transferred  to  Company  I,  Thirtieth  North  Carolina  regi- 
ment, and  was  with  that  command  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Although 
twice  offered  a  commission  as  an  officer,  Mr.  Crowell  declined,  the 
only  position  he  would  accept  being  that  of  orderlj'  sergeant  of  his 
company.  At  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  he  was  seriously  wounded, 
and  for  two  months  thereafter  was  confined  in  the  hospital.  At  the 
battle  of  Cold   Harbor  his  left  thigh  was  shattered,  and  as  he  was 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5OI 

totall)-  disabled,  a  transfer  to  the  commissary  department  was  given 
him.  We  find  him  in  the  latter  position  at  the  surrender  of  Appo- 
matox.  Mr.  Crowell  fought  in  the  following  battle^,  First  Manassas, 
Seven  Pines,  Hanover  Court  House,  Gettysburg,  both  battles  of  Cold 
Harbor,  Wilderness  engagements,  Spottsylvania,  seven  days  at  Rich- 
mond, and  Brandy  Station.  i\fter  the  close  of  the  war  he  came  to 
Wilson  county  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for  one  year. 
For  the  succeeding  few  years  he  conducted  a  business  at  Marlboro 
depot,  Pitt  county,  and  for  five  years  was  a  traveling  salesman  for 
Dixon  &  Brother,  of  Baltimore,  Md.  In  18S4  he  was  elected  sheriff 
of  Wilson  county,  and  has  since  retained  that  office.  He  served  as 
mayor  of  Toisnot,  and  also  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
Mr.  Crowell  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  chap- 
ter and  commander}',  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor 
and  the  Royal  xArcanum.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Wilson  tobacco 
warehouse,  and  is  interested  in  various  different  industrial  enter- 
prises in  the  community.  As  a  leading  democrat  he  has  rendered 
efficient  service  to  his  part}',  and  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  wher- 
ever known.  May  27,  1866,  his  marriage  to  Miss  V'irginia  D.  \'ick, 
daughter  of  Col.  Asel  Yick,  of  Xash  county,  N.  C,  was  solemnized, 
and  one  child,  Elizabeth  C.  Crowell,  has  blessed  their  union.  Mr. 
Crowell  is  an  active  and  influential  communicant  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  south,  and  has  been  a  steward  of  that  societ}'  for 
several  years. 

WILLIAM  J.  HARRISS, 

a  prominent  merchant  of  Wilson,  X.  C,  was  born  in  Charlotte  county, 
Va.,  on  the  6th  of  September,  1839,  his  parents  being  John  and  Re- 
becca (Dunn)  Harriss.  The  father  was  a  leading  planter  and  slave- 
holder, and  held  a  high  position  in  the  whig  party,  and  was  a  deacon 
in  the  Baptist  church.  He  was  born  of  English  parentage,  his  father 
having  been  a  native  of  that  country,  and  a  settler  of  Charlotte 
county,  Va.  John  Harriss  died  in  1884.  His  wife's  demise  occurred 
in  1872.  She  was  a  daughter  of  William  Benjamin  Dunn,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  whence  he  came  to  the  United  States,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Charlotte  countj',  \'a.  Six  children  were  born  to  this  happy 
union:  Thomas  B.  joined  the  Confederate  army  as  a  member  of  an 
Alabama  company,  and  died  in  the  hospital  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  in  1862; 
John  D.  was  aicl-de-camp  on  Gen.  Trimball's  staff,  and  served 
through  the  entire  Civil  war,  his  death  occurring  in  Charlotte  county, 
Va.  William  J.  Harriss  was  reared  in  his  native  county,  and  was 
prepared  for  college  in  the  high  schools  of  that  county.  In  185Q  he 
went  to  Henderson,  and  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business,  and  in 
1861  enlisted  in  a  Granville  company,  and  served  as  adjutant  of  the. 
Fifty-fourth  North  Carolina  regiment  during  the  Civil  war,  being 
with  Jackson's  and  Lee's  armies  during  that  time.  Mr.  Harriss  served 
as  a  valiant  and  faithful  soldier  at  Richmond,  Gettysburg,  Brandy 
Station,  Wilderness,  Petersburg,  and  in  several  engagements  of  minor 
importance.     At  the  evacuation  of  Petersburg  lost  his  leg.     After  the 


502  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

close  of  hostilities,  he  located  at  Wilson,  and  has  since  conducted  a 
large  mercantile  establishment  there.  Mr.  Harriss  is  one  of  the  most 
successful,  able,  ,and  public  spirited  citizens  of  Wilson  county.  He 
was  prominent  in  the  organization  of  the  W^ilson  cotton  factory,  and 
for  several  years  was  a  member  of  its  board  of  directors,  and  is  a 
stockholder  in  the  two  tobacco  warehouses  of  Wilson,  and  for- 
merly was  interested  in  the  First  National  bank.  He  is  a  Knight 
Templar,  a  memberof  the  order  of  Knights  of  Honor,  and  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  is  an  ardent  democrat.  As  a  true  and  sub- 
stantial friend  to  public  education  he  is  greatly  interested  in  all  edu- 
cational matters,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Wilson  graded  school 
system.  Mr.  Harriss  has  been  most  happy  in  his  domestic  relations, 
he  having  married  Miss  Fannie  S.  Sheppard,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Sheppard,  of  Suffolk,  Va.,  in  i86S.  Their  home  has  been  blessed  by 
the  advent  of  the  following  named  children:  William  S.,  Charles  T., 
Annie  R.,  Bessie  B.,  Herbert  H.,  and  James  B.  Mrs.  Harriss  is  an 
earnest  and  valued  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church,  of  Wilson. 

COL.  JOSEPH  B.  STICKNEY 

is  among  the  prominent  citizens  of  Wilson,  N.  C.  Col.  Stickney  was 
born  in  Alabama,  in  Greene  county,  March  8,  1827,  the  son  of  Jos- 
eph B.  and  Harriet  (Grist)  Stickney.  The  father  was  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  and  the  mother  of  Beaufort  county,  N.  C.  The  father 
was  in  early  life  an  officer  in  the  United  States  navy,  but  retired  and 
settled  in  Alabama,  where  he  became  an  extensive  planter,  his  death 
occurring  in  that  state.  The  son,  Joseph  B.,  was  reared  in  North 
Carolina  from  his  twelfth  year.  His  scholastic  training  was  received 
at  Bingham's  school  and  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He 
turned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  and  settled  in  Pitt  county,  N.  C.,. 
where  he  soon  became  prominent  in  public  affairs.  For  several 
years  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  inferior  court  of  Pitt  county,  and 
in  1874-5-6-7  represented  that  county  in  the  state  senate,  also  hold- 
ing the  office  of  magistrate  of  the  county.  As  a  democrat,  he  has 
rendered  much  service  to  his  party.  In  1881  Col.  Stickney  removed 
to  Wilson,  and  has  since  lived  in  retirement  at  that  place.  His  mar- 
riage to  Miss  M.  A.  Satterthwaite,  daughter  of  F.  B.  Satterthwaite,  a 
prominent  attorney  of  Beaufort  county,  N.  C,  in  1857,  has  resulted 
in  the  birth  of  two  children:  Annie,  wife  of  Alexander  Greene,  of 
Wilson,  and  F.  S.  Stickney,  of  the  New  York  theological  seminary. 
Col.  Stickney  is  a  vestryman  in  the  Episcopal  church.  Harriet  (Grist) 
Stickney  was  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Frederick  Grist.  He  was  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  legislature  of  North  Carolina,  and  died  at 
Raleigh,  while  representing  Beaufort  county.  His  father,  Richard 
Grist,  was  also  a  public  man  of  prominence,  and  served  as  a  member 
of  the  legislature,  his  death  occurring  at  Fayetteville,  during  his  term 
of  office.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Col.  Stickney  was  a  planter 
of  Beaufort  county,  and  died  while  in  the  service  of  the  patriot  army 
of  1812. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  503 


CHARLES  A.  YOUNG, 


senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Young  Bros.,  Wilson,  N.  C,  was  born 
in  Dinwiddie  county,  Va.,  August  9,  1S53,  and  is  a  son  of  John  T.  S. 
and  Marj-  (Foster)  Young,  both  natives  of  Dinwiddie  county.  The 
father  was  a  leading  merchant  and  planter  there,  and  in  1872  removed 
to  North  Carolina,  and  is  now  retired  from  active  business.  Four 
sons  and  four  daughters  were  born  to  these  parents,  Charles  A.; 
M.  T.,  of  Wilson;  W.  B.,  of  Fayetteville,  E.  F.,  of  Dunn,  N.  C; 
Bett}',  wife  of  P.  C.  Seszer,  of  Wilson;  IMirtie,  who  married  C.  VV. 
Priddy,  of  Greenville,  N.  C;  Nanny,  wife  of  J.  T.  McCrow,  of  Wil- 
son, and  Rose  Young,  who  resides  at  home.  Charles  A.  Young  edu- 
cated himself,  and  in  1S76  entered  mercantile  life  as  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  C.  A.  Young  &  Co.,  merchants  at  Wilson,  N.C.  This  concern 
has  had  a  remarkable  growth,  and  now  operates  stores  at  Wilson, 
where  both  a  wholesale  and  retail  business  is  carried  on,  and  also  at 
Greenville,  Fayetteville  and  Dunn,  N.  C.  Mr.  Young  took  his 
brother  into  partnership  with  him,  forming  the  firm  of  Young  Bros. 
This  house  is  one  of  the  largest  cotton  buyers  in  Wilson,  and  has  one 
of  the  largest  mercantile  trades  in  the  county.  Its  senior  member  is 
a  stockholder  in  the  Wilson  tobacco  warehouse  company;  is  a  director 
and  stockholder  in  the  First  National  bank  of  Wilson,  and  is  also 
very  extensively  interested  in  agriculture  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C. 
He  has  been  active  in  politics  as  a  democrat,  and  has  served  as  an 
alderman  and  treasurer  of  Wilson  for  several  years,  and  is  now 
a  member  of  the  Wilson  school  board.  He  has  been  deeply 
interested  in  advancing  the  industries  of  the  town  and  county, 
and  has  done  much  to  enhance  the  prosperity  of  the  community.  In 
January,  1888,  he  commenced  the  manufacture  of  clothing  at  Fay- 
etteville, and  this  venture  gives  promise  of  success.  Mr.  Young  has 
been  twice  married.  Miss  Ella  Powell,  of  Halifax  county,  N.  C.,  be- 
came his  wife  in  1S79,  and  seven  years  later  died,  leaving  one  child, 
Russel  B.  In  1891  Mr.  Young  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Annie 
Barnes,  daughter  of  Calvin  Barnes,  of  Wilson.  Mr.  Young  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  is  an  earnest  communicant 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south. 

WILLIE  DANIEL. 

One  of  the  most  public-spirited  and  progressive  agriculturists  of 
Wilson  county,  N.  C.,  is  Willie  Daniel,  who  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  N.  C,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1820,  his  parents  being  Isaac  and 
Penelope  (Barnes)  Daniel.  Jacob  Daniel,  the  father  of  Isaac,  was 
also  a  native  of  \Vayne  county,  and  was  a  prominent  planter  and 
slave  owner.  He  was  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Mollie  (Rouse)  Daniel.  He 
married  a  Miss  Simms,  who  bore  him  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
all  of  whom  are  dead.  Isaac,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  the  eld- 
est son  of  that  union.    He  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps  as  a  planter 


504  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  died  in  1S25  or  1S26.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  John  Barnes, 
who  was  an  influential  planter  of  Wayne  county.  After  the  death  of 
her  first  husband  she  married  James  Martin  and  accompanied  him  to 
Alabama,  where  she  died  in  1S63.  The  children  of  her  second  mar- 
riage are  Mrs.  Theresa  Stephens,  of  Alabama;  Mrs.  Mary  Weed,  and 
Mrs.  Martha  Canade,  both  of  Alabama.  Willie  Daniel  was  the 
only  child  of  the  first  marriage.  He  was  reared  in  his  native  county, 
and  received  but  a  limited  education.  In  1844  he  embarked  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  Black  Creek,  and  in  1S50  removed  to  Wilson, 
where  he  became  one  of  the  pioneer  merchants.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Rountree  &  Daniel  at  that  time,  but  subsequently 
engaged  in  the  naval  stores  business,  in  which  he  continued  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  also  had  a  concern  in  South  Carolina  for  some  time. 
Mr.  Daniel  was  ever  a  staunch  friend  of  the  Union,  and  during  the 
Civil  war  took  no  part  on  either  side,  though  in  sympathy  with  the 
Federal  government.  He  has  done  much  to  advance  the  industrial 
growth  of  Wilson  since  his  settlement  there.  He  has  been  a  director 
and  stockholder  in  the  First  National  bank,  of  Wilson,  since  its  organ- 
ization; and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Wilson  cotton  factory,  a  stock- 
holder and  director  in  the  Planters'  tobacco  warehouse,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  extensive  and  successful  planters  in  the  county.  Formerly 
he  was  a  republican,  but  is  now  an  independent  in  politics.  In  1868 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention,  and  has  served  as 
a  town  commissioner.  Mr.  Daniel  was  married  in  1847  to  Miss  Eliza 
Rountree,  daughter  of  Lewis  Rountree,  of  Edgecombe  county,  N.C. 
She  died  in  i8go,  after  living  a  useful,  Christian  life.  Mr.  Daniel 
has  two  children  by  adoption,  Minnie  Eliza,  wife  of  Samuel  Hodges, 
of  Norfolk,  Va.;  and  Betty,  wife  of  E.  F.  McDaniel,  of  Wilson.  Mr. 
Daniel  has  been  a  steward  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south, 
for  many  years,  and  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Wilson  female 
seminary. 

BAILEY  PEYTON  WILLIAMSON 

was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  Va.,  on  May  ig,  1838,  and  received 
his  education  in  Samuel  Davie's  institute,  in  Halifax  county,  Va. 
Leaving  school  in  1858  when  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he  was  ap- 
pointed agent  of  the  Roanoke  Valley  railroad  at  Clarksville,  Va.,  and 
remained  in  that  capacity  about  a  year,  when  he  was  engaged  as  a 
drummer  for  a  Baltimore  dry-goods  house.  He  was  traveling  on  the 
road  for  this  firm  when  the  war  broke  out.  Being  an  ardent  south- 
erner, he  left  Baltimore  on  the  day  of  the  riot  there,  when  the  mob 
stoned  the  Massachusetts  troops  as  they  passed  through  the  city,  and 
he  returned  to  his  home  in  Virginia.  In  April,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  Col.  Thomas  F.  Goode's  cavalry  compan}-,  which  was  after- 
ward assigned  to  a  regiment  of  Virginia  state  troops,  of  which  I.  B. 
Hood,  afterward  Gen.  Hood,  was  then  the  major.  Mr.  Williamson 
remained  in  that  regiment  during  the  summer  of  1861,  and  was  then 
commissioned  as  first  lieutenant  of  an  infantry  company  organized  at 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  505 

his  home,  w-liich  was  afterward  assigned  to  the  Twentieth  North  Car- 
olina battahon,  commanded  by  Col.  Wharton  J.  Greene,  which  bat- 
talion was  attached  to  Wise's  legion.  Mr.  Williamson  was  captured 
at  Roanoke  Island  in  1S62,  in  February,  by  Burnside's  command,  and 
paroled  soon  after.  While  on  parole,  in  August,  1862,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Belle  Williamson,  daughter  of  George XVilliamson,  of  Caswell 
county,  N.  C,  and  to  them  were  born  four  children,  as  follows:  Ben- 
jamin Robert;  Nellie,  wife  of  J.  S.  Price,  of  Houston,  Tex.;  Frank 
Potts  Williamson  and  Bailey  Finley  Williamson.  After  his  parole 
and  exchange,  Mr.  Williamson  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
ordnance  supplies  and  agricultural  equipments,  and  carried  on  this 
business  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

In  1865,  with  Dr.  W.  J.  Hawkins,  J.M.  Heck  and  Kemp  P.  Battle, 
Mr.  Williamson  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  grocery  and 
commission  business  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  under  the  firm  name  of  B.  P. 
Williamson  &  Co.  These  gentlemen  continued  their  co-partnership 
about  a  year,  and  then  dissolved  by  mutual  consent.  After  that  Mr. 
Williamson,  Dr.  Hawkins,  C.  M.  Hawkins  and  Capt.  J.  J.  Thomas 
carried  on  the  business,  with  a  branch  house  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  under 
the  name  of  Hawkins.  Williamson  &  Co.,  until  1S72,  when  the  firm 
dissolved.  Soon  thereafter,  together  with  Capt.  J.  J.  Thomas  and 
W.  G.  Upchurch,  Mr.  Williamson  went  into  the  grocery  and  commis- 
sion business  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  on  a  large  scale,  and  this  partnership 
continued  for  four  years,  when  Capt.  Thomas  retired.  Since  then 
Mr.  Williamson  and  W.  G.  Upchurch  have  carried  on  the  business 
under  the  name  of  Williamson  &  Upchurch.  Mr.  Williamson  is  also 
a  large  and  well  known  farmer  in  North  Carolina,  holding  extensive 
and  valuable  landed  interests,  owning  2,700  acres  of  land  in  Wake 
and  Johnston  counties.  He  is  also  extensively  engaged  in  the  breed- 
ing of  standard-bred  trotting  horses  at  his  farm,  so  well  known  as 
Fairview  farm,  situated  near  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Mr.  Williamson's  first  wife  died  in  1875  and  in  1877  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Laura  S.  Williams,  daughter  of  John  R.  Williams,  of  Raleigh, 
N.  C,  she  died  the  following  year  without  issue.  In  1879  he  was 
married  to  Ella  S.  Mial,  daughter  of  A.  T.  Mial,  of  Wake  county, 
N.  C,  and  to  them  were  born  six  children,  of  whom  three  survive,  as 
follows:  Mial  Williamson,  Herbert  Williamson  and  Rosalind  Will- 
iamson. In  1888,  Mr.  Williamson  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board 
of  county  commissioners  of  Wake  county,  of  which  he  bec.ime  chair- 
man, and  was  re-elected  in  1890,  again  being  the  chairman  of  the 
board,  but  in  March,  1891,  he  retired  from  the  board.  During  his 
term  he  rendered  great  service  to  county  affairs,  especially  in  the 
matter  of  road  making  and  similar  improvements.  Mr.  Williamson's 
father,  James  Williamson,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county  Va..  in 
1801.  His  life  of  sixty-five  years  was  spent  as  a  farmer  and  stock 
breeder.  He  was  highly  esteemed  in  his  community  and  served 
many  years  as  magistrate  in  his  native  county.  He  married  Sarah 
Pool,  and  to  them  were  born  eleven  children,  of  whom  three  survive, 
as  follows:     Caroline  B.,  widow  of  Maj.  J.  J.Thomas,  of  I-"ranklinton, 


506  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

N.  C,  Marstella  A.,  widow  of  B.  D.  Paylor,  of  Leesburg,  N.  C,  and 
Bailey  Peyton  Williamson.  Mr.  Williamson's  mother  died  in  1864. 
Mr.  Williamson's  grandfather,  Robert  Williamson,  was  also  a  native 
of  Mecklenburg  county  Va.  He  was  a  farmer  and  possessed  a  con- 
siderable landed  interest  and  was  universally  respected  in  his  com- 
munity. 

JAMES   J.   THOMAS 

was  born  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  July  19,  183 1.  He  received  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  Oxford  and  Louisburg,  N.  C,  and  after 
pursuing  his  studies  for  some  years  with  much  zeal,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  he,  of  his  own  account  and  desire,  selected  the  mercantile 
business  as  a  profession,  entering  the  store  of  R.  &  R.  H.  Kingsbury, 
in  Oxford,  N.  C,  with  whom  he  remained  for  two  years,  going  from 
Oxford  to  Clarksville,  Va.,  he  was  employed  by  Capt.  Robert  Y. 
Overby,  being  in  charge  of  his  books  at  his  store  at  White  House, 
Va.,  and  charge  of  his  tobacco  and  banking  business  in  Clarksville, 
Va.  Having  served  in  this  capacity  for  about  four  years,  and  desir- 
ing to  enter  a  larger  field  of  business,  being  highly  recommended  by 
his  former  employer,  Capt.  Overby,  he  secured  a  situation  with  Will- 
ingham  &  Ellett,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  wholesale  dealers  in  notions  and 
dry  goods.  After  remaining  with  them  two  years,  he  returned  to  his 
native  state  and  entered  the  store  of  W.  H.  &  R.  S.  Tucker,  of 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  as  bookkeeper  and  confidential  clerk.  Mr.  Thomas 
having  acquired  a  pretty  thorough  knowledge  of  business,  deter- 
mined to  start  out  on  his  own  account,  and  embarked  in  the  mercan- 
tile business  at  Franklinton,  N.  C;  there  he  remained  until  the  war 
between  the  north  and  the  south  broke  out,  when  soon  after  hostili- 
ties were  declared  he  volunteered  and  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Forty- 
seventh  North  Carolina  infantry,  and  was  commissioned  first 
lieutenant  of  that  company  by  Gov.  H.  T.  Clark.  Later  during  the 
same  year,  he  was  promoted  to  quartermaster  of  the  regiment  com- 
manded by  Col.  Sion  H.  Rogers. 

When  the  office  of  regimental  quartermaster  was  abolished  by  act 
of  the  Confederate  congress,  Maj.  Thomas,  on  the  recommendation 
of  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  was  appointed  by  the  secretary  of  war  assistant 
division  quartermaster,  and  assigned  to  Gen.  Harry  Heth's  division, 
A.  P.  Hill's  corps,  army  of  northern  Virginia.  Owing  to  the  frequent 
absence  of  Maj.  Vick  of  Heth's  division,  Maj.  Thomas  acted  and  as- 
sumed the  duties  of  division  quartermaster,  which  position  he  held 
until  the  surrender  at  Appomatox  Court  House,  in  April,  1S65,  in  ad- 
dition to  many  skirmishes  and  minor  engagements  Maj.  Thomas  was 
at  the  battle  of  Drury's  Bluff,  and  in  the  fights  around  Richmond. 
He  was  in  and  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  after  three  days'  fight 
upon  the  return  of  Lee's  army,  he  was,  with  many  other  Confederate 
soldiers,  captured  at  Greencastle,  Penn.,  by  the  Federal  cavalry,  but 
was  rescued  and  recaptured  by  Gen.  Imboden's  flying  artillery  before 
the  day  expired,  rejoining  his  division.     When  peace  was  declared 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5O7 

Maj.  Thomas  returned  to  his  home,  and  for  several  months  was  em- 
ployed in  the  mercantile  business.  Finding  it  difficult  to  do  much 
business  under  the  almost  impoverished  condition  of  our  people  gen- 
erally, he,  in  connection  with  Dr.  W.  J.  Hawkins,  B.  P.  Williamson 
and  C.  M.  Hawkins,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  opened  a  cotton  and  com- 
mission business  in  the  cit}-  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  which  was  actively 
and  successfully  pursued  until  1S72,  when  Maj.  Thomas  returned  to 
Raleigh,  X.  C,  and  together  with  B.  P.  Williamson  and  \V.  G.  Up- 
church,  entered  into  the  grocer}^,  cotton  and  commission  business, 
under  the  name  of  Williamson,  Upchurch  &  Thomas. 

In  1S76,  Maj.  Thomas  retired  from  the  firm  and  established  a 
thriving  business  on  his  own  account,  which  he  is  still  carrying  on 
largel}'  and  successfully.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  Raleigh 
cotton  and  grocery  exchange,  served  several  years  in  that  capacity, 
using  his  large  means  as  well  as  his  talent  and  energ)'  in  building  up 
the  cotton  business  of  Raleigh,  which  has  amounted  to  as  much  as 
74,000  bales  a  year.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  and  first  president 
of  the  Raleigh  Savings  bank,  which  position  he  held  for  about  a  year 
or  more,  until  his  private  business  grew  such  as  to  demand  his  entire 
time.  He  was  president  of  the  Oak  city  mills  until  its  propert}-  was 
sold  to  a  fertilizer  company.  Maj.  Thomas  is  president  of  the  Ral- 
eigh cotton  mills  which  are  now  in  successful  operation,  employing 
seventy-five  to  loo  hands  and  turning  out  about  one  million  pounds 
yarns  a  year.  He  has  been  recentl}-  elected  a  director  and  vice- 
president  of  the  Caraleigh  cotton  mills  and  president  of  theCaraleigh 
phosphate  and  fertilizer  works;  these  two  industries  are  now  in  pro- 
cess of  construction,  and  they  will  employ  a  large  number  of  hands 
and  a  capital  of  nearly  $200,000.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Com- 
mercial &  Farmers'  bank,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  with  a  paiil  up  capital  of 
$100,000,  he  was  elected  its  president,  in  which  capacity  he  is  now 
acting. 

Maj.  Thomas  is  a  thorough  democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian  school, 
but  though  always  contributing  liberally  his  support  to  the  cause,  has 
never  taken  any  active  steps  in  politics.  His  religious  tendencies 
are  those  of  a  Baptist.  He  has  been  married  three  times.  First,  in 
i860,  Victoria,  daughter  of  Xenophon  1  lalbert,  of  .South  Carolina,  and 
to  them  were  born  five  children,  of  whom  two  survive:  Lottie,  widow 
of  B.  T.  McAden,  and  Howard  C.  Thomas.  He  lost  his  first  wife  in 
Baltimore,  in  1872,  and  on  January  13,  1875,  was  married  to  Fveline 
Briggs,  daughter  of  Thomas  H.  Briggs  of  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  to  them 
were  born  two  children,  of  whom,  one,  Evie,  now  survives.  His 
second  wife  died  in  February,  1879,  and  he  was  ne.xt  married  in  Sep- 
tember, 1880,  to  Lula  O.  Felt,  daughter  of  Fli  Felt,  of  Warrenton, 
X.  C,  and  to  them  was  born  one  child:  James  J.  Thomas,  Jr.  The 
father  of  Maj.  Thomas,  James  J.  Thomas,  was  born  in  Alabama  in 
1806,  and  settled  in  Franklin  county  about  the  year  1S25.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  served  as  engrossing  clerk  in  the  legislature  of  North 
Carolina  for  several  sessions.  In  1829  he  married  Charlotte  E. 
Howze,  and  to  them  were  born  four  children,  of  whom  two  survive: 


508  NORTH  CAR01.Ix\A. 

James  J.Thomas  and  Mrs. Sarah  L.  Harriss.  Maj.  Thomas's  mother 
died  in  1843,  but  his  father  survived  until  1874.  His  grandfather  was 
of  English  descent  as  was  also  his  grandmother. 

MAJ.  RUFUS  SYLVESTER  TUCKER, 

the  most  energetic  and  influential  and  wealthy  citizen  of  Raleigh, 
N.  C,  was  the  third  son  Ruffin  Tucker,  a  merchant  of  Raleigh,  where 
he  was  born,  April  5,  1S29.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  cele- 
brated Lovejoy  academy,  and  in  1844  entered  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  graduated,  in  1848.  Among  those  at  the  univer- 
sity with  him  were  Gen.  Johnston  Pettigrew,  Senator  Mat.  W. 
Ransom,  Judge  Victor  C.  Barringer,  Seaton  Gales  and  others,  subse- 
quently distinguished  in  their  various  professions.  On  leaving  the 
university,  Maj.  Tucker  entered  the  store  of  his  father,  as  a  clerk, 
and  remained  with  him  until  his  death,  in  1S51,  when  the  three  sons 
of  Mr.  Ruffin  Tucker  succeeded  to  the  business.  Maj.  Tucker  soon 
established  a  fine  reputation  for  sound  judgment,  and  as  a  practical 
manager;  and  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  Gov.  Ellis  appointed 
him  quartermaster  and  commissary  for  the  post  of  Raleigh,  where 
all  the  North  Carolina  companies  as  formed  were  concentrated  and 
organized  into  regiments  before  being  sent  to  the  front.  The  duties 
of  the  position  were  thus  onerous  and  exacting.  In  the  latter  part 
of  1861,  however,  he  resigned  that  commission,  and  having  raised  an 
independent  company  of  cavalry,  he  was  commissioned  captain  of  it, 
and  later  joined  the  Third  regiment  of  North  Carolina  cavalry,  and 
served  in  eastern  Carolina.  He  served  chiefly  near  Newbern  and 
Washington  until  the  fall  of  1862,  when  he  was  commissioned  major, 
and  assigned  to  the  staff  of  Adjt.-Gen.  Fowle,  and  later  to  that  of 
Gen.  Richard  Gatling.  In  the  following  year  he  was  elected  chief 
clerk  of  the  house  of  commons,  and  satisfactorily  performed  the 
duties  of  that  position.  After  the  war  he  devoted  himself  closely  to 
the  firm  business  of  W.  H.  &  R.  S.  Tucker.  His  brother,  Will- 
iam H.  Tucker,  was  a  man  of  large  business  experience  in  the 
mercantile  line,  and  was  considered  one  of  the  best  judges  of  goods 
of  any  merchant  of  the  south,  and  he  was  the  head  of  the  firm, 
being  the  elder;  and  having  moved,  in  1866,  into  a  commodious  and 
splendid  new  store,  enlarged  the  establishment,  until  it  had  no  equal 
in  the  state.  Here  he  and  his  brother,  William,  found  an  ample  field 
for  their  respective  talents.  They  sold  goods  at  one  price  and  a  fair 
profit,  and  their  stock  was  complete  in  all  departments.  Their  estab- 
lishment was  always  crowded  with  customers,  and  they  made  a  great 
deal  of  money.  Their  success  was  due  in  great  part  to  the  skill,  en- 
terprise and  industry  of  Maj.  Tucker,  as  well  as  his  brother.  For 
manj'  j^ears,  embracing  the  period  of  the  war,  Maj.  Tucker  was  a 
director  in  the  North  Carolina  railroad  company,  and  later  he  became 
a  director  in  the  Raleigh  &  Gaston  railroad,  and  is  now  a  director  in 
the  Seaboard  Air  Line  system,  a  corporation  in  which  he  has  consider- 
able   interest  as   a   stockholder;    and    he    is   also    interested    in    the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5O9 

Atlantic  &  North  Carolina  railroad,  he,  being  the  largest  private 
stockholder  in  that  company.  He  was  for  many  years  a  competent 
and  faithful  director  in  the  Raleigh  National  bank,  and  his  connec- 
tion with  that  bank  was  greatly  to  its  advantage;  but  becoming 
largely  interested  in  the  National  bank  of  Newbern,  he  resigned  his 
position  in  the  Raleigh  bank,  and  more  recentlj'  he  has  disposed  of 
his  interest  at  Newbern. 

Maj.  Tucker  for  thirty-one  years  has  been  a  director  of  the  in- 
stitution for  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind,  at  Raleigh,  and  for  many 
years  its  president.  In  this  position  his  judgment  and  business  quali- 
ties have  had  a  fair  field  to  exhibit  themselves,  and  no  institution  in 
the  United  States  has  probably  been  better  managed  than  this.  The 
service  he  has  rendered  the  state  by  his  continued  connection  with 
this  institution,  and  to  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  unfortu- 
nate children  whose  condition  has  been  ameliorated  through  this 
state  charit}',  is  inestimable.  In  addition  to  these  duties  Major 
Tucker,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  has  for  about 
twenty  3'ears  been  an  active  member  of  Christ  church  vestry,  at 
Raleigh. 

Besides  being  the  largest  owner  of  city  property  in  Raleigh,  he 
has  landed  interests  in  Wake  as  well  as  other  counties  in  the  state, 
and  in  late  years  has  been  occupied  with  his  extensive  farm  in  the 
vicinity  of  Raleigh,  which  was  originally  very  poor  land,  known  as 
Old  Camp  Mangum;  by  a  -.system  of  fine  cultivation,  he  has  brought 
up  to  a  high  state  of  fertility  and  productiveness.  He  rejoices  as 
much  in  his  success  at  making  more  than  a  bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre, 
in  his  fine  hay,  and  beautiful  herd  of  Jerseys  and  Oxforddown  sheep  as 
in  any  of  his  other  operations.  Entering  into  business  at  an  early 
age,  he  contracted  business  habits  thoroughly,  and  but  few  men  so 
systematically  arrange  their  work  as  to  accomplish  as  much  as  he 
does  in  a  day.  His  assiduity,  intelligence  and  sound  judgment  have 
brought  him  successes  in  all  his  undertakings,  and  he  attributes  his 
good  fortune  largely  to  his  having  followed  the  motto  that  a  thing 
worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well.  He  does  everything 
thoroughly',  and  finishes  the  matter  entirely  before  leaving  it.  Thus 
he  is  enabled  to  do  an  immense  amount  of  work  with  less  worry  than 
it  would  occasion  other  men. 

Maj.  Tucker  having  made  a  large  fortune,  has  been  for  years  one 
of  the  most  enterprising  men  in  Raleigh.  He  seeks  to  promote  the 
interest  of  the  city  by  advocating  all  improvements  that  will  tend  to 
its  advantage.  He  was  active  in  forming  the  chamber  of  commerce 
and  industry,  an  association  of  all  the  business  men  of  the  place,  hav- 
ing for  its  object  the  encouragement  of  new  enterprises,  and  he  was, 
in  18S7,  chosen  the  first  president  of  the  chamber,  and  then  declined 
a  re-election,  thinking  it  best  to  change  chief  officers  each  year.  His 
reports  while  president  admirably  show  what  the  chamber  had  accom- 
plished fof  the  prosperity  of  Raleigh,  and  the  record  reflects  credit 
on  Maj.  Tucker  and  his  associates.  Maj.  Tucker,  after  the  death  of 
his  brother  William,  retired   from   active  business,  and   has  devoted 


5IO  *  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

himself  chiefly  to  caring  for  his  large  estate,  but  as  he  has  long  been 
esteemed  as  the  foremost  of  Raleigh's  business  men,  he  is  more  or 
less  engaged  in  all  the  new  industries  started.  Yet  he  finds  time  to 
travel  in  the  various  sections  of  the  Union,  and  he  entertains  at  his 
beautiful  villa  with  a  liberal  hospitality. 

Maj.  Tucker  married  early  in  life  Miss  Florence  E.  Perkins, 
daughter  of  Churchill  Perkins,  Esq.,  of  Pactolus,  Pitt  county,  N.  C, 
who  for  many  years  was  a  representative  of  Pitt  county,  both  in  the 
senate  and  house  of  commons  of  North  Carolina,  and  who  was  one 
of  the  largest  planters  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  state,  and  who 
besides  was  largely  engaged  in  the  turpentine  industry  in  North  and 
South  Carolina  and  Florida.  To  them  were  born  a  number  of  chil- 
dren, of  whom  six  survive:  Margaret  Perkins,  the  wife  of  James 
Boylan,  of  the  firm  of  W.  H.  &  R.  S.  Tucker  &  Co.;  Florence  Per- 
kins, wife  of  John  H.  Winder,  superintendent  of  the  Seaboard  & 
Roanoke  R.  R.  Co.;  William  Ruftin  Tucker,  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  Graystone  Granite  &  Construction  company,  and  railroad  con- 
tractor, who  married  Miss  Gertrude  Winder,  a  daughter  of  Major 
John  C.  W^inder,  general  manager  of  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  R.  R. 
system;  Bessie  Boylan  Tucker,  Sarah  Sanders  Tucker  and  Minnie 
Fitch  Tucker.  Lula  Sledge  Tucker,  one  of  the  loveliest  of  her  sex, 
married  Dr.  N.  O.  Harris,  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  but  died  April  23,  1886. 
No  more  charming  and  attractive  household  has  ever  added  to  the 
pleasures  of  Raleigh  than  that  presided  over  so  happily  and  gra- 
ciously by  Mrs.  Tucker. 

Major  Tucker's  father,  Ruffin  Tucker,  was  born  in  Wake  county 
in  1795.  He  entered  into  mercantile  business  at  Raleigh  with  his 
brother,  W.  C.  Tucker  in  1818,  and  in  1828  began  on  his  own  account, 
laying  the  foundation  of  the  house  which  has  since  become  so  famous 
in  the  dry  goods  line  in  North  Carolina.  He  married  Lucinda 
Marshall  Sledge,  a  daughter  of  Joel  Sledge,  of  Franklin  county,  N.C., 
and  had  by  her  three  sons:  William  H.  H.  Tucker,  who  died  in 
1882;  Dr.  Joseph  J.  W.  Tucker,  who  died  in  1856,  and  Rufus  S. 
Tucker,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Mr.  Ruffin  Tucker  died  in  1851, 
and  his  widow  survived  him  until  1867.  In  1846  Mr.  Ruffin  Tucker 
■  associated  his  son,  William,  in  his  business,  under  the  firm  name  of 
R.  Tucker  &  Son,  and  the  firm  continued  until  his  death  in  1S51, 
when  the  three  brothers  carried  on  the  business  under  the  style  of 
W.  H.  &  R.  S.  Tucker,  Dr.  Tucker  being  a  silent  partner.  After  the 
war,  in  connection  with  his  brother,  William,  Maj.  R.  S.  Tucker  pro- 
jected and  erected  Tucker  hall,  the  first  public  hall  ever  built  in 
Raleigh,  and  for  years  it  was  the  only  place  where  amusements  or  en- 
tertainments could  be  held  or  addresses  be  delivered.  It  is  now  a 
part  of  the  magnificent  establishment  of  W.  H.  &  R.  S.  Tucker  &  Co., 
now  conducted  by  young  men  educated  to  the  business  by  the 
former  proprietors  and  to  these  young  men  he  gave  aid  on  retiring. 
W^hen  the  building  was  first  opened  it  was  conceded  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  entire  south;  and  thither  the  business  of  the  firm  was  at 
once  removed  and  from  across  the  street,  the  former  place  of  business 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5II 

of  R.  S.  Tucker,  and  a  great  impetus  was  imparted  to  its  prosperity. 
Each  year  saw  it  increase  in  volume  and  value,  until  at  length,  in 
18S2,  Col.  William  H.  H.  Tucker  died,  and  in  1SS3  Maj.  Tucker  re- 
tired from  the  business,  which,  under  the  name  of  W.  H.  &  R.  S. 
Tucker  &  Co.,  has  since  been  continued  by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  James 
Boylan  and  his  associates.  The  firm  name  perpetuating  the  business 
connection  of  Maj.  Tucker  with  the  active  business  interests  of 
Raleigh  will  be  an  enduring  monument  to  the  business  capacity  of 
Raleigh's  most  enterising  merchant,  who,  although  retired,  still  e.xerts 
a  strong  influence  on  whatever  will  promote  the  advantage  or  re- 
dound to  the  interests  of  his  native  city. 


WYNDHAM  E.  GARY, 

a  leading  citizen  of  Henderson,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Manchester,  Va., 
April  30,  1848,  and  received  his  schooling  at  Richmond,  Va.,  where  he 
remained  until  1S64.  In  the  latter  year  he  entered  the  Confederate 
service  as  a  member  of  Company  F,  First  Virginia  militia,  and  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Gilmer,  near  Richmond.  In  February,  1865,  he 
returned  to  the  capital  of  the  south  and  remained  there  until  its  evac- 
uation, after  which  he  removed  to  Petersburg,  remaining  in  the  latter 
city  until  March,  1867.  At  this  time  Mr.  Gary  entered  a  business 
college  in  Richmond  as  a  student,  and  after  being  duly  graduated, 
accepted  a  position  as  bookkeeper  for  Gary  Brothers  (his  uncle  and 
father  comprising  the  firm)  in  Manchester,  and  until  1879,  was  con- 
nected with  them  in  the  tobacco  business;  he  then  came  to  Henderson, 
N.  C,  and  embarked  in  the  tobacco  business,  having  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  father,  Mr.  P.  H.  Gary.  Mr.  Gary  was  married  in  1872 
to  Miss  Kate  Wells,  daughter  of  A.  B.  Wells,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and 
nine  children  have  blessed  the  union,  named:  Alexander,  Eugene, 
Curtis,  George,  Meredith,  Isabella,  Charles,  Kate  and  Mariel.  Mr. 
Gary  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  substantial  and  prominent  business  men 
of  Henderson. 

Patrick  H.  Gary,  father  of  the  above,  is  a  native  of  Prince  George 
county,  Va.,  where  he  was  born  in  1818.  In  1841  he  married  Miss 
Isabella  Muse,  daughter  of  Meredith  Muse,  a  Virginian,  and  to  them 
six  children  were  born,  viz.:  Cornelia  A.,  widow  of  Robert  H. 
Leonard;  Sarah  E.,  widow  of  W.  P.  Buell;  Wyndham  E.,  Irvin  B., 
George  E.  and  Mattie  Gary,  wife  of  Hilary  Duval.  The  grandfather 
on  the  paternal  side  was  Richard  Gary,  a  native  of  Virginia.  As  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  181 2,  he  served  with  valor  and  distinction.  He 
was  a  planter  all  his  life,  and  left  a  name  honored  and  esteemed. 
Wyndham  E.  Gary,  our  subject,  has  done  much  toward  increasing 
the  great  tobacco  industry  of  North  Carolina,  From  1S84  to  i8qi 
he  was  of  the  Henderson  board  of  trade,  and  has  served  four  years  as 
a  member  of  the  city  council. 


512  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


J.  C.  McCASKILL, 


who  for  many  years  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
business  men  of  Robeson  county,  N.  C,  now  retired,  first  saw  the 
light  in  Cumberland  county,  N.  C,  April  i8,  1832,  his  parents  being, 
Daniel  and  Mary  (Campbell)  McCaskill.  Daniel  was  a  native  of 
Scotland,  while  his  wife  was  born  in  North  Carolina.  At  the  age  of 
about  twenty  years  Mr.  McCaskill  sought  a  broader  field  for  his 
labors  and  emigrated  to  America.  He  settled  in  Cumberland  county, 
N.  C,  and  remained  there  until  his  death  in  1880;  both  himself  and 
wife  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety  years,  the  latter  having  died 
about  three  months  after  his  demise.  He  was  a  successful  planter, 
and  a  man  of  much  intelligence  and  native  refinement.  The  father 
and  mother  were  life-long  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Two 
sons  and  two  daughters  are  living  of  the  seven  children  born  to  them. 
Three  of  the  sons  fought  in  the  Confederate  service,  Neill  having 
enlisted  in  South  Carolina  in  1S61.  He  served  in  the  army  of 
northern  \'irginia,  and  fought  as  a  faithful  and  valient  soldier  in 
several  battles.  He  was  one  of  the  heroes  who  charged  at  Reams 
station,  and  since  that  time  has  never  been- heard  from.  He  fills  an 
honored  soldier's  grave.  The  youngest  son  was  Daniel,  who  enlisted 
in  the  southern  army  in  t86i,  having  fought  in  Col.  Hokes'  brigade, 
of  the  army  of  northern  Virginia.  After  participating  in  many  noted 
battles,  he  was  mortally  wounded  at  Gettysburg,  and  died  three  days 
later.  He  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
like  his  brother  died  loving  the  cause  he  espoused.  The  second  son 
is  Roderick  McCaskill,  now  a  prominent  citi"zen  of  Laurinburg.  Sarah, 
married  Mr.  Angus  McDonald,  and  until  after  the  death  of  her  par- 
ents and  husband  she  resided  at  Laurinburg.  Mary  died  at  the  age 
of  forty-two  years.     Nancy  is  a  resident  of  Laurinburg. 

J.  C.  McCaskill  received  a  general  education  in  different  private 
schools  in  Cumberland  county,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  began 
his  business  career  in  the  turpentine  business,  to  which  he  added 
agriculture.  He  was  thus  engaged  in  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
First  North  Carolina  battalion,  in  the  company  commanded  byCapt. 
McRae,  and  served  in  the  army  until  the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher  and  Wil- 
mington, when  he  entered  the  military  telegraph  service,  later  serv- 
ing in  Gen.  Lee's  army,  and  he  surrendered  with  the  great  chieftain's 
forces  at  Appomatox.  After  the  war  Mr.  McCaskill  resumed  turpen- 
tine distilling,  but  a  few  years  subsequent  turned  his  attention  to  the 
mercantile  business,  which  he  followed  for  twenty  years  with  much 
success.  In  1887  he  disposed  of  his  business  interests,  and  since  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  farming.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Maggie 
McClaurin,  of  South  Carolina,  December  24,  1867,  was  most  happy. 
Two  years  later,  on  the  9th  of  August,  she  was  called  to  rest.  She 
was  an  active  and  earnest  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a 
lady  of  most  estimable  qualities.     Her  demise  occurred  in  her  twenty- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5I3 

fourth  year.  Mr.  McCaskill  was  married  a  second  time  May  17,  1877, 
when  Miss  Mary  C.  McLean  became  his  wife.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  John  F.  McLean,  of  Robeson  county,  N.  C.  Three  children, 
now  Hving,  have  been  born  to  this  union,  viz.:  INIary  Campbell, 
John  C.  and  Sarah  Amanda.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCaskill  are  com- 
municants of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  is  an  elder,  and 
he  is  also  prominentl)'  identified  with  the  Masonic  order. 

JOHN  T.  POPE. 

The  oldest  living  resident  of  Lumberton,  N.  C,  is  John  T.  Pope, 
a  retired  merchant,  who  was  born  in  Robeson  county,  N.  C,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1S21.  His  parents  were  Hardy  and  Charity  (Pitman)  Pope, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  North  Carolina.  Hardy  Pope  was  a  mer- 
chant, and  subsequently  a  planter.  P~or  many  years  he  held  the  office 
of  magistrate.  He  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  1812,  being 
stationed  much  of  the  time  at  Fort  Johnston,  in  the  office  of  the 
adjutant  of  the  regiment.  His  death  occurred  in  1854,  when  he  was 
sixty-seven  years  old.  His  wife  died  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years, 
in  1848.  She  was  known  far  and  near  for  her  charity  and  kindly 
offices  to  the  offices  to  the  sick  and  afflicted.  Of  the  nine  children 
born  to  them,  four  are  now  living.  Henry  Pope,  the  father  of  Hardy, 
moved  to  Robeson  county,  N.  C,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  settled 
four  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Lumberton.  He  fought  as  a  patriot 
soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  man  of  exceeding  prominence 
in  the  community,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  the  wealthiest 
man  in  the  county.  His  wife,  Delilah,  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Williams,  of  Halifax,  N.  C,  where  Henry  Pope  married  her  before 
his  removal  to  Robeson  county.  His  son,  Willis  Pope,  was  one  of 
the  most  eminent  physicians  in  Robeson  county.  Mr.  John  T.  Pope 
began  business  for  himself  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  having  held  a 
clerkship  for  some  years  before.  In  1847  he  established  a  mercantile 
house  in  Lumberton,  and  conducted  that  without  intermission  until 
his  final  retirement  from  business  life.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was 
detailed  by  the  war  department  as  tax-collector.  He  has  held  the 
offices  of  county  commissioner,  register  of  deeds,  and  for  several 
years  was  a  magistrate.  In  1S41  Mr.  Pope  married  Miss  Caroline 
Council,  daughter  of  Elizabeth  Council.  Florence,  wife  of  John  A. 
McAllister,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  another  place  in  this  work; 
and  Willis  H.,  are  the  children  that  have  been  born  to  this  happy 
union.  Willis  H.  Pope  enlisted  in  1861,  before  his  seventeenth  year, 
in  the  First  regiment.  North  Caroli'na  volunteers,  under  Col.  D.  H. 
Hill,  and  served  in  the  battles  of  Bethel,  Roanoke  Island,  siege  of 
Charleston,  battles  around  Petersburg,  Richmond,  Newbern,  Golds- 
boro,  and  others,  and  was  shot  and  killed  at  Drury's  Bluff  while 
charging  the  breastworks,  June  17,  1864.  He  held  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain of  Company  K.  Fifty-first  North  Carolina  regiment  infantry. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  but  twenty  years  old,  but  through  it 
all  he  bore  himself  as  a  true  patriot  and  soldier,  and  died  with  the 
^—33 


514  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

interests  of  his  people  at  heart.  He  now  fills  a  soldier's  honored 
grave,  than  which  no  greater  praise  can  be  given  him.  Mrs.  Pope  is 
a  devout  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south. 

CAPT.  DAVID  REID  MURCHISON. 

In  order  that  future  generations  should  have  a  correct  idea  of  the 
life  and  character  of  those  men  who  were  leaders  in  business  circles 
and  founders  of  many  institutions,  the  benefit  of  which  they  will  en- 
joy in  years  to  come,  we  have  selected  for  the  subject  of  this  mention 
Capt.  David  Reid  Murchison  (deceased).  He  was  born  in  this  state, 
in  Cumberland  county,  on  December  5,  1S37,  and  was  the  youngest 
son  of  Duncan  Murchison,  who  was  a  man  prominent  in  business  cir- 
cles prior  to  the  war  of  1861,  having  been  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  cotton  goods  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  and  also  largely 
interested  in  planting.  His  father  wasby  birth  a  Scotchman,  but  be- 
came a  citizen  of  the  United  States  about  the  year  1760  or  1770. 
Duncan  was  twice  married  and  was  the  father  of  a  large  family. 
Three  sons  were  born  to  his  first  marriage.  The  eldest,  John  R.  gave 
up  his  life  in  defense  of  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy.  He  enlisted 
early  in  the  war  in  the  Eighth  regiment  of  North  Carolina  infantry, 
and  by  deeds  of  valor  rose. to  the  rank  of  colonel  of  his  regiment;  he 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  June  6,  1S64.  The  next  son, 
Kenneth  M.,  was  born  February  18,  1831,  and  was  educated  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  graduating  in  1853.  He  spent  his  early 
life  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  near  Fayetteville,  and  was  engaged  in 
business  pursuits  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861,  when  he 
joined  the  Eighth  North  Carolina  infantry,  as  second  lievitenant  of  a 
company,  and  served  as  such  during  the  early  part  of  the  war.  This 
regiment  was  captured  by  the  Federal  forces  at  Roanoke  island,  but 
fortunately  he  was  not  with  it  at  the  time.  After  that  affair,  he  re- 
turned to  Cumberland  county,  raised  a  company  and  enlisted  as  cap- 
tain in  the  Fifty-fourth  North  Carolina  regiment.  With  this  regiment 
he  saw  a  great  deal  of  active  duty  in  the  Virginia  campaign  and  par- 
ticipated in  many  hard-fought  battles.  His  many  gallant  acts  won  for 
him  the  love  of  his  regiment  and  the  respect  of  his  superior  officers, 
and  he  rose  rapidly  in  rank  and  early  became  colonel  of  his  regiment. 
He  was  taken  prisoner  of  war  in  1S63  and  was  held  as  such  until  July, 
1865. 

Prior  to  the  war  he  was  engaged  in  business  in  New  \ork  with  a 
Mr.  Bowman,  under  the  firm  name  of  Bowman  &  Murchison,  but  on 
the  secession  of  his  native  state  from  the  Union,  he  disposed  of  his 
business  in  the  north,  returned  home  and  offered  his  services  in  her 
defense.  After  the  close  of  hostilities,  in  1865,  he  returned  to  New 
York  and  formed  the  firm  of  Murchison  &  Murry,  which  also  carried 
on  a  large  business  in  Wilmington,  N.  C.  That  firm  existed  but  a 
short  time,  was  dissolved  in  June,  1866,  but  was  succeeded  by  the  firm 
of  Murchison  &  Co.,  consisting  of  David  R.  Murchison  and  George  W. 
and  John  D.  Williams,  of  Wilmington  and  Fayetteville.     The  new 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  515 

firm  conducted  an  extensive  business,  operatin^^  three  houses,  the  one 
in  Xew  York  being  managed  bj-  Mr.  Murchison.  The  house  at  Wil- 
mington was  known  as  Williams  &  Murchison,  and  the  one  at  Fay- 
etteville  as  J.  D.  Williams  c\:  Co.,  and  were  conducted  by  the  partners. 
This  extensive  business  he  still  controls.  Col.  Murchison  has  resided 
in  New  York  the  greater  part  of  his  time  since  the  war,  but  still 
spends  the  winter  seasons  in  North  Carolina.  He  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  city  of  Wilmington,  being  largely  interested  in  her, 
and  has  lately  erected  a  large  hotel  (,The  Orton  House)  which  is  a 
model  for  beauty  and  convenience.  He  is  also  the  owner  of  the 
Orton  rice  plantations,  embracing  a  large  body  of  land  near  the  city 
of  Wilmington,  which  is  one  of  the  most  historic  spots  in  North  Car- 
olina, having  been  the  site  upon  which  the  first  St.  Philip's  church 
was  erected  by  our  forefathers.  This  has  been  improved  to  such  an 
extent  until  to-day  it  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  North  Car- 
olina, and  is  a  typical  southern  home. 

The  next  son,  the  subject  of  this  mention,  received  his  education 
at  the  University  of  \'irginia,  after  which  he  spent  his  early  life  at  his 
home,  near  P~"ayetteville.  His  first  business  venture  was  in  iS6o,  when 
he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Eli  Murry  &  Co.,  doing  a  gen- 
eral commission  business.  He  continued  as  a  member  of  that  firm 
until  1 86 1,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Seventh  North  Carolina  regiment, 
of  the  Confederate  army.  He  remained  with  that  command  one 
year,  when,  on  account  of  failing  health,  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Fifty-fourth  North  Carolina  infantry,  and  assigned  to  duty.  He  was 
soon  selected  by  Mr.  Davis  as  inspector-general  of  the  commissary 
department  for  North  Carolina,  having  been  appointed  to  fill  those 
positions  on  account  of  his  executive  ability.  He  continued  to  serve 
in  that  capacity  until  the  close  of  the  war,  after  which  he  connected 
himself  with  his  brother.  Col.  K.  M.  Murchison,  and  Messrs.  G.  W.  & 
J.  D.  Williams.  He  proved  himself  to  be  a  business  man  of  much  tact 
and  ability,  and  the  great  success  of  the  firm  was  due  largely  to  his 
energy  and  foresight.  In  1880  he  was  appointed  receiver  of  the  Car- 
olina Central  railroad,  and  soon  caused  a  flurry'  in  business  circles  by 
purchasing  the  entire  road.  It  was  predicted  by  many  of  his  friends 
that  it  would  result  disastrously  to  him,  but  in  that  Capt.  Murchison 
proved  himself  to  be  a  linancier  of  greater  ability  than  even  his  most 
intimate  friends  supposed.  He  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  road 
successfully  for  a  time,  until  his  rapidly  failing  health  caused  him  to 
dispose  of  his  business  interests,  which  he  did,  to  Mr.  Robinson,  of 
Baltimore,  Md.  From  that  time  until  his  death,  on  l-'cbruary  22, 
1882,  he  was  unable  to  attend  to  business,  and  vainly  sought  to  re- 
cover health  by  means  of  travel.  His  death  occurred  in  New  York 
city,  while  there  receiving  treatment,  and  his  remains  were  brought 
to  Wilmington,  where  they  were  interred.  Mr.  Murchison  was  mar- 
ried June  II,  1872,  to  Miss  Lucy  Wright,  daughter  of  J.G.Wright, 
an  eminent  lawyer.  His  wife  and  one  child,  a  daughter,  survive  him. 
Capt.  Murchison   never  took  any  active  part  in  politics,  and  never 


5l6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

sought  public  honors.  He,  however,  took  an  active  interest  in  all  that 
tended  toward  the  advancement  of  the  city,  and  aided  it  b}'  all  the 
means  at  his  command.  By  his  death,  Wilmington  lost  one  of  her 
brightest  financiers,  and  the  state  a  most  loyal  citizen. 


JOHN  H.  CURRIE,  Jr., 

member  of  the  firm  of  Woody  &  Currie,  commission  merchants  of 
Wilmington,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Moore  county  in  1S40.  He  is  the  son 
of  John  M.  Currie,  also  a  native  of  this  state.  He,  in  turn,  was  the 
son  of  Malcom  Currie,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  about  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  settled  in  Moore 
county,  N.  C,  where  he  followed  farming  until  his  death.  John  M., 
his  son,  also  pursued  that  calling  until  his  death.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Black,  by  whom  he  was  the  father  of  three  sons. 
Our  subject  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Moore  and  Cum- 
berland counties.  Removing  from  Moore  to  Cumberland  with  his 
parents  he  remained  with  them  until  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  the 
First  North  Carolina  (Bethel)  regiment,  and  served  out  six  months, 
the  time  the  regiment  was  enlisted  for.  He  then  returned  home 
and  re-enlisted  in  1S62  in  Company  A,  Fifth  North  Carolina  cavalry, 
raised  by  Rev.  James  McNeill,  of  New  York,  and  served  with  that 
command  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1S65.  He  was  wounded  be- 
fore Petersburg,  and  again  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  the  31st  of 
March,  16S5,  being  shot  through  the  thigh. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  engaged  in  business  near  Fayette- 
ville,  distilling  turpentine,  continuing  the  same  until  1875,  when  he 
came  to  Wilmington,  and  soon  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Mr. 
John  D.  Woody,  under  the  firm  name  of  Woody  &  Currie,  which  was 
dissolved  the  19th  of  September,  1891,  by  mutual  consent,  and  on  the 
same  day  a  new  co-partnership  was  formed  with  J.  H.  Currie  and 
Duncan  McEachem  as  partners,  under  the  firm  name  of  Currie  & 
McEachem.  Mn  McEachem  was  the  confidential  clerk  of  Woody  & 
Currie  for  many  years.  Mr.  Currie  is  president  of  the  Cape  Fear 
&  People's  steam  boat  company,  being  elected  to  that  office  in  1885. 
He  was  twice  elected  president  of  the  Wilmington  produce  exchange, 
the  leading  commercial  body  in  the  city.  He  Is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  also  holds  the  office  of  deacon  In  that 
church.  Mr.  Currie  was  married  in  1881  to  Miss  Lucy  Murphy  Jack- 
son, a  granddaughter  of  Gov.  Worth,  of  North  Carolina.  This  union 
has  been  blessed  with  four  sons  and  one  daughter.  He  was  elected 
In  1870  to  represent  Cumberland  county  In  the  state  legislature. 
In  which  he  served  very  acceptably  to  his  constituents  during  the  long 
memorable  sessions  of  1870-71  and  1871-2.  He  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful in  business,  and  is  a  man  of  fine  presence  and  graceful  man- 
ners. He  has  taken  quite  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  is  a  very 
forcible  and  effective  speaker. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  517 


GEORGE  READ  FRENCH,  Sr., 

founder  of  the  house  of  George  R.  French  &  Sons,  was  born  in 
Troy,  now  Fall  River,  Mass.,  on  the  24th  of  January,  1802.  He  is 
a  descendant  of  Ephraim  French,  a  native  of  England  who  came  to 
the  United  States  about  1680  and  located  in  Raynham,  Mass.  One 
of  the  descendants  of  Ephraim  French  married  Elizabeth  Presbry 
in  1775.  He  had  tVo  sons,  Ephraim  and  Enoch,  the  latter  being  the 
father  of  our  subject  and  born  in  177Q.  He,  Enoch  French,  lo- 
cated in  Tro}',  now  F'all  River,  Mass.,  and  married  Sarah  Read  in 
1799  who  bore  him  eight  sons  and  two  daughters,  our  subject  being 
the  second  son.  He  began  work  when  young  in  the  shoe  factories  of 
his  native  citj',  and  advanced  so  rapidlj'  that  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  was  made  manager  of  one  of  the  leading  factories  of  Onysville 
(now  a  part  of  Providence,  R.  I.).  That  position,  however,  he  held 
but  a  short  time  when  his  health  failed  and  he  was  compelled  to  re- 
sign. He  soon  after  accepted  a  position  with  the  firm  of  Perry  Davis, 
of  Darien,  Ga.,  formerly  of  Providence,  and  later  the  founder  of  Perrj' 
Davis'  Pain  Killer.  Mr.  French  remained  in  Georgia  about  ten 
months,  when  returned  to  his  northern  home.  In  the  autumnof  1S22, 
he  again  started  south  and  located  in  the  city  of  Wilmington,  N.  C. 
Here  he  soon  formed  a  partnership  with  John  Hathaway,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Hathawaj'  <S>:  French,  and  carried  on  a  lumber  and 
general  merchandise  business.  He  remained  in  that  firm  until  182S, 
when  he  opened  a  shoe  store  in  his  own  name,  and  then  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  immense  business  that  subsequently  grew  from  it. 
He  was  married  to  Sarah  C.  Weeks,  of  Wilmington,  X.  C,  on 
April  5,  1827,  and  had  issue  twelve  children,  five  sons  and  seven 
daughters,  one  son  and  two  daughters  dying  in  infancy  and  youth. 
His  wife  died  May  19,  1867,  and  he  was  next  married  on  August  27, 
1872,  to  Mrs.  Sophia  M.  Sawyer,  of  Fall  River,  Mass.  There  was  no 
issue  to  this  marriage. 

Mr.  P'rench's  business  career  was  an  exceptionally  bright  one. 
He  assumed  entire  control  of  his  establishment  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  in  1861,  and  continued  an  active  part  in  the  manage- 
ment until  his  death  in  March,  1889,  and  never,  during  the  many 
years  of  financial  changes,  did  he  ever  allow  his  commercial  paper  to 
go  to  protest  or  be  dishonored  in  any  way.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
character,  and  where  a  principle  was  involved  and  he  felt  that  he  was 
right,  he  was  unyielding  and  adhered  with  great  tenacity  to  his  judg- 
ment and  his  conscientious  rectitude.  With  him  "  one  self-approving 
hour  "  was  of  more  value  than  the  plaudits  and  loud  huzzas  of  the 
multitude,  and  on  this  basis  all  his  commercial  transactions  were  con- 
ducted: to  represent  fairly  and  honestly  just  what  a  thing  was;  to 
give  value  received  for  value  taken,  so  that  it  became  a  guarantee  to 
the  buyer  when  his  name  was  placed  on  goods.  Not  only  in  his  busi- 
ness life  was  this  trait  prominent,  but  also  in  his  religious  character 
was  the  same  uncompromising  spirit  in  favor  of  the  right  and  against 


5l8  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  wrong,  with  no  swer\'ing  for  policy  or  popularit)-.  In  politics  he 
he  was  an  adherent  to  whig  principles,  as  taught  b)^  Clay  and  others. 
Taught  in  his  earlj-  youth  to  cherish  a  patriotic  adherence  to  the 
union  his  ancestors  had  aided  in  establishing,  he  took  a  decided 
stand  against  the  doctrines  of  secession,  and  during  that  great  strug- 
gle he  adhered  to  his  convictions  as  to  the  foil)-  of  appealing  to  arms 
for  the  settlement  of  the  then  existing  differences,  although  his 
friends  and  familj'  were  of  the  opposite  belief.  In  his  religious  belief 
he  was  a  decided  Baptist,  and  was  prominent  in  all  the  enterprises  of 
that  denomination.  During  his  long  residence  in  Wilmington  Mr. 
French  drew  to  him  man)-  warm  personal  friends,  and  b}'  his  many 
generous  acts,  commanded  the  respect  and  good  will  of  all  who  knew 
him.  In  his  death  Wilmington  lost  one  of  her  brightest  business  men, 
and  his  family  a  kind  and  loving  father.  Before  being  called  to  his 
reward,  George  Read  French  erected,  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands, 
monuments  which  will  ever  keep  green  the  memor}-  of  his  life  in  the 
minds  of  the  citizens  of  his  adopted  cit}-.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
subscribers  and  an  ardent  supporter  in  his  earlier  da3-s  of  the  Wil- 
mington &  Weldon  railroad,  now  forming  an  important  link  in  that 
great  highwa)^  of  travel,  the  Atlantic  Coast  line;  was  a  director  in 
the  bank  of  Cape  Fear;  director  and  also  president  of  the  Bank  of 
Wilmington:  director  in  the  Wilmington  Savings  bank,  also  in  the 
Wilmington  Gas  Light  Co.;  director  and  president  of  the  Oakdale 
cemeterj';  one  of  the  original  subscribers  to  the  Seamen's  Friend 
society,  for  many  years  its  corresponding  secretary,  and  for  many 
years  its  president. 

George  R.  French  &  Sons,  dealers  in  boots  and  shoes,  continue 
the  business  established  bj-  George  R.  French,  Sr.,  in  1822,  which  had 
been  carried  on  without  interruption  until  the  breaking  out  of  hostili- 
ties between  the  north  and  south  in  1861,  and  which  was  continued 
during  the  struggle  as  extensively  as  conditions  and  circumstances 
would  permit,  under  the  name  of  George  R.  French.  In  the  year 
1865.  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  George  R.  French  &  Son,  by  the 
admission  of  William  A.  French  to  an  interest  in  the  business,  and  in 
1866  the  present  stjle  of  George  R.  French  &  Sons,  was  adopted, 
two  sons,  George  R..  Jr.,  and  James  McD.  French,  having  been  taken 
into  partnership,  and  in  1S69  the  younger  brother.  Charles  E.  French, 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  retail  department.  These  four  continued 
until  1879,  when  James  retired,  and  shortlj*  after  Charles  E.  removed 
to  Minneapolis,  to  engage  in  the  milling  business,  as  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Christian  Bros.  &  Co.  The  other  three  still  continued  to  con- 
duct the  boot  and  shoe  traffic  until  the  death  of  the  senior  George  R. 
French,  which  occurred  March  15,  1889.  Since  that  date  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  the  surviving  members.  W.  A.  and  George  R.  French,  have 
carried  on  an  extensive  trade  under  the  old  firm  name.  Thus  for  the 
space  of  sixty-nine  years  this  house  has  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
mercantile  houses  in  this  state,  doing  a  large  and  extensive  jobbing 
and  retail  trade  in  their  line  of  business,  and  during  this  long  time 
have  maintained   their  high  character   for  integrit)'  and  honorable 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5ig 

dealing.  The  several  heads  of  this  firm  have  held  and  now  hold  po- 
sitions of  trust  and  honor  in  local  affairs.  The  firm  was  intluential  in 
tne  establishment  of  the  present  bank  of  Xew  Hanover,  and  George  R. 
French,  Sr.,  was  one  of  its  board  of  directors.  They  have  been  firm 
friends  and  zealous  advocates  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  up- 
building of  this  city  and  state,  and  are  largely  interested  in  many  of 
its  enterprises.  They  are  large  owners  in  the  Wilmington  cotton 
mills,  in  which  corporation  William  A.  French  is  the  president.  The 
firm  took  an  active  interest  in  the  establishment  of  the  Wilmington 
Savings  and  Trust  company,  of  which  George  R.  French  is  a  direc- 
tor, and  also  a  member  of  its  board  of  investors.  The  firm  have  al- 
ways been  warm  friends  and  supporters  of  educational  and  religious 
institutions  and  have  assisted  in  their  maintenance  by  donations  and 
in  other  ways. 

WILLIAM  H.  McRARY. 

No  class  of  men  contributes  so  largely  and  certainly  none  so  sub- 
stantially to  any  community  as  the  thorough-going  business  men  — 
the  men  of  affairs  and  dollars  —  the  men  who  make  all  the  other  call- 
ings profitable,  and  give  body,  strength  and  tangibility  to  all  the  other 
professions.  Such  a  man  was  William  H.  McRary,  one  of  Wilming- 
ton's most  prominent  and  trustworthy  business  men.  He  was  born  in 
Le.vington,  Davidson  county,  in  the  year  1824.  His  parents,  Joseph  and 
Martha  (Halgrove)  McRary,  were  both  natives  of  the  state.  He  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  which  in  those  days,  even 
before  the  advent  of  the  free  school,  afforded  excellent  educational 
facilities.  Our  subject  was  placed  under  the  immediate  and  personal 
supervision  of  Rev.  Rankin,  a  scholarly  divine  of  his  day,  from  which, 
the  biographer  infers,  that  the  boy's  early  moral  and  intellec- 
tual training  was  of  the  conventional  order  of  the  southern  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school,  and  all  that  could  be  desired. 

After  acquiring  such  an  education  as  would  enable  him  to  meet 
and  successfully  combat  all  the  difficulties  presenting  themselves  in 
the  various  phases  of  a  mercantile  career,  Mr.  McRary  entered  a 
general  store  as  a  clerk,  and  worked  in  that  capacity  for  a  year  or 
two,  when  he  branched  out  in  a  general  way  for  himself  at  Gold  Hill, 
but  a  short  time  after  he  v/ent  to  Wilmington  and  engaged  in  a  gen- 
eral brokerage  and  commission  business,  which  he  successfully  con- 
ducted till  within  a  short  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a  patriotic  and 
most  public  spirited  citizen,  being  a  director  in  the  First  National 
bank,  and  the  City  gas  company.  Although  full  of  public  spirit  he 
took  no  active  part  in  politics  and  never  presented  himself  as  a  can- 
didate for  suffrage  of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  at  any  period  of  his 
busy  and  useful  life  would  have  only  been  too  glad  to  have  cast  a 
ballot  in  his  behalf.  He  was  married  in  1S63  to  Miss  Wiggins,  of 
Halifax  county.  No  children  ever  came  to  them,  and  his  estimable 
wife  still  survives  him,  and  she,  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  her  husband, 
has  not  married  again.    He  died  in  Wilmington  in  1SS2.    Mr.  McRary 


520  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

was  very  successful  in  his  business  undertaliings  and  during  the  years 
of  his  active  business  Hfe  amassed  a  large  fortune  by  his  prudence, 
energy  and  foresight. 

COL.  ROGER  MOORE, 

the  genial  and  able  manager  of  the  firm  of  Patterson,  Downing  & 
Co.,  marine  merchants  and  naval  warehouse-men,  was  born  near  the 
city  of  Wilmington,  July  ig,  1839.  He  was  the  son  of  Roger  and 
Ann  Moore,  both  natives  of  the  old  North  state.  The  boy  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  of  Wilmington.  The  biographers  of 
this  work  have  had  occasion  so  frequently  to  revert  to  the  term  "com- 
mon "  or  "old  field"  school  in  this  work  in  an  unqualified  sense,  that  it 
perhaps  would  be  well  to  give  some  idea  to  the  uninitiated  of  the  local 
significance  of  these  terms,  before  the  advent  of  the  free  school  sys- 
tem in  the  south.  The  teacher  of  such  a  school  was  sometimes  ec- 
centric, alvva3's  a  bachelor,  but  never  a  knave,  the  unassuming  son  of 
some  gentleman  with  quiet  habits,  without  ambition,  against  whom 
the  current  of  life  had  set  too  strongly  for  positive  aggression  in  the 
open  field,  a  man  unfitted  for  the  active  duties  of  life  by  reason  of 
some  bodily  infirmity,  a  superannuated  and  impecunious  aristocrat, 
thoroughly  versed  in  all  the  essentials  of  language,  classics  and  the 
graces  of  life,  always  a  man  of  splendid  erudition,  he  was,  to  his  charges, 
a  dancing  master,  a  music  teacher,  an  example  of  moral  excellence  and 
a  pedagogue.  He  could  calculate  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  could  recite  a  Greek  ode  in  the  original  text,  "lands  he  could 
measure,  terms  and  titles  per  sage,"  could  teach  his  youthful  lady 
charges  to  bow  and  bend  and  courtesy  in  the  stately  minuet,  or  "treat 
a  royal  measure  with  the  king,"  could  guide  in  the  chase  with  the 
hauteur  of  a  knight  of  the  holy  crusade,  or  brew  an  after-dinner 
punch  at  the  cross-road  tavern  to  tempt  the  nostrils  of  the  deity  of 
high  Olympus,  so  that  when  we  say  a  man  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  we  mean  to  say  that  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  a  Gamalial, 
of  which  the  whole  school  is  unhappily  extinct. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  our  subject  began  life  as  a  clerk  in  a  mer- 
cantile establishment,  and  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years  was  a 
partner,  the  firm  being  Pittway  &  Moore.  He  entered  the  Confeder- 
ate army  as  a  private,  in  1861,  in  the  Washington  light  infantry,  which 
became  part  of  the  Eighteenth  regiment  later  in  the  war.  In  Janu- 
ary of  that  year  he  formed  a  company  of  which  he  was  elected  cap- 
tain. His  next  promotion  was  to  the  rank  of  major  and  from  that  to 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Third  cavalry,  which  office  he  held  with 
great  distinction  until  the  surrender  of  Lee  in  1S65.  After  the  war 
the  firm  of  Pittway  &  Moore  was  revived,  and  existed  until  1869.  Col. 
Moore  has  been  a  member  of  the  common  council,  chairman  of  the 
county  democratic  committee,  president  of  the  produce  exchange  and 
chief  of  the  fire  department,  in  all  of  which  offices  he  has  dis- 
charged the  duties  with  conspicuous  ability.  Col.  Moore  was 
married  in  186S  to  Rebecca  S.  Smith,  who  bore  him  two  children,  all. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  521 

mother  and  children,  however,  having  since  died,  and  a  few  years 
later  he  married  again  and  is  the  father  of  nine  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  living.  Col.  Moore,  by  reason  of  his  great  popularity  and 
his  known  integrity,  is  one  of  the  most  successful  merchants  of  Wil- 
mington and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  classes. 

HENRY    CLAY   WATSON 

was  born  in  Richmond  county,  N.  C,  December  4,  1S54,  his  parents 
being  lohn  and  Mary  (Smith)  Watson.  The  father  was  a  planter, 
and  a  leading  man  in  the  community.  For  several  years  he  served  as 
member  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners,  and  during  the  war 
was  warden  of  the  county.  He  was  a  prominent  and  active  commu- 
nicant of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for  many  years,  and  died 
in  the  faith  of  his  childhood  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years;  his 
widow  still  survives  him,  and  is  now  seventy-tive  years  of  age.  Ten 
children  were  the  issue  of  this  union;  John  S.,  the  ninth  child,  served 
in  the  Confederate  army,  and  surrendered  at  Greensboro,  N.  C,  with 
Johnston's  forces.  The  eighth  child  is  our  subject,  Henry  Clay  Wat- 
son. Mr.  Watson  received  his  scholastic  training  in  Rockingham, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  entered  active  business  life  as  a  clerk 
in  a  dry  goods  store,  where  he  remained  for  seven  years.  In  18S1  he 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  with  his  brother,  Mr.  John  S. 
Watson,  the  firm  name  being  J.  S.  and  H.  C.  Watson.  This  connec- 
tion was  dissolved  in  1886,  when  Mr.  John  Watson  retired.  August  30, 
18S3,  Miss  Jennie  C.  Ellerbe,  daughter  of  John  C  Ellerbe,  became 
his  wife,  and  has  borne  him  two  children,  viz.:  Henry  Ellerbe  and 
Mary  Elizabeth.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  are  communicants  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  he  is  a  member  of  and 
an  officer  in  the  Order  of  Chosen  Friends,  and  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Royal  Arcanum.  As  a  business  man  he  is  a  success,  and  as  a  cit- 
izen he  is  progressive  and  liberal-minded,  having  the  best  interests  of 
the  community  at  heart.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial and  oblest  business  men  of  the  county.  The  names  of  the 
offspring,  in  the  order  of  their  birth,  born  to  John  and  Mary  Watson, 
are:  William,  died  in  infancy;  Anna  J.;  Elizabeth;  John  S.,  married 
Miss  Mollie  Smith;  Harriet,  wife  of  M.  J.  Thrower,  of  Jonesboro, 
N.  C;  Rebecca,  wife  of  William  Long,  of  Rockingham,  N.  C;  Mary, 
wife  of  .S.  G.  Covington,  also  of  Rockingham;  Henry  Clay;  Archie  M., 
married  Miss  Josie  Entwistle,  and  is  a  very  successful  manufacturer 
of  naval  stores,  and  Robert  F.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty  years. 

GEN.  GRIFFITH  RUTHERFORD 

was  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  partisan  officers  in  North  Carolina. 
He  was  an  Irishman  who  had  settled  west  of  Salisbury,  in  Rowan 
county,  and  early  was  associated  with  the  men  who  were  influential 
in  directing  ])ul)lic  affairs  in  western  Carolina.  He  was  an  officer  in 
Gen.  Waddell's  command  in  the  Tryon  army,  in  the  spring  of  1771, 


522  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

against  the  regulators.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  safety 
of  Rowan  county  in  1775,  and  a  member  of  the  second  provincial  con- 
gress that  assembled  April,  1775,  and  of  that  held  April,  1777.  In 
December,  1775,  Col.  Rutherford  and  Col.  Polk  and  Col.  Mar- 
tin marched  their  militia  regiments  into  South  Carolina  against 
the  Scovellites,  in  what  is  known  as  the  snow  camp  campaign,  and  in 
April,  1776,  he  was  made  brigadier-general,  and  in  July  he  raised 
2,400  men  in  the  -Salisbury  district  and  crossed  the  mountains,  going 
down  the  Pigeon  and  Tuckasiegie  rivers  to  the  Tennessee,  where  they 
destroyed  the  towns  of  the  "  Over-hill "  Cherokees,  and,  having 
severely  punished  them,  he  returned  to  Salisbury,  in  October.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  senate  continuously  except  when  in 
captivity  in  1781,  '82,  from  1777  to  17S6,  and  when  not  in  the  field 
was  rendering  service  in  the  senate  chamber.  In  the  spring  of  1779, 
he  marched  with  his  brigade  to  the  Savannah,  where  he  was  with 
Lincoln,  rendering  efficient  service  until  the  term  for  which  his  men 
had  enlisted  had  expired. 

After  the  fall  of  Charleston,  in  May.  17S0,  Cornwallis  pressed  on 
toward  North  Carolina,  and  Gen.  Rutherford,  with  900  men,  threw 
himself  near  Charlotte,  in  Tarleton's  front.  A  tory  regiment  having 
embodied  at  Ramsom's  Mills  (near  Lincolnton),  he  ordered  Capt. 
Locke  and  others  to  fall  upon  it,  but  learning  that  the  British  forces 
had  retired,  he  himself  hurried  to  aid  Locke,  arriving  after  the  vic- 
tory. He  then  hastened  to  the  forks  of  the  Yadkin  and  dispersed  a 
tory  rising  under  Col.  Sam  Bryan,  of  Wilkes.  Early  in  August  he 
joined  Gen.  Caswell  in  the  camp  at  Cheraw  Mills,  S.  C,  and  on  the 
i6th  was  engaged  with  Gen.  Gates  in  the  battle  of  Camden.  There 
he  fought  with  his  accustomed  bravery,  but  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
was  sent  to  Fort  Augustine,  and  there  confined  by  the  British.  On 
his  exchange,  June  22,  17S1,  he  again  took  the  field,  and  b}^  October 
had  1,400  men  marching  to  the  lower  Cape  Fear,  to  keep  in  check 
Maj.  Craig,  who  occupied  Wilmington  and  ravaged  the  surround- 
ing countr}'.  He  invested  Wilmington  toward  the  close  of  Octo- 
ber, and  on  the  iSth  of  November  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
Maj.  Craig  take  his  departure  by  shipping.  That  was  the  end  of  the 
war  in  North  Carolina.  Gen.  Rutherford,  as  we  have  said,  served  in 
the  senate  until  17S6,  and  soon  afterward  moved  across  the  mountains 
to  Tennessee,  where  he  rendered  distinguished  service  in  civil  life, 
and  where  he  died  about  the  end  of  the  centur\'. 

HON.  W.  I.  EVERETT, 

one  of  the  most  prominent  business  men  of  Richmond  county,  N.  C, 
president  of  the  Great  Falls  Manufacturing  compan3^  is  a  native  of 
the  county,  having  been  born  Januarj^  3,  1835,  the  son  of  C.  A.  and 
Ann  (Ewing)  Everett,  both  of  whom  were  native  of  the  same  count}*. 
The  father  was  a  planter.  He  was  a  man  of  much  force  and  abilit}', 
and  led  a  most  useful  life.  For  many  years  he  was  a  deacon  in  the 
Baptist  church,  while  his  wife  was  a  devout  and  consistent  communi- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  523 

Cant  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  father  died  in  1S74, 
aged  sixty-seven  years,  his  wife  having  preceded  him  to  rest  in  1872, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-two.  W.  I.  Everett  is  the  second  of  seven  chil- 
dren. His  preliminary  education  was  obtained  in  Rockingham,  and 
later  he  completed  a  course  in  civil  engineering  at  the  university  of 
North  Carolina.  In  1853,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  began  his  busi- 
ness career  as  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  establishment,  and  after  one 
year  turned  his  attention  to  photography,  which  he  followed  for  about 
the  same  length  of  time,  when  he  became  a  school  teacher.  As  a 
civil  engineer  in  the  employ  of  W.  C.  &  R.  railroad  he  worked  until 
1861,  and  in  May  of  that  year  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Twenty-third 
regiment  North  Carolina  volunteer  infantry,  and  served  until  1863,  as 
an  orderly  sergeant  and  member  of  the  engineer  corps,  and  also 
quartermaster  of  the  Twenty-third  North  Carolina  regiment.  In  the 
latter  year  the  war  department  detailed  him  to  complete  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroad  from  Wilmington  to  Charlotte,  and  in  1864 
he  was  made  roadmaster  of  that  railroad,  holding  the  position  until 
1866,  when  he  was  elected  general  superintendent  and  chief  engineer. 
In  1870  he  resigned  from  that  office,  and  for  the  next  two  years  was 
engaged  in  construction  as  an  engineer.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
time  Mr.  Everett  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business,  and  since  that 
time  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  operating  a  large  establishment 
and  also  in  agriculture. 

In  18S4  Mr.  Everett  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature  as  a  sen- 
ator from  the  Twenty-sixth  senatorial  district,  and  ran  ahead  of  his 
ticket.  From  1878  to  1890  he  held  the  ofiice  of  county  commissioner, 
and  for  over  ten  years  was  a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  for  two 
terms  was  mayor  of  Rockingham.  His  political  career  has  been 
marked  by  the  same  sterling  integrity  and  sagacity  as  has  character- 
ized his  private  life.  As  a  democrat  he  firmly  believes  in  the  princi- 
ples of  that  party,  but  is  not  narrow  nor  bigoted.  Progressive  and 
industrious,  his  abilities  have  been  devoted  to  the  industrial  growth 
of  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  In  1887  he  was  elected  president 
of  the  Great  Falls  Manufacturing  Co.,  now  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant and  successful  enterprises  of  the  citj^  he  is  also  a  director  in  the 
Pee  Dee  Manufacturing  Co.,  and  the  Robert  L.  Manufacturing  Co., 
being  a  stockholder  in  these  concerns.  As  a  merchant  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  building  up  one  of  the  largest  houses  of  the  kind  in  the 
county,  and  is  also  a  partner  in  the  cotton  commission  house  of 
Everett  Brothers,  Gibson  &  Co.,  of  Norfolk,  Ya.  July  15,  1863,  Mr. 
Everett  was  most  happily  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Fanny  H. 
LeGrand,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Martha  LeGrand,  of  Richmond 
county,  F.  C,  and  nine  children  have  been  born  to  them,  the  si.x 
living  being  named:  William  N.,  married  Miss  Lena  Payne,  by  whom 
he  has  had  one  child,  William;  Minnie  L.,  wife  of  H.  C.  Dockery,  of 
Rockingham;  Anna,  wife  of  J.  P.  Little,  of  Little's  Mills,  Richmond 
county,  N.  C;  James  L.,  John  L.  and  Bessie  ¥.  The  famil}'  are  val- 
ued members  of  the  Methodist  Episcipal  church,  south,  in  which  Mr. 
Everett  is   a  trustee  and  steward;    and  he  is  also   a  member  of  the 


524  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Masonic  order,  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  the  Chosen  Friends,  and  the  K.  of  H. 
Mr.  Everett's  start  in  life  was  made  most  difficult  by  the  want  of 
money.  He  began  with  no  capital  save  health  and  brains,  and  his 
success  is  creditable  to  him.  At  this  time  he  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  the  state. 

JOHN  COOPER  POE, 

deceased,  was  born  in  Pittsboro,  Chatham  county,  N.  C,  in  1826. 
His  parents  were  Hasten  and  Nancy  (Stedman)  Poe,  natives  of 
North  Carolina,  lohn  Cooper  Poe  was  a  merchant  at  Fayetteville, 
moving  there  in  1849.  He  was  for  j'ears  the  most  prominent  mer- 
chant in  Fayetteville,  was  enterprising  and  energetic,  and  took  part 
in  all  operations  that  looked  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  community. 
He  was  a  man  of  brilliant  parts,  of  fine  business  qualifications,  and 
was  possessed  of  characteristics  which  made  him  a  most  popular  and 
distinguished  citizen.  When  Fayetteville  moved  to  the  front  as  a 
business  center,  he  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  to  help  it  up  to  that 
eminence.  Mr.  Poe  was  the  largest  dry  goods  dealer  in  the  town, 
and  served  his  county  as  commissioner  for  several  years,  looking  well 
to  every  interest  of  the  county.  He  was  of  English  descent.  His 
useful  and  busy  earthly  career  closed  October  22,  1889,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-three  years.  During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Poe  lost  his  property, 
and  at  its  close  he  embarked  in  the  plantation  or  vineyard  business; 
he  set  out  the  vineyard  known  as  the  Whippoorwill  Station,  and 
lived  there  for  two  years  before  his  death.  The  property  is  now  in 
the  hands  of  his  son,  E.  A.  Poe,  of  Cumberland  county.  It  is  a  very 
desirable  piece  of  real  estate,  located  two  miles  from  Fayetteville, 
on  the  Cape  Fear  river  and  the  Yadkin  River  V'alley  railroad.  Mr. 
Poe  was  connected  with  this  railroad,  first  as  conductor,  and  later  as 
general  passenger  agent,  which  position  he  held  until  about  1886, 
after  which  he  lived  a  retired  life. 

Mr.  Poe  was  married  April  11,  1849,  to  Miss  Margaret  McClain, 
daughter  of  Hugh  and  Margaret  (Peabody)  McClain.  Her  mother, 
Margaret  Peabody,  was  first  cousin  of  the  celebrated  George  Pea- 
body,  the  great  London  banker  and  philanthropist.  By  this  mar- 
riage there  were  born  sixteen  children,  nine  of  whom  are  still  living. 
Five  died  in  early  childhood  and  eleven  came  to  mature  age.  Their 
names  Avere  Alice,  wife  of  John  B.  Harris;  Hasten;  Margaret,  wife  of 
Laban  Exline;  Nathan  S.;  Edgar  Allen;  Hugh  Mc;  Annie,  Ida  and 
Archie.  The  mother  of  this  large  family  died  in  1880,  aged  forty- 
nine  years.  She  was  a  life-long  and  devout  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  in  her  was  embodied  the  truest  and  purest  type  of 
a  Christian  wife  and  mother.  She  exemplified  the  life  and  precepts 
of  her  Divine  Master  in  her  daily  walk  and  conversation.  She  had 
her  eyes  well  opened  to  the  opportunities  of  doing  good,  to  the  pos- 
sibilities of  her  life,  to  the  joys  and  hopes  of  the  true  Christian  and 
to  the  fullness  of  the  precious  promises  of  the  Holy  Word.  The 
father  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order.     Both   died  in  Fayette- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  525 

ville  and  are  sleeping  side  by  side  in  the  Cross  Creek  cemetery  of 
that  city.  This  Poe  family  are  relatives  of  the  poet,  Edgar  Allen 
I'oe,  and  Hasten,  the  eldest  of  the  sons,  seems  to  have  inherited 
much  of  the  poetic  genius  of  his  distinguished  kinsman.  He  has 
written  several  poems,  which  have  been  published  and  greatly  ad- 
mired. 

HON.  D.  A.  McDonald. 

The  present  clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  .Moore  county,  X.  C, 
is  the  Hon.  D.  A.  McDonald.  Mr.  McDonald  was  giyen  the  best  edu- 
cational advantages  at  hand,  having  obtained  his  preliminary  training 
in  the  excellent  common  schools  of  the  county,  after  which  he  was 
graduated  from  the  commercial  department  of  the  University  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  1S74  he  completed  a  course  in  a  commercial  college. 
Thus  thoroughly  equipped,  so  far  as  theoretical  knowledge  is  con- 
cerned, he  spent  one  year  in  teaching,  and  gave  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion in  that  work.  His  next  position  was  that  of  county  surveyor  and 
day  laborer,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  by  the  county  commis- 
sioners, and  afterward  by  the  people.  He  served  as  surveyor  until 
187Q,  ancl  evinced  the  same  ability  and  thoroughness  as  has  ever  char- 
acterized his  every  act.  In  the  latter  year  Mr.  McDonald  embarked 
in  the  naval  stores  business,  manufacturing  turpentine  with  Mr.  A. 
McMillan,  he  purchasing  his  partner's  interest  at  the  end  of  two 
years.  .After  one  year  of  successful  operation  he  formed  a  co-part- 
nership of  one  year  with  \V.  O.  Robeson  and  T.  J.  .Shaw  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  then  dissolved.  From  that  date  until  1S86  he  was 
alone,  but  in  the  latter  years  his  brother,  Mr.  Moses  C.  McDonald, 
became  associated  with  him,  and  the  firm  now  exists,  being  one  of 
the  largest  in  that  line  in  the  county.  In  18S4  Mr.  McDonald  ran 
for  the  sheriff's  office,  and  was  defeated  by  thirty-six  votes,  but  two 
years  later  he  was  elected  to  his  present  high  position,  and 'at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  first  term  his  course  was  vindicated  by  his  re-election. 
April  20,  1883,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  form  a  marriage  alliance  with 
Miss  Ida  A.  Martin,  daughter  of  H.  H.  Martin,  of  Moore  county,  and 
threechildren  have  blessed  the  union,  named:  Alice  G.,  Kittie  M.and 
Anna  L.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McDonald  are  communicants  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  Mr.  McDonald  is  an  officer  in  Carthage 
Presbyterian  church,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Mr. 
McDonald  was  born  in  Moore  county,  N.  C,  June  13,  1S51,  the  eldest 
of  eight  children  born  to  Allen  and  Mary  A.  (Mclver)  McDonald. 
These  parents  are  both  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  come  from  old 
and  leading  families.  Mr.  Allen  McDonald  is  an  extensive  planter, 
and  is  an  expert  agriculturist  as  well  as  a  prominent  citizen.  The 
children  of  this  marriage  are:  Maggie,  wife  of  Dr.  D.  A.  Curry  (Mrs. 
Curry  died  in  1879,  leaving  one  child,  Victoria) ;  Katie  A.,  wife  of 
G.  W.  Bruton;  Asa,  Neill  and  Owna  Ann  are  their  offspring;  Euphe- 
mia,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Monroe,  Luna  is  their  offspring;  Moses  C;  John  A., 
died  in  1879,  aged  twenty-three  years;  Neill  A.,  a  lumber  merchant. 


526  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  Ellen,  who  is  still  residing  with  her  parents.  At  the  present  writ- 
ing both  parents  of  Mrs.  McDonald  are  living,  and  Mr.  INIcDonald's 
father  and  mother  are  also  living  and  well  able  to  do  farm  and  house 
labor,  and  are  out  of  debt. 

WILLIAM  CARSON. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  present  century,  William  Carson  fig- 
ured as  one  of  the  most  successful  merchants  of  Charlotte,  N.  C. 
He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  born  in  county  Antrim  in  1782.  He  re- 
ceived a  fair  education  in  his  native  country,  whence  he  emigrated  in 
1805,  landing  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  that  year.  A  year  or  so  later  he 
located  in  Charlotte,  N.  C,  where  he  was  engaged  in  merchandising. 
He  had  learned  the  hatter's  trade  and  his  first  business  in  Charlotte 
was  manufacturing  and  dealing  in  hats,  but  he  soon  extended  his 
business  to  general  merchandising,  which  he  successfully  followed  up 
to  1842  or  '43,  covering  a  period  of  more  than  thirty-five  years,  a  per- 
iod which  he  would  have  extended  but  for  failing  health,  which 
forced  him  to  retire.  For  many  years  prior  to  this  he  had  also  been 
engaged  in  farming,  in  which  he  took  special  pride  and  interest,  but 
which  was  not  his  main  source  of  revenue,  his  income  being  chiefly 
derived  from  his  mercantile  pursuits.  He  was  a  remarkably  success- 
ful merchant  and  amassed  a  handsome  fortune,  yet  setting  out  in 
business  with  little  or  no  capital.  His  death  took  place  in  1846,  when 
he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  His  resting  place  is  in 
the  old  Charlotte  cemetery.  He  was  a  moral  man,  temperate  in  his 
personal  habits,  and  it  may  be  said  further  that  he  was  a  truly  re- 
ligious man,  although  he  never  united  with  any  church.  In  faith  he 
was  a  Presbyterian,  and  to  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Charlotte  he 
left  a  bequest,  as  he  also  did  to  Davidson  college,  and  in  many  other 
ways  he  manifested  his  testamentary  beneficence.  He  was  charita- 
ble, magnanimous  and  hospitable  to  all.  In  his  disposition  he  was 
quiet  and  reserved.  Mr.  Carson  had  no  aspiration  for  public  office, 
its  honors  or  emoluments.  He  was  ever  highly  respected  and  hon- 
ored by  all  who  knew  him.  Mr.  Carson  was  never  married,  but  was 
ever  domestic  in  his  tastes.  He  cheerfully  assumed  the  responsibility 
of  rearing  and  educating  a  nephew,  James  H.  Carson,  of  whom  he  took 
charge  when  he  was  only  eight  years  of  age,  and  who  had  reached 
the  age  of  sixteen  when  Mr.  Carson  died.  To  Mr.  James  H.  Carson, 
now  a  retired  citizen  of  Charlotte,  the  writer  of  this  sketch  is  in- 
debted for  furnishing,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  his  beloved  uncle 
and  foster  father,  the  foregoing  facts. 

WILLIAM  J.  DAVIS 

is  a  merchant  of  Charlotte,  whose  business  reputation  is  not  confined 
to  that  city;  he  is  widely  known  also  as  a  leading  merchant  through- 
out the  state.  He  is  a  Virginian  by  birth,  having  been  born  in  Taze- 
well county,  luly  5,  1837.   His  paternal  great-grandfather,  John  Davis, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  527 

emigrated  from  Wales  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago,  and 
settled  in  Fairfax  county,  Va.,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  His  son,  John  Davis,  Jr.,  left  his  native  county  and  settled  on 
a  farm  in  Tazewell  county.  He  died  from  the  effects  of  a  gun-shot 
wound  received  while  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  was  the 
fa,ther  of  six  sons  and  one  daughter.  Rees  Davis,  one  of  the  sons, 
was  the  father  of  William  J.  Davis,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Rees 
Davis  was  born  and  reared  in  Tazewell  county,  and  married  Eliza- 
beth Rice,  who  is  still  living  and  residing  in,  Montgomery  county,  Ind., 
where  she  and  her  husband  removed  about  the  year  1849,  and  where 
he  died.  He  always  resided  upon  a  farm,  but  the  last  fort^'  years  of 
his  life  were  devoted  to  the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  church,  of  which 
he  was  a  devout  and  a  life-long  member.  He  was  an  able  expounder 
of  the  doctrines  of  his  church  and  was  much  respected  and  beloved 
by  his  people.  William  J.  Davis  was  only  twelve  years  of  age  when 
his  parents  removed  to  Indiana.  He  was  placed  in  Franklin  college, 
an  institution  under  the  patronage  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  and 
was  graduated  in  1858,  when  twenty  years  of  age.  At  that  age  he 
left  the  parental  home  to  begin  life's  struggle  for  himself.  He  made 
a  choice  of  merchandising  as  a  vocation,  and  began  business  on  a 
small  scale  in  Montgomery  county,  Ind.,  where  he  remained  until 
1862. 

In  his  scholastic  days  he  had  imbibed  the  doctrine  of  the  survival 
of  the  fittest,  and  that  he  who  was  not  thoroughly  trained  in  and 
adapted  to  his  vocation  would  finally  succumb  and  become  a  failure. 
That  he  himself  might  be  thoroughly  schooled  in  merchandising,  he 
determined  to  go  to  New  York  city,  where  he  might  avail  himself  of 
the  advantages  of  learning  the  intricacies  and  principles  involved  in 
an  extensive  and  complicated  sj'stem  of  mercantile  trade.  Carrying 
out  this  determination,  he  arrived  in  that  gigantic  trade  emporium  in 
1862,  and  was  there  employed  for  about  a  period  of  twenty-three 
years,  being  for  part  of  this  time  in  the  employ  of  C.  B.  Rouse,  an 
extensive  and  prosperous  dealer  in  general  merchandise  —  he  still 
recognizing  Tazewell  county  as  his  home,  and  at  one  time  spending 
two  years  there  recuperating  his  health.  His  ancestors  on  both  sides 
were  V^irginians.  Though  he  spent  much  of  his  youth  in  Indiana,  \'ir- 
ginia  has  always  seemed  to  him  as  his  more  cherished  home.  His 
sympathy  and  his  loyalty  clung  to  Virginia,  his  native  state,  and  his 
fellowship  for  southern  men,  and  his  attachment  to  southern  customs 
and  habits  have  been  of  the  most  cordial  nature.  It  was  this  dispo- 
sition of  mind  which  determined  him  to  choose  the  south  as  the 
theatre  of  his  business  life  and  the  home  of  his  latter  days.  Having 
thoroughly  equipped  himself  for  business  by  a  severe  and  protracted 
experience  in  New  York,  and  desiring  to  set  out  for  himself,  Mr. 
Davis  left  that  city  in  1885,  and  located  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  where  he 
at  once  established  himself  in  a  prosperous  mercantile  trade.  Hav- 
ing a  chance  to  sell  out  advantageously,  he  remained  at  Raleigh  only 
si.x  months,  whence  he  removed  to  Wilmington,  where  he  carried  on 
merchandising  for  a  short  time.     But  the  climate  there  disagreed 


528  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

with  him,  by  which  his  health  became  impaired,  and  he  decided  to 
locate  in  Charlotte.  Here,  in  July,  1886,  he  fixed  himself  and  opened 
up  the  now  famous  "  Racket  Store."  Here  he  has  built  the  largest 
general  merchandise  business  in  the  city  or  state.  His  trade  has 
been  increasing  in  volume  from  the  beginning.  The  first  year  in 
Charlotte  his  sales  aggregated  $85,000,  and  in  1890  his  trade  ran,up 
to  over  $250,000.  He  carries  the  largest  and  most  complete  stock  of 
general  merchandise  in  the  state,  and  is  among  its  most  successful 
merchants. 

His  wife,  who  before  her  marriage  was  Miss  Emma  M.  Heard,  of 
Ohio,  is  an  equal  partner  with  him  in  the  business,  and  to  her  is 
great  credit  due  as  a  woman  of  business  talent  and  energy.  She  is  a 
close  and  skillful  devotee  to  business,  being  in  constant  attendance 
at  the  store,  participating  in  the  work,  the  cares  and  responsibilities 
of  their  immense  trade.  Both  husband  and  wife  are  thorough  and 
practical  in  their  business  qualifications,  and  to  them  the  credit  is 
due  of  establishing  what  may  be  looked  upon  as  an  ideal  mercantile 
business,  which  may  serve  as  an  example  to  others  throughout  the 
state,  and  well  worthy  of  general  imitation.  They  furnish  employ- 
ment for  a  large  corps  of  clerks  to  whom  they  pay  a  generous  com- 
pensation, for  which  they  exact  efficient  service.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis 
maintain  a  high  reputation  in  their  social  relations,  and  are  as  dis- 
tinguished for  their  culture  and  refinement  as  for  their  eminent  busi- 
ness qualifications. 

THOMAS  LAFAYETTE  SEIGLE. 

Thomas  L.  Seigle  was  born  in  Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  on  the  iith 
of  June,  1832.  His  father,  Daniel  Seigle,  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, born  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia.  The  latter  came  to  Lin- 
coln county  when  he  was  a  young  man,  and  here  married  a  Miss 
Hoover,  b}*  whom  he  had  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  His  trade  was 
cabinet-making,  which  he  carried  on  in  connection  with  farming. 
His  business  life  was  spent  wholly  in  Lincoln  county.  Here  his  son, 
Thomas  L.,  was  reared,  on  the  homestead  farm;  here  in  the  country 
schools  he  acquired  a  fair  education,  in  the  meantime  availing  him- 
self of  books  and  periodical  reading,  by  the  means  of  which  he  fitted 
himself  for  an  active  business  career.  Quite  early  in  life  he  ex- 
changed farming  for  the  mercantile  calling.  For  some  time  he  con- 
ducted a  store  for  other  parties,  in  Lincoln  county,  but  afterward 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Templeton  &  Seigle,  and  they  did  a 
general  merchandizing  trade  at  the  same  place.  This  business  was 
interrupted  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war,  and  Mr.  Seigle 
enlisted  in  the  Confederate  service,  in  Light  Battery  C,  of  the  Tenth 
North  Carolina  troops,  known  as  the  Charlotte  battery,  the  first  guns 
of  which  were  cast  from  the  bells  donated  by  the  churches  of  Char- 
lotte. This  company  was  under  the  captaincy  of  the  late  Col.  T.  H. 
Brem  until  the  summer  of  1S62,  when  he  resigned,  and  Capt.  Joseph 
Graham  was  chosen  as  his  successor.     Mr.  Seigle  was  soon  promotecl 


JK  ^.c^^^ 


C^i^-t^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  529 

to  sergeant  and  next  to  first  lieutenant,  wliich  rank  he  held  till  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  was  a  gallant  officer,  but  the  assumption  of 
military  authority  did  not  in  the  least  quench  in  him  the  generous 
instincts  of  a  noble  manhood.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  New- 
bern  and  was  with  the  army  of  northern  Virginia  in  the  seven  days' 
fight  around  Richmond,  was  at  the  battles  of  Bristol  Station,  Main 
River,  Gettj-sburg,  Spottsylvania  Court  House  and  many  other  hard 
fought  fields.  He  surrendered  at  Appomatox  with  the  tattered  rem- 
nants of  the  battery,  but  a  few  minutes  after  one  of  its  guns  had  fired 
the  last  cannon  shot  of  the  war. 

In  the  midst  of  the  war,  in  1862,  Mr.  Seigle  came  honie  on  a  fur- 
lough and  was  married  to  Miss  H.  Lewra  Graham,  of  Iredell  county, 
by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Thaddeus  B.  Seigle.  Mrs.  Seigle  died  and 
Mr.  Seigle  married  for  his  second  wife,  Miss  Sarah  S.  Hendrick,  of 
Salisbury.  Soon  after  his  return  from  the  war,  Mr.  Seigle  embarked 
in  the  mercantile  business,  forming  a  partnership  with  John  C.  Har- 
grave  under  the  firm  name  of  Hargrave  &  Seigle.  Their  principal 
store  was  at  Deep  Well  and  they  had  branch  stores  at  other  places, 
doing  in  the  aggregate  an  immense  business.  In  1878  he  came  to 
Charlotte  and  connected  himself  with  the  firm  of  Brem,  Brown  &  Co., 
but  some  time  afterward  withdrew  and  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Alexander,  Seigle  &  Co.  Withdrawing  also  from  this  firm  he  set 
up  business  by  himself  in  the  general  dry  goods  line.  -Subsequently 
he  associated  himself  with  T.  J.  Seigle,  of  Philadelphia,  the  firm  tak- 
ing the  name  of  T.  L.  Seigle  &  Co.  But  he  soon  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  his  partner  and  for  a  short  time  was  again  alone.  Later, 
W.  S.  Alexander  became  a  partner  with  him,  but  in  January,  1888, 
Mr.  Alexander  withdrew  and  Mr.  Seigle's  son,  T.  B.  .Seigle,  became  as- 
sociated with  him.  Mr.  Seigle  died  February  27,  1891,  and  the  son  has 
continued  the  business  established  by  the  firm.  As  a  merchant  Mr. 
Seigle  stood  in  the  front  rank,  not  only  in  the  city  of  Charlotte  but 
in  the  state  at  large.  His  long  experience,  fine  business  instincts  and 
faultless  taste  well  fitted  him  for  a  successful  merchant.  Perhaps  no 
other  man  in  the  state  combined  more  of  the  essential  qualities  that 
go  to  constitute  a  good  merchant  than  were  possessed  by  him.  After 
the  war  he  began  business  on  a  very  slender  capital,  but  with  a  credit 
that  was  unimpeachable,  and  he  soon  won  his  way  to  prosperity. 
Fair,  open,  honest  dealing  was  his  motto  and  he  never  resorted  to 
the  artifices  of  trade  or  speculation  by  which  to  further  his  purposes. 
He  was  religiously  inclined  and  embraced  the  Lutheran  faith,  in  which 
he  was  baptized  and  confirmed  in  1856. 

Mr.  Seigle  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  St.  Mark's  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  church  of  Charlotte,  and  continuously  remained  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church  after  his  confirmation  in  that  church 
in  Lincoln  county.  The  most  fitting  and  lasting  monument  to  his 
memory  is  the  beautiful  structure  in  which  that  society  worships.  To 
his  good  management,  liberality  and  tireless  energy  is  due  the  con- 
struction of  that  exquisite  piece  of  architecture.  It  is  a  triumph  of 
good  taste  and  perfect  workmanship  in  its  entire  structure  and  in  all 
B— 34 


530  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

its  adornments.  These  attributes  are  distinguishable  in  the  delight- 
ful blending  of  colors  in  the  interior  of  the  edifice,  in  its  handsome 
furnishing  and  mosaic  windows,  the  triumphs  of  his  taste  and  liberal- 
ity. He  was  a  trustee  and  director  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  of 
Charlotte  and  a  member  of  the  association.  Though  a  representa- 
tive citizen,  Mr.  Seigle  was  not  ambitious  for  political  preferment. 
He  was  best  known  in  the  business  and  mercantile  circles  where  he 
held  high  rank.  In  the  church  and  in  his  every  day  pursuits  he  was 
a  most  exemplary  citizen  and  worthy  of  all  imitation. 

EDGAR  MURCHISON  ANDREWS. 

Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  was  the  birthplace  of  Edgar  M.  An- 
drews, and  he  was  born  March  3,  1850.  His  father  was  Ezra  H. 
Andrews,  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  the  English  Channel,  and 
■when  he  was  only  three  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  with  him 
to  Virginia,  in  which  a  large  grant  of  land  had  been  awarded  his 
father  by  King  James.  His  father  was  Thomas  Wills  Andrews  and 
subsequent  to  his  settlement  in  Virginia,  after  having  utilized  certain 
stocks  and  exhausted  certain  supplies  he  brought  with  him  to  America, 
Tie  returned  to  his  native  land,  purposing  to  replenish  such  stocks  and 
supplies,  he  was  taken  ill  and  died  on  his  way  home.  His  wife  sub- 
sequently lived  in  South  Carolina,  in  which  state  she  died.  When  a 
young  man  Ezra  H.  Andrews  came  from  Virginia  and  settled  in 
Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  and  here  married  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Bolton, 
who  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  and  reared  in  Mecklenburg  county, 
N.  C,  where  she  now  resides.  Ezra  H.  Andrews  was  by  profession 
a  surgeon  and  dentist  and  for  many  years  followed  his  profession  at 
Charlotte.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  education  and  culture  and  stood 
high  in  his  social  relations.  As  a  scientist  he  was  one  of  the  ablest 
mineralogists  in  North  Carolina  and  collected  a  large  and  varied 
cabinet  of  minerals  and  other  specimens,  aggregating  over  io,coo 
pieces.'  He  made  an  extensive  tour  through  the  state  and  investi- 
gated its  mineral  resources,  especially  in  western  North  Carolina,  in 
which  he  collected  many  valuable  specimens.  During  the  Civil  war, 
having  property  interests  in  England,  his  native  countr3^  though  a 
child  when  brought  to  America,  he  started  on  his  way  to  England. 
Never  having  taken  out  naturalization  papers,  Mr.  Andrews  fully  be- 
lieved himself  to  be  a  British  subject  and  in  consequence  could  leave 
American  ports  for  England  unmolested.  On  the  contrary  he  was 
arrested  in  New  York  city  and  in  his  possession  were  found  certain 
business  letters  from  parties  in  Charleston,  S.C.,and  these  confirmed 
the  belief  in  his  captors  that  he  was  a  subject  of  the  Confederate 
states.  He  was  detained  as  a  prisoner  of  war  first  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  then  at  Point  Comfort,  for  twenty-two  months,  and  during 
that  imprisonment  he  contracted  disease,  was  released  and  went 
home  to  die,  his  decease  occurring  shortly  after  his  liberation.  He 
was  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  of  the 
Free  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows'  orders. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  53I 

The  boj'hood  days  of  Edgar  M.  Andrews,  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  sketch,  were  mostly  spent  in  Charlotte,  the  cit}'  of  his  nativity. 
During  the  imprisonment  of  his  father  the  family  resided  with  his 
uncle,  at  Union,  S.C.,  and  at  that  place  and  at  Charlotte  he  acquired 
a  fair  English  education.  When  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
joined  this  uncle,  who  had  removed  to  Brooklj'n,  X.  Y.  At  the  same 
time  his  mother  removed  to  Charlotte,  where  she  has  since  resided. 
At  Brooklyn  Mr.  Andrews  learned  the  painter's  trade,  and  worked 
for  some  time  at  South  Orange,  X.J.,  and  then  returned  to  Charlotte, 
where  he  continued  to  work  at  his  trade.  He  soon  began  to  invest 
in  town  lots  on  which  he  built  tenement  houses,  and  has  since  dealt 
more  or  less  in  real  estate.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  several  of  these 
houses  and  lots  in  the  city.  In  1881  he  quit  the  painter's  trade,  and, 
purchasing  a  stock  of  furniture,  embarked  in  this  business  which  has 
developed  into  the  largest  wholesale  and  retail  furniture  establish- 
ment in  North  Carolina.  Besides  his  large  stock  of  furniture,  he 
deals  largely  in  pianos  and  organs.  A  few  years  ago  he  bought  out 
the  Charlotte  Undertaking  company,  and  has  since  carried  on  that 
business.  With  his  untiring  devotion  to  his  business  interests  and  his 
correct  judgment,  he  has  fairly  won  success,  and  prosperity  has  at- 
tended all  his  undertakings.  As  a  citizen  he  is  held  in  high  respect. 
He  is  a  leading  and  influential  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  hav- 
ing embraced  the  faith  as  taught  by  that  church  when  he  was  fifteen 
years  old.  In  1SS2  Mr.  Andrews  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Pattie  Parker,  of  Stanley  county,  N.  C,  a  most  estimable  and  be- 
loved lady.  She  died  in  1889,  deeply  lamented  by  all  who  knew  her, 
leaving  to  her  surviving  husband  two  precious  daughters:  Grace  and 
Onnie  Parker  Andrews.  Wednesdaj^  evening,  October  21,  iSqi,  Mr. 
Andrews  was  married  to  Miss  Ella," daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  E. 
Sergeant,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  an  accomplished  and  highly  respected 
lady. 

H.   BARUCH. 

Throughout  a  large  portion  of  both  North  and  South  Carolina 
the  name  of  H.  Baruch  is  well  and  most  favorably  known,  and  among 
merchants  and  business  men  of  Charlotte  he  holds  a  cons[)icuous 
place,  enjoying  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  his  fellow-townsmen. 
He  is  a  native  of  the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  Germany,  born  Novem- 
ber 28,  1844.  His  parents  were  Bernard  and  Theresa  Baruch,  whose 
family  consisted  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom  are 
living  at  this  date.  Both  parents  were  natives  of  Prussia,  where  they 
are  still  living.  Bernard  Baruch  is  a  lawyer  of  prominence  and  a 
man  of  wealth  and  influence.  Up  to  the  age  of  fifteen,  H.  Baruch. 
the  -subject  of  this  sketch,  was  reared  in  his  native  kingdom,  where  he 
received  a  liberal  German  education.  At  this  point  in  his  life  he  left 
the  parental  home  and  joined  his  brother  who  had  preceded  him  to  the 
United  States.  This  brother  is  Dr.  Simon  Baruch,  now  an  eminent 
physician  of  New  York  city.     Dr.  Baruch  received  a  thorough  edu- 


532  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

cation  In  Germany.  In  1S56,  at  the  invitation  of  several  frien'dswho 
were  about  to  emigrate  to  America,  Dr.  Baruch  was  induced  to  ac- 
company them  simply  on  his  part  as  a  visitor.  He  had  not  completed 
his  college  course,  intending  to  return  to  his  native  land,  but  he  was 
so  pleased  with  this  country  that  he  changed  his  plans  and  adopted 
it  as  his  home.  He  landed  in  South  Carolina,  and  subsequently  began 
the  study  of  medicine,  and  graduated  from  the  Medical  College  of 
Virginia.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  South  Carolina,  where  he  pursued  his  practice  till 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was  then  appointed  a  surgeon  in 
the  Confederate  army,  first  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Beauregard, 
then  in  the  army  of  Virginia.  What  was  remarkable  was  that  at  the 
close  of  the  war  he  was  only  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  was  the 
brigade  surgeon  of  the  Parkdale,  Miss.,  brigade  of  Gen.  Lee's  army. 
He  continued  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Camden,  S.  C,  where  he 
and  his  brother,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  just  from  Germany,  had 
repaired  after  joining  each  other  at  Charleston.  They  continued  to 
make  Camden  their  home  till  1881,  when  Dr.  Baruch  changed  his 
location  to  New  York  city,  where  he  has  become  distinguished. 

Upon  going  to  Camden  with  his  brother,  H.  Baruch  secured  a 
position  in  a  store  first  as  errand  bo}',  and  subsequently,  after  acquir- 
ing a  fair  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  he  was  employed  as 
clerk.  In  this  position  he  found  opportunity  by  persevering  study  to 
perfect  himself  in  the  language  of  the'  country,  enabling  him  to 
speak  and  write  it  with  fluency.  He  held  his  position  as  clerk  till  in 
September,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Gary's  brigade  of 
cavalry.  Seventh  South  Carolina  regiment,  commanded  by  Gen.  Alex- 
ander C.  Haskell.  Mr.  Baruch  was  a  gallant  soldier  and  served  in 
the  same  cavalry  till  the  close  of  the  war,  surrendering  with  Lee's 
army  at  Appomatox.  In  the  summer  of  1864  Mr.  Baruch  did  special 
service  as  field  courier  to  Gens.  Lee  and  Beauregard,  during  the 
campaign  around  Richmond,  and  rendered  rare  service  for  a  strip- 
ling of  only  nineteen  3'ears  of  age.  After  the  surrender  this  young 
soldier,  foot-sore,  poorly  clad  and  penniless,  set  out  on  foot  for  his 
home  in  Camden,  where  he  again  began  the  work  of  a  clerk  and 
salesman.  He  continued  this  employment  for  a  few  years  in  the 
service  of  other  merchants,  but  availing  himself  of  a  small  capital, 
he  embarked  for  himself,  in  1870,  in  a  general  merchandising  business 
at  Camden.  His  business  prospered  and  in  1879  he  removed  to 
Charlotte  and  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  a  Mr.  S.  Wittkowsky, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Wittkowsky  &  Baruch.  They  carried  on  a 
wholesale  and  retail  trade  in  dry  goods,  notions,  clothing  and  boots 
and  shoes.  In  1887  this  partnership  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Baruch  re- 
taining the  retail  trade  and  Mr.  Wittkowsky  the  wholesale.  Mr. 
Baruch  carries  on  an  extensive  and  profitable  trade  not  exceeded  by 
that  of  any  merchant  in  the  state.  He  possesses  a  thorough  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  merchandising,  both  in  buying  and  selling,  and 
bears  the  reputation  in  New  York  city  as  being  one  of  the  most 
sagacious  purchasers  who  trade   in  that  wholesale  emporium.     He 


# 


,  j/ruA4 , 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  533 

Spends  nearly  half  his  time  there  and  is  thus  enabled  to  take  advant- 
age of  the  market.  He  has  an  extensive  establishmentwhich  during 
his  absence  is  in  charge  of  his  3'oungest  brother,  Joseph  Baruch. 
The  example  of  a  man  like  Mr.  Baruch,  who  has  wrought  his  way  up 
from  an  errand  boy  to  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  mercantile 
establishments  in  the  south  and  who  conducts  his  business  upi)n  such 
intelligent  and  high-minded  principles,  is  well  w^orthy  of  imitation, 
and  is  a  rare  beneficence  in  any  community.  But  Mr.  Baruch  is  not 
only  an  exceptional  business  man  but  he  stands  high  as  a  worthy 
member  of  society  and  enjoys  the  highest  respect  and  esteem  among 
his  fellow-citizens.  He  has  a  family  of  eight  bright  and  interesting 
children,  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Miss  Deborah  Samp- 
son, is  an  excellent  and  accomplished  lady,  a  native  of  George- 
town, S.  C. 

WILLIAM  BLOUNT. 

This  distinguished  statesman  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1744. 
He  was  a  son  of  Jacob  Blount,  who  was  a  member  of  the  provincial 
assembly  in  1775-6.  He  was  a  delegate  from  North  Carolina  to  the 
old  congress  of  1782-3  and  1776-7.  He  was  a  member  of  the  assem- 
bly four  years,  and  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Federal  constitution 
in  1787.  In  17Q0  he  was  appointed  governor  of  that  vast  territory 
south  of  the  Ohio.  As  he  had  been  chosen  a  member  of  the  com- 
mission to  form  the  state  of  Tennessee,  he  was  its  spokesman  in  the 
United  States  senate  in  1796,  but  was  expelled  1799,  he  being  con- 
cerned in  a  conspiracy  to  deliver  New  Orleans  to  the  British,  and  for 
having  assisted  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  in  conquering  the  territory 
of  Louisiana.  This  unjust  treatment  increased  his  popularity  in 
Tennessee,  where  the  people  had  unwavering  faith  in  his  fidelity,  and 
he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  state  senator,  which  office  he  admin- 
istered with  the  utmost  integrity  for  many  years.  He  died  in  Knox- 
ville,  Tenn.,  March  31,  1800. 

JOHN   L.  BROWN. 

Upon  the  8th  day  of  January,  1829,  in  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  was 
born  John  L.  Brown,  the  subject  of  the  following  sketch.  His  parents 
were  Peter  AL  and  Elizabeth  (Pool)  Brown,  l)oth  of  whom  were  of 
German  lineage.  Peter  M.  Brown,  in  early  life,  devoted  his  atten- 
tion exclusively  to  farming,  but  removing  to  Charlotte  in  1829,  he 
embarked  in  the  tanning  business,  which,  together  with  farming,  he 
continued  till  his  death  occurred  in  1874.  It  was  in  the  first  year  of 
our  subject's  life  that  his  parents  established  their  home  in  Charlotte; 
and  hence  in  this  city  Mr.  Brown  was  reared;  and  here  he  received 
a  thorough  English  education,  such  as  has  fitted  him  for  a  practical 
as  well  as  successful  career.  Early  in  life,  by  reason  of  circumstances 
and  opportunity,  he  began  a  business  career.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  secured,  at  Charlotte,  a  position  as  clerk  or  salesman,  and  cpn- 


534  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tinued  as  such  until  1852,  in  which  year  he  first  embarked  in  a  busi- 
ness of  his  own.  Embarking  in  general  merchandising  he  continued 
till  1S62,  when  he  became  a  candidate  for  the  legislature.  He  had 
been  a  whig  in  politics,  but  in  1862  each  candidate  ran  for  office  upon 
personal  merit,  rather  than  upon  a  political  party  ticket.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  had  been  an  ardent  whig,  and  tnat  Mecklen- 
burg was  overwhelmingly  democratic,  he  was  elected  by  a  handsome 
majority  in  consequence  of  his  personal  merit  and  popularity,  and 
was  almost  unanimously  re-elected  in  1864.  He  served  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  legislature  till  1865,  when  he  returned  to  Charlotte  and 
resumed  his  former  business  pursuits.  In  1866,  as  a  director  in  what 
is  now  the  Carolina  Central  railway,  he  visited  the  legislature,  where 
he  had  been  an  influential  member,  and  was  instrumental  in  securing, 
under  strong  opposition,  a  desirable  amendment  to  the  charter  for 
the  railroad.  From  1865  to  1878  Mr.  Brown  was  continuously  in 
business.  In  1867  was  added  to  the  general  merchandise,  hardware, 
but  in  a  separate  store  in  Charlotte  was  conducted  the  hardware 
trade.  In  1874  a  co-partnership  was  entered  into  with  Messrs.  T.  H. 
Brem,  J.  H.  Weddington  and  J.  Yanlandingham,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Brem,  Brown  &  Co.  In  1879  this  co-partnership  was  dissolved, 
and  a  new  one  was  entered  into  with  J.  H.  Weddington,  with  whom 
he  conducted  a  hardware  business  till  1884,  when  Mr.  Brown's  son, 
Peter  M.  Brown,  was  admitted  as  a  partner  in  the  business,  and  since, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Brown,  Weddington  &  Co.,  there  it  has 
conducted  the  largest  hardware  business  in  Charlotte  and  in  the  state. 
In  1878,  as  a  democrat,  Mr.  Brown  was  a  third  time  elected  to 
represent  his  county  in  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature.  In  this 
year  he  retired  from  active  business  till  in  the  next  year  when,  as 
aforesaid,  he  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  J.  H.  Weddington. 
In  18,79,  while  in  the  legislature,  Mr.  Brown  introduced  in  the  house 
a  resolution  with  a  view  of  effecting  a  compromise  settlement  of  the 
state  debt.  In  his  resolution  it  was  proposed  to  appoint  a  joint  com- 
mittee of  members  from  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  which  com- 
mittee was  to  devise  a  plan  upon  which  to  effect  a  compromise 
settlement  of  the  debt.  In  Mr.  Brown's  resolution  he  recommended 
a  plan  of  settlement;  the  resolution  as  introduced  was  adopted;  Mr. 
Brown  was  made  chairman  of  the  house  committee,  and  Hon.  Giles 
Mebane  of  the  senate,  chairman  of  the  joint  committee,  which  after 
deliberation,  adopted  his  recommended  plan  of  settling  the  state 
debt,  and  the  bill  became  a  law.  The  manner  in  which  the  state  debt 
was  settled  has  reflected  great  credit  on  that  legislature  and  state  as 
well.  To  Mr.  Brown  is  due  the  honor  and  credit  of  originating  the 
bill,  the  passage  of  which  was  largely  due  to  his  efforts  and  influence. 
In  the  fall  of  1880,  the  governor  called  a  special  session  of  the  legis- 
lature for  the  purpose  of  contracting  with  parties  to  finish  the  con- 
struction of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad,  and  with  this 
special  session  ended  the  services  of  Mr.  Brown  in  the  legislature. 
As  a  legislator  he  was  an  incessant  worker,  and  was  honest,  faithful 
arwd  conscientious,  quick  to  discern  the  right  and  condemn  the  wrong. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  53^ 

He  was  far-seeing,  and  of  wise  and  practical  business  judgment,  and 
to  the  wisdom  of  his  hnancial  poHcy  is  due  the  favorable  plan  upon 
which  was  effected  the  compromise  settlement  of  the  state  debt,  as 
well  as  the  subsequent  prosperity'  of  the  state. 

As  a  business  man  Mr.  Brown  maintains  the  strictest  confidence 
of  all  who  known  him,  and  as  an  evidence  of  this,  he  has  been  called 
to  fill  several  very  important  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  in  which 
positions  excellent  business  qualifications  are  most  essential  to  secure 
prosperity,  and  in  which  much  has  been  intrusted  to  his  honesty  and 
integrity.  No  higher  compliment  can  be  paid  him  than  to  say  here 
that  he  amply  fulfilled  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  his  friends 
and  promoters  in  all  the  several  positions  of  honor  and  trust  to 
which  he  has  been  elevated.  He  has  efficiently  served  for  eighteen 
years  on  the  board  of  aldermen  for  Charlotte,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  on  the  county  board  of  commissioners,  and  was  a  member  of 
this  board  when  working  the  public  roads  b}-  convict  labor  was  in- 
augurated. Since  iSSi  he  has  been  president  of  the  Mutual  Build- 
ing &  Loan  association,  and  for  several  years  has  been  a  director  in 
the  First  National  bank  of  Charlotte.  During  the  existence  of  the 
Bank  of  North  Carolina  he  was  one  of  its  directors.  In  1878,  when 
the  Charlotte  chamber  of  commerce  was  organized,  he  was  made  its 
first  president,  and  he  has  continued  a  member  of  the  organization. 
Mr.  Brown  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  a  member  of  the  financial 
committee  of  the  North  Carolina,  and  Atlantic,  Tennessee  &  Ohio 
railroads.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Ada  Manufacturing 
company  of  Charlotte,  of  which  compan}^  he  was  elected  first  presi- 
dent, and  of  which  he  has  continued  president.  In  1S85  there  was 
held  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  an  international  commercial  convention.  Gov. 
Scales  appointed  as  delegates  from  North  Carolina  to  this  convention 
Rufus  S.  Tucker,  of  Raleigh,  and  Mr.  Brown.  Mr.  Brown  took  an 
active  part  in  this  convention,  of  which  he  was  elected  vice-president. 

Mr.  Brown  has  been  an  ardent  friend  and  advocate  of  church 
and  education.  He  has  been  for  years  a  member  of  the  Presbyter- 
ian church,  and  has  for  over  thirty  \'ears  been  chairman  of  the  board 
of  deacons  in  his  church.  For  years  he  was  treasurer  of  the  Con- 
cord presbytery,  and  upon  the  creation  of  the  Mecklenburg  presby- 
tery he  was  made  its  treasurer,  remaining  as  such  several  years.  He 
is  the  oldest  member  of  the  committee  of  home  missions  of  the 
Mecklenburg  presbytery.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  regions  of  orphans'  home  of  the  Presbyterian 
synod  of  North  Carolina.  To  \Ir.  Brown  is  due  the  credit  of  a 
wise  purchase  of  the  Barium  hotel  property,  at  Barium  Springs, 
N.C.,  which  was  converted  into  an  excellent  home  for  the  region  of 
orphans.  For  nearly  twent^'-five  years  he  has  been  a  member,  now 
its  president,  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  general  assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  the  United  States.  In  June,  1887,  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  for  Davidson  college.  His 
deep  interest  in  the  college  and  his  valuable  services  as  president  of 
the  board  of  trustees  received  approval  and  reward  by  his  being  re- 


536  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

elected  president  of  the  board  in  June,  1890.  Mr.  Brown  was  in 
August,  1853,  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nannie  J.  Kerr,  daughter 
of  Jennings  B.  Kerr.  The  union  has  been  blessed  in  the  birth  of  two 
sons,  namely:  William  J.  and  Peter  M.  The  former  is  deceased, 
while  the  latter  is  associated  in  business  with  his  father. 

The  foregoing  is  a  brief  sketch  of  one  of  the  representative  busi- 
ness men  and  worthy  citizens  of  the  state.  So  eventful  has  been  Mr. 
Brown's  life  that  only  the  more  important  ones  can  be  herein  given, 
but  let  it  suffice  to  say  that  in  the  many  duties  involved  upon  him  his 
work  has  been  well  done;  that  his  life  has  been  an  exemplary  one; 
that  his  character  is  irreproachable,  and  that  he  is  a  recognized  rep- 
resentative man  and  citizen,  whose  life  has  been  one  of  general  utili- 
ty. In  disposition  of  mind  he  is  philosophical,  and  of  excellent  judg- 
ment; fair-minded  and  lenient,  kind  and  jovial,  and  being  of  a  con- 
genial and  pleasant  disposition,  he  is  a  popular  member  of  society. 
Such  is  a  brief  biography  of  this  cultured  and  honored  citizen. 


JOHN  D.  WALTERS, 

who  is  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  La  Grange,  was  born  in 
Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  on  the  21st  of  October,  1858.  His  parents  were 
Haywood  and  Sally  (Rouse)  Walters.  The  family  originally  resided 
in  Virginia,  but,  at  an  early  day,  removed  from  that  state  to  Lenoir 
county,  N.  C,  where  Mr.  Walters'  grandfather  was  born  and  where 
he  grew  up  a  prominent  planter.  Haywood  Walters,  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Le- 
noir county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  democratic  party  and  a  com- 
municant of  the  Baptist  church.  He  died  in  1888.  Mr.  Walters' 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  Rouse,  of  Lenoir  county,  and 
she  is  stil  living.  She  has  reared  three  children:  Mary  H.,  wife  of 
Alexander  Sutton,  of  La  Grange;  David,  a  farmer  of  Lenoir  county, 
and  John  D.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  educated  in  the 
country  schools  and  took  up  farming  as  his  occupation.  In  1882, 
however,  he  established  a  mercantile  business  at  La  Grange,  which 
he  carried  on  for  two  years,  at  the  same  time  supervising  his  farm 
and  running  a  cotton  gin.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Sutton  &  Walters,  manufacturers  of  lumber.  In  1889,  Mr.  Walters 
again  resumed  the  mercantile  trade,  which  he  has  since  continued  to 
prosecute.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  On  the  15th 
of  November,  1877,  Mr.  Walters  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Julia  E.  Hardy,  daughter  of  Porrott  Hardy,  of  Lenoir  county.  She 
died  in  1885,  leaving  him  four  children,  whose  respective  names  are 
Willie  H.,  John  P.,  Milton  L.  and  Sallie  C.Walters.  Mr.  Walters 
was  next  married  in  1886  to  Miss  Kate  E.  Woollard,  daughter  of 
John  Woollard,  of  Lenoir  county,  by  whom  he  has  had  three  children: 
Julia  E.,  Cassie  R.  and  Daniel  H.  Walters.  Mr.  Walters  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south.  Though  an  active 
politician,  he  adheres  to  independent  action. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  537 


HENRY  E.  DILLON, 

a  prominent  merchant  of  La  Grange,  N.  C,  is  a  native  of  Tyrrell 
count}-,  X.  C,  where  he  was  born  November  25,  1842.  He  is  the  son 
of  Alexander  and  Sarah  ( Wj'nne)  Dillon,  both  natives  of  the  above 
named  county.  The  paternal  ancestors  of  the  family  were  of  Irish 
nativity.  John  Dillon  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  North 
Carolina,  emigrating  from  his  native  Ireland  at  an  early  day.  He 
first  settled  in  Tennessee  but  afterward  removed  to  North  Carolina. 
His  children  settled  in  various  portions  of  the  Union.  John  Dillon, 
Jr.,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Tyrrell  county  and  was  a  planter  by  occupation.  In  early  life  he  re- 
moved to  East  Tennessee,  where  he  still  continued  to  carry  on  farm- 
ing operations.  They  reared  a  large  fam.ily  of  children.  Ale.xander 
Dillon,  the  father  of  Henry  E.  Dillon,  was  born  in  Tyrrell  county  in 
178S  and  died  in  1S45.  He  acquired  a  good  education  and  followed 
the  occupation  of  a  farmer.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence,  and  was 
a  leading  member  of  the  old  line  whig  party.  His  wife  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  Wynne,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respectable  of  the 
citizens  of  Tyrrell  county  —  a  Jeffersonian  democrat  and  clerk  of  the 
court  for  many  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  The 
wife  died  in  1S50.  She  was  the  mother  of  nine  children  named  as 
follows:  William  J.,  member  of  Cowan's  regiment  and  died  from  the 
effects  of  a  wound  received  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg;  Silas  W.,  a 
member  of  the  same  company,  died  in  X'irginia  while  in  the  service; 
James  R.,  an  e.xtensive  farmer  in  Washington  county;  Henry  E.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Mrs.  Mary  Normans,  of  Washington  county; 
and  Caroline  E.,  (deceased),  wife  of  James  M.  Alexander,  of  Tyrrell 
county.  Henry  E.  Dillon  was  brought  up  under  the  care  of  a  guard- 
ian, and  early  taken  to  Plymouth,  Washington  county.  N.  C.  He 
was  educated  in  Dickinson  college  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  where  he  remained 
until  the  commencement  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  joined  the  Eden- 
ton  Bell  battery,  Third  battalion  of  light  artillery  as  a  private.  He 
was  soon  appointed  quartermaster  and  tithe  sergeant  for  one  section 
and  later  promoted  to  ordnance  sergeant  for  one  section  of  the  bat- 
tery, serving  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war 
he  was  taken  prisoner  and  retained  six  weeks,  when  he  was  exchanged. 
He  participated  at  the  fall  of  Fort  Anderson,  was  at  the  battles  of 
Wilmington,  Smithfield.  Wise's  Fork  and  others.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  he  located  at  Tarboro,  N.  C,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
trade  with  his  brother,  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  R.  Dillon  t^  Bro. 
After  a  year's  trade  here,  they  removed  to  Stantonsburg,  thence  to 
Washington  county,  and  in  1S71  to  La  Grange.  Here  he  established 
his  present  business.  1  lis  is  the  oldest  house  and  carries  on  the  most 
extensive  trade  in  the  town.  In  connection  with  his  mercantile  trade 
he  is  extensively  engaged  in  farming.  He  is  president  of  the  Wil- 
mington Building  &  Loan  association  and  of  the  Huntsville  (Ala.) 
Building  iS:    Loan  association.     He  was   appointed    by  Gov.   Fowle 


538  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

as  a  member  of  the  southern  states  inter-state  convention,  held  in 
Asheville,  N.  C,  in  December,  iSgo.  He  was  also  appointed  by  the 
governor,  January  23,  1891,  as  a  director  in  the  eastern  North  Caro- 
lina insane  asylum,  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Dr.  R.  W.  King,  de- 
ceased. He  has  filled  various  offices  of  his  adopted  town  with 
acceptability.  His  politics  are  democratic,  and  he  belongs  to  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  January,  1869,  Mr.  Dillon 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Celestia  N.,  the  daughter  of  Wash- 
•  ington  Stanton,  of  Wilson  county,  N.  C,  by  whom  he  has  four  chil- 
dren living,  whose  respective  names  are;  Lillian  M.,  Celestia,  Van 
Washington  and  Reginald.  Mr.  Dillon  is  an  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  is  one  of  its  most  active  and  influential  members. 


SAMUEL  H.  ABBOTT. 

One  of  the  representative  business  men  of  Kinston,  is  Mr.  Samuel 
H.  Abbott,  a  native  of  Lenoir  county,  his  birth  having  taken  place 
there  on  the  25th  of  September,  1839.  His  parents,  Thomas  J.  and 
Lucinda  (Phillips)  Abbott,  were  likewise  natives  of  Lenoir  county. 
The  father  was  born  in  rSoS;  he  was  a  coachmaker  by  trade,  but 
later  in  life  became  a  planter;  he  was  a  captain  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina militia,  and  was  a  prominent  whig;  his  demise  occurred  in  1853. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Peter  Phillips,  and  was  born  ini8i2. 
Peter  Phillips  was  an  extensive  planter  and  served  in  the  war  of  1812; 
he  was  descended  from  one  of  the  old  and  influential  families  of  the 
county  of  Lenoir.  Mrs.  Abbott  is  still  living.  .Samuel  Abbott  was 
the  grandfather  of  our  subject.  He  was  born  in  England,  and  was  a 
blacksmith  and  planter.  Of  the  children  born  to  Thomas  J.  and  Lu- 
cinda Abbott,  seven  survive,  they  are:  J.  H.,  Samuel  H.,  Stephen  D., 
Thomas  J.,  Mrs  Ella  Rouse,  Mrs.  Susan  A.  King,  of  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  Mrs.  Lucinda  Abbott,  of  Lenoir  county.  Samuel  H.  Ab- 
bott was  reared  in  his  native  county,  where  he  received  but  a  limited 
education.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  company  A,  Fortieth  North  Caro- 
lina artillery  regiment,  under  Col.  Lamb,  and  remained  in  that  com- 
mand until  the  close  of  the  war,  having  rendered  faithful  and  efficient 
service.  In  1866  he  located  in  Kinston,  and  secured  a  clerkship  in  a 
dry  goods  establishment.  Three  years  later  he  had  saved  about 
$200,  and  with  that  capital  opened  a  general  grocery  store.  At  this 
time  he  is  the  leading  merchant  of  the  town,  and  has  a  large  stock. 
In  1873  he  established  a  brick  and  tile  factory,  and  also  manufactures 
the  Planter's  plow,  his  own  patent,  and  he  is  one  of  the  original  stock- 
holders of  the  Orion  Mill  Co.,  and  is  largely  interested  in  real  estate. 
Mr.  Abbott  has  served  as  a  town  commissioner  for  several  terms,  and 
also  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of 
the  I.  O.  O.  F.  His  marriage  was  solemnized,  in  1873,  to  Miss  Nancy 
Brock,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Caroline  Brock,  of  this  county.  Two 
children,  Ruth  and  Lunsford,  have  blessed  their  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Abbott  are  communicants  of  the   Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  is  a 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  539 

senior  warden.     He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  substantial  and  lead- 
ing men  of  the  town  and  county. 

JAMES  C.  DOBBIN. 

One  of  the  most  gifted  men  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina  was 
James  Cochrane  Dobbin,  who  was  born  in  1814,  at  Fayetteville,  X.  C, 
where  his  father,  John  JNI.  Dobbin,  a  merchant,  had  long  resided. 
His  mother  was  Agnes,  daughter  of  Hon.  James  Cochrane,  who  rep- 
resented the  Orange  district  in  congress  in  1811  and  1S13.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  prepared  for  college  by  William  Bingham, 
and  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1S2S.  At  college 
he  formed  friendships  which  lasted  through  life.  His  gentle  man- 
ners and  tine  ability  won  the  hearts  of  all.  He  graduated  with  high 
honors  in  a  class  with  Judge  Thomas  S.  Ashe,  Senator  Thomas  L. 
Clingman,  Cadwallader  Jones,  and  other  distinguished  gentlemen. 
Having  read  law  with  Judge  Strange,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1835.  Ten  years  later,  unknown  to  himself,  he  was  nominated  for 
congress  and  elected  in  a  doubtful  district.  In  that  body  he  made  a 
fine  reputation,  his  speeches  on  important  questions  placing  him  in 
the  front  rank  of  statesmen.  He  declined  a  re-election,  but  was 
elected  to  the  assembly  in  184S,  1850  and  1852.  He  was  a  democrat 
of  the  most  pronounced  faith,  but  was,  like  his  friend  William  S. 
Ashe,  of  the  lower  Cape  Fear,  progressive  and  in  favor  of  internal 
improvements  by  the  state.  He  was  speaker  of  the  house  in  1848  and 
1850,  and  in  the  first  session  warmly  advocated  with  Mr.  Ashe  the 
building  of  the  North  Carolina  railroad  from  Goldsboro  to  Char- 
lotte. He  also  secured  the  building  by  the  state  of  the  plank  road 
from  Fayetteville  to  Winston.  By  his  eloquence  he  secured  the 
building  of  the  insane  asylum  at  Raleigh.  In  1852  he  was  nominated 
for  the  senate  bj'  the  democratic  caucus;  but  the  legislature,  being 
about  evenly  divided.  Judge  .Saunders  did  not  support  the  nominee, 
but  with  some  friends  prevented  an  election.  At  the  succeeding 
democratic  national  convention,  Mr.  Dobbin  was  chairman  of  the 
North  Carolina  delegation.  There  had  been  an  animated  canvass 
over  the  chief  democratic  leaders  —  Buchanan,  Marcy,  Cass  and  Doug- 
las. It  was  apprehended  that  no  nomination  could  be  reached.  Mr. 
Dobbin  had  served  in  congress  with  Franklin  Pierce  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  knew  his  worth.  At  a  crisis  in  the  convention,  he  made  a 
short  but  eloquent  appeal  and  presented  with  such  force  the  name  of 
Mr.  Pierce  that  he  was  nominated. 

Hon.  William  A.  Graham  was  then  secretary  of  the  navy,  and 
John  Branch  and  Mr.  Badger  had  both  held  the  same  cabinet  place. 
Early  in  the  winter  Mr.  William  S.  Ashe  went  to  see  Mr.  Pierce  and 
presented  Mr.  Dobbin's  name  for  that  position  and  later  Mr.  Pierce 
tendered  the  portfolio  to  him.  As  secretary  of  the  navy,  Mr.  Dobbin 
rendered  his  country  a  great  service  and  made  for  himself  a  brilliant 
reputation.  Under  his  administration  the  navy  attained  the  highest 
state  of  efticiency:  the  naval  academy  was  put  on  a  proper  basis;  the 


54°  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

inefficient  officers  of  the  service  were  retired  and  the  most  splendid 
war  vessels  of  the  time  were  built  —  the  Niagara,  the  Merrimac, 
Wabash,  Minnesota,  etc.,  added  to  the  fame  of  America  and  won  the 
plaudits  of  all  maritime  nations.  In  the  ordnance  the  Dahlgren 
gun  was  adopted;  and  cannon  of  the  largest  caliber  of  the  day  were 
brought  into  use.  No  career  in  the  nav}'  department  has  ever  been 
so  full  of  luster  as  that  of  Mr.  Dobbin.  While  in  the  cabinet  he  used 
his  influence  with  effect  to  have  the  president  sign  the  bill  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  which  Mr.  Ashe  had  pressed  suc- 
cessfully in  the  democratic  house.  This  was  one  of  the  first  bills  for 
internal  improvements  ever  signed  by  a  democratic  president.  At  this 
period  Mr.  Dobbin  had  lost  his  wife;  his  family  of  young  children 
were  at  his  home  in  Fayetteville,and  his  own  health  was  feeble.  His 
brother,  John  Dobbin,  had  perished  at  sea,  and  he  himself  felt  that 
his  end  was  approaching.  He  returned  to  Fayetteville,  where,  on 
August  4,  1857,  he  e.xpired,  his  last  words  being:  "  Praise  the  Lord, 
oh  my  soul!"  No  finer  character  has  ever  adorned  the  annals  of  his 
native  state.  Mr.  Dobbin  married  Louisa  Holmes,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Gabriel  Holmes,  of  Sampson,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  James  and 
John,  who  left  no  issue,  and  Louisa,  who  married  Mr.  John  Anderson, 
of  Faj'etteville,  N.  C.  His  father  had  by  his  mother,  besides  him- 
self, a  daughter.  Anise,  who  married  Mr.  John  Huske,  of  Fayette 
ville;  and  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Dobbin  his  father  married  Miss 
McQueen  and  had  born  to  him  John  IDobbin,  who  served  at  sea  on 
board  the  San  Francisco;  and  Kate,  who  became  the  wife  of  Judge 
Shepherd,  of  Fayetteville. 

W.  C.  BROWN. 

The  late  William  Carter  Brown,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Caswell  county, 
N.  C.  He  was  graduated  from  Jefferson  medical  college,  at 
Philadelphia,  and  began  practicing  in  Davie  county,  N.  C,  where  he 
was  residing  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1865.  Among  the  very  first 
to  enlist  in  the  cause  of  the  south  in  1861,  he  was  assigned  as  surgeon 
of  the  Forty-third  North  Carolina  regiment,  volunteer  infantry,  and 
served  as  such  until  a  short  time  prior  to  the  surrender  at  Appo- 
mato.x.  His  health  was  completely  shattered  by  his  patriotic  devotion 
to  his  people's  welfare,  and  he  returned  home  to  die.  Never  absent 
from  the  post  of  duty,  with  a  strong,  tender  hand  he  administered 
to  the  sick,  and  gave  the  best  energies  of  his  being  to  the  relief  of 
the  southern  soldier.  Honored  and  beloved,  he  now  fills  a  soldier's 
grave,  but  the  memory  of  his  services  will  long  linger  with  those 
whom  he  visited  on  the  battle-field.  He  was  married,  in  1852,  to  Ann 
Payne  Carter,  daughter  of  Archibald  Carter,  of  the  Oaks,  Davie 
county,  N.  C.  Seven  children  blessed  their  union,  those  living  being: 
John  A.,  of  Winston,  N.  C;  Frank  Carter,  also  of  W^inston; 
William  Carter,  of  Winston,  and  Bessie,  the  wife  of  E.  C. 
Clinard,  a  resident  of  Salem,  N.  C,  and  Willie  Ann,  wife  of 
W.   H.   LeGrand,   of    Richmond  county,    N.    C.     The    grandfather 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  54I 

of  these  children  was  John  E.  Brown,  M.  D.,  who  was  born  in 
Caswell  county,  N.  C,  in  iSoo.  William  Carter  Brown,  Jr.,  is  a  native 
of  Davie  county,  N.  C.,  where  he  was  born  on  the  nth  of  October, 
1859.  His  education  was  received  at  Mocksville,  N.  C,  and  later  in 
the  schools  of  Salem,  N.  C.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  secured  a 
clerkship  in  a  dry  goods  store  at  Winston,  N.  C,  and  continued  in 
that  capacity  until  18S2.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  associated  with  his 
brother,  Frank  Brown,  in  the  establishment  of  a  dry  goods  business 
at  Winston.  This  concern  has  come  to  be  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
kind  in  the  county,  and  its  proprietors  are  regarded  as  among  the 
ablest  and  most  substantial  business  men  in  the  community.  A  more 
e.\tended  mention  of  the  family  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  vol- 
ume. 

D.  S.  REED. 

Years  prior  to  the  Revolution  the  Reed  family  settled  in  Rocking- 
ham, N.  C.,  having  emigrated  from  Scotland.     John   Reed  was  born 
in    Baltimore  county,  Md.,  on  June    10,  1777,  where  he  followed  the 
life  of  a  planter.     As  a  soldier  in  the   Revolution  he  distinguished 
himself  for  valor  and  faithfulness,  and  left  a  name  of  good  repute  as 
a  heritage  to  his  descendants.     One  of  his  sons   was  Anselm    Reed, 
who  was  born  on  the  paternal  plantation  in  Rockingham  county  in 
}8i3.     He  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  as  an  agriculturist, 
and  also  for  many  years  carried  on  a  large  mercantile  business  in 
Rockingham,  N.  C,  to  which  place  he  removed  in   1S72.     In    1883   he 
retired  from  active  business.     He  served  as  a  magistrate  in  Rocking- 
ham and  Guilford  counties  for  about  forty  years.    In  1837  he  married 
Miss  Martha  Winchester,  daughter  of  Jackson  Winchester,  of  Rock- 
ingham   county,  N.  C.     Two    of  their   seven    children    survive  their 
parents;  they  are:     John  Whitfield    Reed,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and 
David  Settle  Reed,  of  Winston,  N.  C.     The  mother  died  in  1857.     It 
is  of  one  of  the  last  mentioned  sons  that  we  will  now  write.     David 
Settle   Reed,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Winston,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  Rockingham  county,  April  28,   1847.      In  very  early  youth 
he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Second  regiment  of  North  Carolina  junior 
reserves,  as  orderly  sergeant,  which  was  rtrst  assigned  to  the  Second 
battalion,   and   later  to  the   Third    regiment    North  Carolina  state 
troops,  and  elected  first   lieutenant  of  Company  A.     He   fought  at 
Fort   Fisher,  Bellefield  raid,  Kingston,  Newbcrn  and  Smithficld,  and 
none  in  the  Confederate  service  were  more  loyal  than  he.     After  the 
war  he  entered  Trinity  college,  and  was  graduated  in   1867,  when  he 
returned  home  and  embarked  in   the  tobacco  business,  and  after  a 
year  and  a  half  turned  his  attention  to   planting   for  two   years.     In 
1876   he  located  at  Winston  and   established    a    mercantile  business, 
which  he  has  since  most  successfully  conducted.    He  is  a  stockholder 
in   the    Roanoke    &    Southern  railroad,  and  is  interested  in  various 
enterprises  of  the   community.     In  September,    1871,   Mr.  Reed   was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Banks  Traynham,  daughter  of  J. 


542  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

P.  Traynham,  of  Halifax  county,  Va.  Of  their  six  children  three  are 
living,  named:  Frank  L.,  Harry  P.  and  David  S.  Reed.  Mr.  Reed  is 
a  communicant  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  church,  and  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  substantial  and  honorable  business  men  of  the 
county. 

R.  R.  CRAWFORD. 

Among  the  honored  names  of  the  past  may  be  found  that  of  the 
Hon.  William  D.  Crawford,  who,  during  his  life,  was  a  distinguished 
lawyer  and  legislator  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  having  been  born  in  Lancaster  district,  that  state,  in  1806. 
When  a  lad  he  came  to  North  Carolina,  and  in  1S25  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  then  began  the  study  of 
the  law  under  the  tutelage  of  the  eminent  Chief-Justice  Pearson,  of 
the  supreme  court,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827.  He  chose 
Salisbury  as  his  home,  and  there  entered  upon  his  professional  duties. 
He  practiced  law  with  distinguished  success  until  his  death  in  1838. 
Although  his  life  was  terminated  in  its  first  bloom,  yet  he  had  made 
a  name  for  himself  of  which  many  an  older  man  might  well  be  proud. 
Brilliant  and  able,  had  life  been  spared,  there  can  be  little  doubt  but 
that  he  would  have  reached  the  very  pinnacle  of  fame  in  his  profes- 
sion. He  was  a  member  for  several  terms  of  both  branches  of  the 
state  legislature,  and  his  course  in  -both  senate  and  house  was  digni- 
fied and  able.  In  1828  he  married  Miss  Christina  Mull,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Mull,  of  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  and  six  children  were  born  to 
them,  of  whom  four  survive,  named:  Thomas  M.,  James  R.,  R.  R. 
Crawford,  Rev.  L.  W.  Crawford,  professor  of  mora-1  science  in  Trinity 
college,  Durham,  N.  C.     The  mother  died  in  1879. 

We  have  chosen  as  our  immediate  subject  Mr.  R.  R.  Crawford, 
the  representative  merchant  of  Winston,  N.  C.  Mr.  Crawford  was 
born  in  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  October  14,  1839.  His  scholastic  train- 
ing was  obtained  at  Olin  high  school.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  in 
i86r,  he  left  his  home,  Charlotte,  N.  C,  to  enlist  in  Company  B,  First 
North  Carolina  regiment  volunteer  infantry,  Confederate  army,  com- 
manded by  Col.  (later  general)  D.  H.  Hill.  After  a  six  months'  term 
of  service  expired,  private  Crawford  left  the  battle-field  stricken  with 
typhoid  fever  and  paralysis;  after  recovering  for  a  time  he  assisted  in 
organizing  a  company  and  regiment  at  Salisbury,  of  which  he  was  sub- 
sequently elected  captain.  This  command  was  assigned  to  the  Forty- 
second  regiment  North  Carolina  state  troops  as  Company  D.  Until 
December,  1864,  Capt.  Crawford  commanded  this  company,  and  at  that 
time  was  honorably  retired  on  account  of  physical  disability.  He 
served  with  valor  and  faithfulness  in  the  following  mentioned  engage- 
ments: Bethel,  Shepardsville,  Newbern,  Cold  Harbor,  battles  around 
Richmond,  Bermuda  Hundred,  around  Petersburg,  and,  beside,  several 
battles  of  minor  importance.  I-Ie  was  wounded  at  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred. Leaving  the  army  Mr.  Crawford  settled  at  Salisbury  and  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  until  1882,  when  he  removed  to  Winston, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  543 

and  embarked  in  the  hardware  business.  He  has  rnade  a  marked 
success  as  a  business  man,  is  keen  and  progressive,  and  of  undoubted 
integrity.  He  is  a  director  in  the  People's  National  bank,  and  is  in- 
terested in  the  Roanoke  &  Southern  railroad,  as  well  as  in  the  West 
End  Land  Improvement  company,  and  the  North  Winston  Mechan- 
ical works,  of  which  he  is  a  director.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Honor,  the  A.  O.  U.  W.and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Mr. 
Crawford  was  married,  in  1S66,  to  Miss  Caroline  Crawford,  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Crawford,  of  W  ashington,  N.  C,  and  to  them  eight  chil- 
dren were  born,  the  surviving  ones  being:  Thomas  B.,  Robert  R.,  Jr., 
and  Christina  Crawford.  Mrs.  Crawford  died  March  17,  1887,  and  on 
April  24,  i88g,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ada  W.  Dudley,  of  Kan- 
sas City,  ^lo.,  and  to  them  one  child  has  been  born,  John  Dudley 
Crawford. 

ALEXANDER  C.  VOGLER, 

one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Salem,  N.  C,  was  born  on  the  13th 
of  March,  1S32,  at  that  place,  and  was  given  a  fair  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  town.  When  about  thirteen  years  of 
age  he  began  working  on  his  father's  plantation,  and  at  the  expir- 
ation of  two  and  one-half  years  was  apprenticed  to  the  cabinet-mak- 
er's trade  with  John  D.  Siewers,  of  Salem,  with  whom  he  remained 
for  about  five  and  one-half  years.  It  was  in  the  year  1S53  that  he 
completed  his  apprenticeship,  and 'he  then  traveled  as  a  journeyman 
for  four  years,  when  he  returned  to  Salem  and  opened  a  shop  of  his 
owm.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Vogler  has  built  up  a  large  and  constantly' 
increasing  business,  and  in  1S89  took  his  son,  Prank  H.,  into  partner- 
ship with  him,  the  firm  name  being  A.  C.  Vogler  &  Son.  In  1859  Mr. 
'Vogler  happily  married  Miss  Antoinette  S.  Hauser,  daughter  of  Will- 
iam Hauser,  and  to  them  have  been  born  three  children,  two  of 
whom  survive,  named:  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Jacob  F.  Crouse,  and  Fran- 
cis H.  Vogler.  In  May,  188S,  Mr.  Vogler  was  elected  commissioner 
of  Salem,  and  so  eflicient  was  his  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  ofiice 
that  he  was  re-elected  in  1890  and  1891.  He  is  a  leading  member  of 
the  Masonic  order,  and  also  of  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  Knights 
and  Ladies  of  Honor,  and  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Moravian 
church.  He  is  quite  e.xtensively  interested  in  the  Salem  water  works, 
and  various  other  enterprises  of  the  town.  Mr.  Vogler  is  the  son  of 
Nathaniel  Vogler,  who  was  born  in  Salem,  N.  C,  in  1S04.  He  was  a 
gunsmith  and  planter,  and  in  1827  married  Miss  Mary  A.  P'ishel, 
daughter  of  Conrad  Fishel,  of  Davidson  county,  N.  C.  They  were 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  seven  survive,  as  follows: 
Laufa  C,  wife  of  William  Beck;  Ale.xander  C;  Mortimer  N.; 
Maria  E.;  Martha  \'.,  wife  of  Edward  Peterson:  Regina  A.,  and 
William  T.  Vogler.  The  father  died  in  1872,  and  the  mother  in  1889. 
Nathaniel  Vogler  was  a  son  of  Christopher  Vogler,  whose  father  was 
a  native  of  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in  1725.  He  came  to 
America  in  his  early  manhood,  and  settled  in  North  Carolina,  where 
he  died  in  1828.     He  was  a  gunsmith. 


544  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


HON.  WILLIAM    B.  CARTER. 


The  Carter  family  has  long  been  intimately  connected  with  the 
growth  and  advancement  of  the  state  of  North  Carolina.  The  orig- 
inal founder  of  the  American  branch  came  to  this  country  prior  to 
the  Revolution  from  Bedfordshire,  England.  The  Hon.  William  B. 
Carter  was  born  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C.,  in  1814.  In  early  manhood 
he  chose  the  life  of  a  planter  and  remained  in  that  calling  all  his 
days.  He  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
then  completed  a  law  course  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  but  did 
not  practice.  For  some  time  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  Rocking- 
ham county  court,  and  was  a  man  of  much  ability  anci  influence.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Gallaway,  daughter  of  Robert  Gallawa}',  a  native 
of  Scotlafid,  who  settled  in  Rockingham  county,  N.  C,  in  1837,  and  six 
children  were  born  to  them,  named:  Mary  G.,  Sallie  B.,  VVilliam  B., 
Jesse,  Bettie  G.  and  Thomas  F.  Carter.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  in  April,  1853,  and  the  father,  March  8,  1888.  The  latter  was  a 
son  of  Jesse  Carter,  who  was  born  in  Pittsylvania  county,  N.  C,  and 
in  early  manhood  moved  to  Caswell  county,  N.  C.  He  was  a  planter 
and  merchant  all  his  life.  William  Brown  Carter,  son  of  the  Hon. 
William  B.  Carter  above  mentioned,  first  saw  the  light  in  Rocking- 
ham county,  N.  C,  September  8,  1845.  His  scholastic  training  was 
obtained  at  Dr.  Alexander  W^ilson's  excellent  school,  in  Alamance 
county,  N.  C.  In  the  fall  of  1863  he  abandoned  his  studies  to  take  up 
arms  in  defense  of  the  Confederate  government,  and  enlisted  in  the 
Thirteenth  North  Carolina  volunteer  regiment  as  a  private,  and 
served  through  the  remaining  years  of  the  war,  having  surrendered 
at  Appomatox.  In  1866  he  entered  the  University  of  Virginia,  and 
remained  there  for  one  year,  when  he  went  to  Madison,  N.  C,  and 
until  1874  was  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business  at  that  place.  In  the 
latter  year  Mr.  Carter  removed  to  Winston  and  embarkeci  in  the 
tobacco  business  with  Maj.  Brown,  the  firm  being  Brown  &  Carter. 
Mr.  Carter  is  also  extensively  interested  in  many  local  enterprises, 
and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Roanoke  &  Southern  railroad.  He  is  a 
man  of  progressive  mind,  keen  business  perception,  and  of  undoubted 
integrity.  In  December,  1872,  he  was  most  happily  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Etta  Hall,  daughter  of  Daniel  E.  Hall,  of  Mobile,  Ala., 
and  five  children  are  the  offspring  born  to  them,  the  four  living  ones 
being  Delphine  H.,  Elizabeth  G.,  Etta  and  Mary  G. 

GEORGE  W.  HINSHAW 

was  born  in  Chatham  county,  N.  C,  April  22,  1847.  He  is  the  son  of 
Zimri  and  Martha  Hinshaw.  The  family  of  Hinshaws  have  for  years 
been  prominent  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  are  dis- 
tinguished for  their  honesty  and  integrity.  They  are  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent.  Mr.  Hinshaw's  father  was  a  tanner  by  trade  and  the  youth 
soon  made  himself  master  of  the  trade.     His  opportunities  were  poor 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  545 

for  acquiring  an  education,  but  when  quite  young  he  exhibited  a 
fondness  for  books,  and  pursued  his  studies  at  home  as  opportunity 
offered.  When  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age  he  went  into  the  Con- 
federate army,  joining  the  Sixth  battahon,  afterward  the  F"irst  regi- 
ment of  junior  reserves,  in  which  he  served  until  November,  1864. 
He  was  then  detailed  for  service  in  eastern  North  Carolina  and  south- 
eastern Virginia.  Here  he  was  complimented  by  the  major-general 
of  the  army  for  gallant  conduct  in  front  of  the  enemy.  Though 
under  age  he  was  entitled  to  a  commission  and  would  have  had  one 
but  for  the  surrender  which  soon  after  took  place.  INIay  21,  1865,  he 
was  paroled  at  Greensboro,  N.  C;  he  returned  to  his  home  and 
resumed  work  on  his  father's  farm.  In  the  fall  of  1865,  he  entered 
New  Garden  boarding  school,  now  Guilford  college,  under  Dr. 
Nereus  iMendenhall,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  educators  in  the 
country.  He  made  rapid  progress,  but  the  condition  of  his  finances 
and  failure  in  his  eye-sight  compelled  him  soon  to  relinquish  his 
studies.  He  engaged  in  selling  goods,  in  1866,  for  Worth  &  McAlister, 
at  Company  Shops,  where  he  remained  about  a  year.  He  then 
entered  Sylvan  academy  until  the  close  of  the  session;  then  attended 
the  Deep  River  normal  school.  While  there  he  was  employed  by  the 
Baltimore  Association  of  Friends  to  teach  an  eight  months'  school. 
He  was  eminently  successful  and  built  up  a  large  school,  but  in  the 
midst  of  his  successful  career  he  was  attacked  by  typhoid  fever.  On 
his  way  home  he  stopped  at  Winston  and  saw  such  indications  of  the 
future  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  place,  that  he  determined  to 
locate  there. 

In  1868  he  entered  the  store  of  Hodgitt  &  Sullivan,  as  a  salesman, 
at  a  low  salary.  Here  he  remained  until  January,  1870,  when  he 
started  business  on  his  own  account.  In  1873  h^  became  a  partner 
with  his  old  employers,  and  the  firm  was  known  as  Hodgitt,  Hin- 
shaw  &  Co.  For  three  years  the  firm  were  successful,  but  in  1S76 
they  invested  in  a  patent  brick  machine,  b}-  which  they  lost  heavily. 
Mr.  Hinshaw  sold  out  his  interest,  and  the  next  year  began  business 
again  under  the  firm  name  of  Hinshaw  &  Bro.,  with  Allison  &  Ad- 
dison, of  Richmond,  as  special  partners.  The  firm  has  now  become 
Hinshaw  &  Medearis,  with  the  above  named  gentlemen  as  special 
partners,  and  does  mostly  a  wholesale  business  upon  a  heavy  scale. 
In  1870  Mr.  Hinshaw  was  married  to  Emily  A.  Miller,  of  Winston, 
and  they  have  a  bright,  intelligent  and  interesting  family  of  four 
children.  Mr.  Hinshaw  has  always  taken  great  interest  in  railroad 
enterprises,  which  tended  to  the  development  of  the  country.  In 
1868  he  was  active  in  procuring  a  subscription,  by  Forsyth  county,  of 
$100,000,  to  the  Northwestern  North  Carolina  railroad;  in  1878,  he 
was  largely  instrumental  in  organizing  the  Salem,  Winston  &  Moores- 
ville  railroad,  and  later  on,  the  Salem,  Winston  &  Madison  railroad, 
afterward  consolidated  into  the  North  Carolina  Midland  road.  Other 
important  roads  are  indebted  to  him  for  existence,  and  he  has  be- 
come  an    authority    in   railroad    matters.     He    is   a   director  in  the 


H — ■ 


JD 


546  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

Northwestern  North  Carolina,  the  North  Carolina  Midland,  and  the 
Roanoke  &  Southern  railroads. 

Mr.  Hinshaw  was  one  of  the  first  to  suggest  the  graded  school 
system  for  the  state,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  establishing  the 
school  in  Winston.  He  has  closely  identified  himself  with  city 
improvements,  led  off  in  establishing  city  water  works,  was  the  first 
to  move  in  organizing  the  People's  National  bank,  of  which  he  is  a 
director  and  vice-president;  obtained  a  charter  for  the  \Yinston  Land 
&  Improvement  company,  of  which  he  is  president  and  the  largest 
stockholder;  has  several  times  served  as  town  commissioner  and 
town  treasurer,  and  is  now  trustee  for  a  company  owning  about  60,- 
000  acres  of  valuable  mineral  lands,  in  which  he  also  is  a  large  stock- 
holder. He  has  taken  a  lively  hand  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the 
farming  community,  by  instituting  fairs  and  expositions  which  have 
proved  successful.  He  possesses  every  quality  for  a  first-class  busi- 
ness man,  is  quiet  and  unassuming,  devoted  to  his  family  and  is  a 
general  favorite  in  society.  No  man  takes  a  deeper  interest  in  the 
growth  and  development  of  his  town  or  in  the  education,  culture  and 
improvement  of  the  society  in  which  he  moves. 

J.  A.  VANCE. 

Joseph  Addison  Vance  was  born  in  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  De- 
cember 4,  1 85 1.  Having  received  a  fair  schooling  in  his  native 
county,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  left  his  native  town  and  removed 
to  Winston,  where  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  followed  it 
for  about  ten  years.  In  1880  he  established  a  foundry  and  machine 
shop,  and  in  August,  iSgo,  Mr.  W.  F.Shaffner  became  associated  with 
him  in  the  concern.  They  are  among  the  most  extensive  manufac- 
turers of  machinery  in  the  county.  Mr.  Vance  is  a  member  of  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.  In  April,  1S7Q,  he  married  Miss  Adelaide  J.  Fogle,  a 
daughter  of  Augustus  Fogle,  of  Salem,  N.  C,  and  three  children, 
named  as  follows,  have  been  born  to  them:  Clara  R.,  Lucy  L.,  and 
Horace  H.  Vance.  Joseph  A.  Vance  is  the  son  of  W^illiam  M.  Vance, 
who  was  born  in  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  in  1819.  He  has  always 
been  engaged  in  planting,  and  is  an  upright  and  honored  citizen*  For 
a  number  of  j'ears  just  after  the  late  Civil  war  he  held  the  office  of 
magistrate.  In  1841  he  married  Miss  Heptsa  J.  Smith,  daughter  of 
Adam  Smith,  of  Nantucket  Island,  and  seven  children  have  blessed 
their  union,  named:  John  S.,  Laura  A.,  wife  of  W.  W.  Fulp;  Vir-. 
gil  P.,  Joseph  A.,  Mary  L.,  wife  of  W.  S.  Linville;  Dewitt  M.,  and 
Alice,  wife  of  F.  H.  Morris.  All  these  children  reside  in  Forsyth 
county.  The  mother  passed  away  in  August,  1889.  The  father  of 
William  M.  Vance  was  John  \'ance,  who  was  born  in  Porsj'th 
county,,  N.  C,  in  1795.  He  was  an  extensive  planter  and  tobacco 
manufacturer,  and  lived  a  life  of  usefulness  and  honor.  His  demise 
occurred  in  1879.  His  father  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  came  to 
America  in  his  early  manhood.     He  became  a  farmer.     Two  of  his 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  547 

sons  settled  in  North  Carolina  and  one  went  west.  One  of  the 
sons  who  came  to  North  Carolina  located  in  Mecklenburg  cc)unty, 
and  was  the  grandfather  of  the  Hon.  Zebuion  15.  \'ance,  United  States 
senator,  and  ex-governor  of  the  state 


C.  A.  HEGE. 

Constantine  Alexander  Hege  was  born  near  Friedburg  (Mora- 
vian church),  in  Davidson  county,  N.  C,  on  March  13,  1S43. 
His  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm,  going  to  school  during  a  portion 
of  the  winter  months.  In  the  spring  of  1S57,  he  attended  the  Mora- 
vian boy's  school,  at  Salem,  N.  C,  and  a  portion  of  the  years  of  1859 
and  i860,  went  to  school  at  the  Yadkin  institute,  in  Davidson  county 
N.  C.  Soon  after  this  the  Civil  war  broke  out,  and  he  being  a  Mora- 
vian (and  from  principle  averse  from  going  to  war) ,  took  no  active 
part  in  the  strife.  However,  in  the  summer  of  1862,  he,  with  many 
more  of  the  Moravians  of  his  neighborhood,  was  forced  to  take  up 
arms  and  serve  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  was  assigned  to  Com- 
pany H,  Forty-eighth  regiment,  North  Carolina  infantry,  where  he 
served  for  fourteen  months,  during  which  time  he,  with  his  regiment, 
was  in  some  of  the  hard-fought  battles,  among  which  were  South 
Mountain,  Ya.,  Sharpsburg  or  Antietam,  Md.,  and  a  number  of  skir- 
mishes. Yet  he  came  through  it  all  without  a  single  wound,  although 
many  of  his  comrades  were  killed  and  wounded  all  around  him. 
While  in  the  hottest  of  the  battle  at  Bristow  Station,  \'a.,  on  October. 
14,  1863,  he  was  taken  prisoner  of  war  by  the  Federal  troops,  and  then 
sent  to  the  Old  Capitol  prison,  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  he  was 
held  a  prisoner  of  war  for  five  months,  during  which  time  he  was 
visited  by  some  former  residents  of  his  native  county,  and  members 
of  the  Moravian  church,  but  then  residing  in  Washington.  Among 
them  were  A.  N.  Zevely,  the  third  assistant  postmaster-general,  and 
Prof.  Hedrick,  who  was  then  in  the  patent  office.  In  consultation 
with  these  friends,  he  decided  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States,  and  go  to  Bethlehem,  Penn.,  it  being  a  Moravian  town. 
Therefore,  on  the  14th  of  March,  1864,  he  was  released  from  prison 
and  at  once  proceeded  to  Bethlehem,  Penn.,  where  he  met  many 
warm  friends,  and  at  once  sought  employment.  He  worked  in  vari- 
ous capacities  in  the  Bethlehem  Iron  works,  which  laid  the  founda- 
tion for  his  I)usiness  in  after  lif{!.  ■  He  thus  remained  in  Bethlehem, 
Penn.,  until  after  the  war  closed,  and  in  August,  1865,  he  again  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  North  Carolina.  In  May,  1866,  he  went  to 
Philadelphia,  Penn.,  and  entered  the  Bryant  &  Stratton  Commercial 
college.  After  completing  a  commercial  course,  he  accepted  a  posi- 
sition  with  Messrs.  Weikle  &  Smith,  of  133  North  P>ont  street,  Phila- 
delphia, Penn.,  where  he  remained  until  the  following  winter,  then 
returned  home  to  start  in  the  mercantile  business  himself.  In  the 
spring  of  1867  he  started  a  small  country  store,  with  a  cousin  of  his, 
near  his  former  home  at  l<"riedburg,  N.  C,  but  being  of  a  decided 


548  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

mechanical  turn  of  mind,  after  some  years  of  mercantile  life  he  de- 
cided to  quit  this  business.  He  then  moved  to  Salem,  N.  C.  There, 
in  the  spring  of  1873,  he  started  a  small  foundry,  but  having  lost  all 
his  capital  in  his  mercantile  venture,  he  had  hard  struggling,  but  as 
he  was  now  in  his  natural  element,  by  hard  work,  close  attention  to 
business,  and  determinedly  sticking  to  it,  he  was  soon  able  to  buy  a 
small  iron  lathe  and  drill  which  he  operated  for  nearly  a  year,  by  a 
one  horse  power  lever.  Then  he  obtained  a  small  steam  engine  and 
boiler,  bought  another  lathe,  and  erected  a  small  machine  shop.  In 
1877  he  obtained  a  patent  on  an  improved  set  works  for  circular  saw 
mills,  and  at  once  began  the  manufacture  of  saw  mills,  for  which  an 
extensive  trade  was  built  up  in  a  few  years.  From  this  time  his  suc- 
cess has  exceeded  his  then  most  sanguine  expectations,  as  now 
(iSqi),  his  manufacture  of  wood  working  machinery,  and  more  es- 
pecially the  Hege  saw  mills,  are  well  and  favorably  known  and  ex- 
tensively sold  in  over  twenty-five  states  of  the  United  States,  and 
several  foreign  countries.  His  shop,  known  as  the  Salem  Iron  works, 
Salem,  N.  C,  is  now  one  of  the  best  equipped  works  of.  its  kind  in 
the  state  of  North  Carolina. 

C.  A.  Hege  was  married  March  10,  1870,  to  Frances  Mary  Spaugh, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Melvina  Spaugh,  then  residing  near  New 
Philadelphia  Moravian  church,  some  five  miles  west  of  Salem,  N.  C. 
To  them  were  born  three  children,  as  follows:  Walter  Julius  Hege, 
October  28,  1873;  Ella  Florence  Hege,  March  i,  1875,  and  Rosa  Es- 
telle  Hege,  December  6,  18S3.  Our  subject's  father's  name  was  Sol- 
•omon  Hege,  who  was  born  in  Davidson  county,  N.  C,  near  Friedburg 
Church,  on  November  6,  1813.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
was  married  on  the  28th  of  December,  1841,  to  Catherine  Guinther, 
who  was  born  August  18,  1S13.  They  had  five  children,  viz.:  Con- 
stantine  Alexander  Hege,  born  March  13,  1843;  Julia  Elizabeth  Hege, 
iJecember  6,  1845,  died  October  11,  1846;  Mary  Louisa  Hege, 
March  25,  1848;  Susan  Celest  Hege,  August  28,  1850;  Julius  Augustus 
Hege,  February  4.  1854.  Mr.  Hege's  father  died  August  24,  1875,  and 
his  mother  June  8,  1874.  The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  David  Hege,  who  was  born  at  Bethania,  N.  C.  (then  in  Stokes 
county),  on  July  21,  1777.  His  occupation  was  farming.  On  Decem- 
ber I,  1801,  he  married  Elizabeth  Hoens,  by  whom  he  had  five  chil- 
dren, viz.:  Thomas,  born  October  12,  1803;  John,  August  28,  1805; 
David,  February  6,  1809;  Catherine,  August  18,  181 1,  and  Solomon, 
December  14, 1813.  Our  subject's  great-grandfather's  name  was  John 
Belthaser  Hege.  He  was  born  in  Hansen,  in  Wurtemburg,  October  31, 
1714,  and  in  1757  was  married  to  Maria  Julian  Fry,  who  was  born 
February  17,  1735.  They  had  the  following  children,  viz.:  Juliana, 
born  May  6,  1761;  Martha  Elizabeth,  November  12,  1763;  Lazarus 
John,  August  19,  1766;  Anna  Rosina,  July  2,  1769;  Christian,  Decem- 
ber 30,  1771;  Sarah,  October  14,  1774,  and  David,  July  21,  1777.  Mr. 
Hege's  father's  ancestors  were  of  German,  and  his  mother  of  English, 
extraction. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  5  49 


HERMON  HUSBANDS. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  figured  largel}-  in  North  Carolina  as 
the  chief  leader  of  the  regulation.  He  came  to  this  colony  probably 
from  Pennsylvania  about  1756,  and  finally  settled  on  Sandy  creek, 
now  in  Randolph  county,  where  he  had  a  good  farm  of  some  3,000 
acres,  and  cultivated  it  with  industrj'  and  intelligent  skill.  He  was  a 
man  of  integrity,  and  good  morals  in  his  daily  life.  He  was  of 
Quaker  raising,  and  was  a  public  speaker  of  high  standing  in  that 
society'  when  he  came  to  Carolina.  Though  not  well  educated,  he 
appears  to  have  joined  a  plain,  practical  education  to  a  robust  mind 
and  habits  of  observation.  In  1766  the  regulation  movement  began  in 
Granville  county,  and  soon  afterward  Husbands  became  a  leader  in 
it.  He  drew  up  all  the  papers  and  resolutions  of  the  regulators,  and 
was  very  active,  and  became  extremely  obnoxious  to  the  government. 
Among  his  principal  coadjutors  was  Rednap  Howell,  who  is  said  to 
have  come  from  New  Jersej',  and  who  taught  a  common  school  on 
Deep  river.  Howell  was  a  poet,  and  his  songs  and  ditties  contrib- 
uted largely  to  stir  the  popular  heart,  while  he  himself  moved  about 
with  rapidity  organizing  and  preparing  the  people  for  such  action  as 
was  desired.  In  1768  Husbands  and  Howell  and  others  raised  a  riot 
in  Hillsboro;  Husbands  was  arrested  for  it,  but  on  the  trial  was  ac- 
quitted. The  agitation  continued  with  increasing  violence,  and  in 
September,  1770,  the  court  at  Hillsboro  was  broken  up,  and  Husbands 
and  others  severely  whipped  lawyer  Williams,  afterward  the  judge 
of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state.  They  whipped  Col.  Fanning,  the 
clerk,  and  demolished  his  house  and  furniture. 

The  regulators  had  earnestly  requested  Gov.  Tryon  to  call  a  new 
assembly,  and  in  1770  he  ordered  the  election  of  a  new  house. 
Husbands  was  returned  as  a  member  from  Orange.  When  the  body 
met  at  Newbern  in  December,  1770,  he  attended  and  caused  to  be 
published  in  the  Gazette  a  statement  signed  by  James  Hunter,  which 
was  a  libel  on  judge  Moore.  He  was  examined  on  the  matter,  and 
the  house  found  him  guilty  of  falsehood  in  his  testimony.  There 
was  some  talk  about  his  being  put  in  contempt  of  the  house  and 
confined  by  its  order.  He  asserted  that  if  the  house  should  confine 
him  the  people  would  march  to  Xewbern  and  release  him.  This 
threat  was  taken  as  an  insult  and  the  house,  December  20th,  1770, 
expelled  him.  He  was  thereupon  arrested  on  court  process  for  his 
libel  on  Judge  Moore,  but  eventually  the  court  released  him.  In  the 
meantime  the  regulators,  hearing  of  his  arrest,  embodied  and 
marched  toward  Newbern  to  release  him  by  force.  They  crossed 
Haw  river  below  Pittsboro,  but  had  not  proceeded  far  when 
Husbands,  returning  home,  met  them.  That  assembly  passed  strin- 
gent laws  against  the  regulators,  and  Husbands,  Howell  and  others 
were  indicted  at  Newbern  for  their  riot  at  Hillsboro.  This  set  the 
county  in  a  roar,  and  Gov.  Tryon  marched  into  the  upper  countrj-, 
where   the   battle   of    Alamance  took  place.     Husbands  fled,  and  a 


55°  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

proclamation  of  outlawry  was  issued  for  him  and  Rednap  Howell. 
Tryon  moved  his  army  to  Sandy  creek  and  destroyed  Husbands' 
fine  fields  of  clover  and  wheat.  Husbands  was  next  heard  of  with  a 
dozen  of  his  followers  in  upper  Maryland,  where  an  attempt  was 
made  to  capture  him;  and  then  he  located  not  far  from  Pittsburg, 
Penn.  Two  of  his  sons  settled  on  Deep  river,  near  Buffalo  Ford; 
and  a  daughter,  who  married  a  man  named  Wright,  also  lived  in  the 
same  neighborhood.     Husbands  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  1795. 

RICHARD  J.  REYNOLDS. 

The  place  which  the  state  of  North  Carolina  holds  among  the 
tobacco  raising  states  of  the  Union  has  only  been  gained  by  enter- 
prise and  persevering  industry.  As  this  is  the  great  industry  of  the 
community,  the  credit  for  this  great  prosperit}'  lies  with  those  who 
have  made  it  their  life  work  to  advance  their  state  in  this  particular. 
Among  the  largest  and  most  important  concerns  in  the  business  is  the 
R.  J.  Reynolds  Tobacco  company,  of  which  Richard  J.  Reynolds  is  the 
chief.  Mr.  Reynolds  comes  of  an  old  and  intiuential  southern  family, 
and  was  born  in  Patrick  county,  Va.,  July  20,  1853.  His  father,  H.  W. 
Reynolds,  was  born  in  Patrick  county,  Va.,  in  181 2,  and  prior  to  the 
late  war  was  one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  largest,  tobacco  planter 
in  the  Old  Dominion.  He  was  also  a  large  slaveholder,  and  in  the 
early  days  of  his  state  was  a  captain  in  her  militia  service.  In  1841 
he  married  Nancy  J.  Co.x,  a  daughter  of  Joshua  Cox,  who  was  the 
son  of  Joshua  Cox,  a  distinguished  captain  in  the  Revolution,  and 
whose  history  is  known  to  the  biographers  of  that  trying  time.  To 
this  marriage  fifteen  children  were  born,  the  six  living  ones  being 
Abram  D.,  who  was  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  service  when  but 
si.xteen  years  of  age;  and  before  his  seventeenth  year  was  given  the 
rank  of  major.  He  now  resides  at  Bristol,  Tenn;  Richard  J.,  of  Wins- 
ton, N.  C;  Hardin  H.,  also  of  Winston;  Lucy  B.,  wife  of  Robert 
Critz,  of  Bristol,  Tenn;  William  N.,  of  Winston,  and  Walter  R.  Rey- 
nolds, a  resident  of  Bristol,  Tenn.  The  father  died  in  18S5,  his  widow 
still  surviving  him.  H.  W.  Reynolds  was  the  son  of  Abram  Reynolds, 
who  was  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  having  emigrated  to  Virginia  in 
his  youth.  He  was  a  planter.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
and  soon  after  the  Revolution  came  to  the  new  world. 

Mr.  Richard  J.  Reynolds,  of  whom  we  will  now  write  more  partic- 
ularly, was  educated  in  the  Emor}'  and  Henr}'  college,  in  Virginia, 
and  then  completed  a  course  in  Bryant  &  Stratton's  business  college 
at  Baltimore.  Leaving  the  latter  institution  in  1S74,  he  then  went  to 
Patrick  county,  Va.,  and  there  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  tobacco 
for  one  year.  In  1S75  he  came  to  Winston,  N.  C,  where  he  estab- 
lished the  house  of  R.  J.  Reynolds,  and  in  1888  he  took  his  brother, 
Mr.  W.  N.  Reynolds,  into  partnership,  and  about  this  time  Mr.  Henry 
Roan  also  being  received  as  a  partner,  the  firm  name  became  R.  J. 
Reynolds  Tobacco  company.  This  extensive  company  has  a  very 
large  trade,  and  is  considered  as  one  of  the  leading  firms  in  the  busi- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  551 

ness.  Its  head,  Mr.  R.J.  Reynolds,  is  possessed  of  unusual  business 
ability,  is  progressive  and  keen,  and  liis  integrity  is  unimpeachable. 
Although  he  has  from  earl}'  manhood  been  a  stanch  and  prominent 
supporter  of  the  democratic  party,  he  has  never  sought  office,  being 
content  to  lend  his  influence  and  strength  to  the  elevation  of  others. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 


ABEL  PETERSON   RHYNE 

is  the  second  son  and  third  child  of  Moses  H.  and  Margaret  (Hoff- 
man) Rhjme.  He  was  born  in  Gaston  county,  N.  C,  thirteen  miles 
from  Charlotte,  February  29,  1844.  Attending  the  schools  of  the 
neighborhood,  he  worked  on  the  farm  with  his  father  until  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war,  when  he,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany H,  Forty-ninth  North  Carolina  regiment.  This  regiment  did 
active  service  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina  during  the  first  year  of 
the  war,  and  later  went  to  Virginia.  With  his  regiment,  Mr.  Rhyne 
took  part  in  the  battles  of  Harper's  Ferry,  Antietam,  Sharpsburg, 
Culpeper  Court  House,  first  fight  at  Fredericksburg,  Boone's  Mills, 
Gum  Swamps,  Deep  Gull}'  and  others.  At  Gettysburg,  on  account  of 
sickness,  Mr.  Rhyne  was  given  a  furlough,  and  while  at  home  was 
taken  a  prisoner  and  carried  to  Dallas,  where  he  was  subsequently 
paroled.  After  the  war,  Mr.  Rhyne  resumed  his  work  on  the  farm 
with  his  father.  Later  he  entered  the  Mount  Holly  high  school, 
taught  by  A.  J.  Harrison,  and  after  one  year's  attendance  at  this  insti- 
tution, taught  school  for  five  months.  He  then  purchased  the  Hoffman 
plantation,  and  at  the  same  time  conducted  a  mercantile  establishment 
at  Mount  Holly.  He  continued  merchandising  until  1S70,  in  which 
year  he  became  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton.  He  pur- 
chased a  one-fourth  interest  in  the  Woodlawn  mills,  and  taking  charge 
of  these,  acted  as  manager  until  1873,  when  he  sold  his  share  and 
purchased  the  Rankin  plantation  at  Mount  Holly.  In  the  latter  part 
of  1874,  Mr.  Rhyne  bought  Rudisel  Shoal  on  i_)utchman's  creek  near 
Mount  Holly,  and  here  in  1875  began  the  erection  of  a  cotton  mill, 
which  was  completed  in  April,  1876,  and  which -bears  the  name  of 
Mount  Holly  mills.  The  Tuckaseege  mills  were  constructed  on  the 
Catawba  in  1S83,  and  in  1890  the  Albion  mills  at  Mount  Holly  were 
built.-  All  these  mills  are  in  operation  and  are  prosperous  institutions, 
run  by  A.  P.  Rhyne,  warps  and  yarns  being  the  articles  manufactured. 
Over  300  laborers  are  given  employment.  In  connection  with  his 
milling,  Mr.  Rhyne  conducts  a  large  mercantile  establishment.  As  a 
business  man  he  is  practical  and  successful,  full  of  energy  and  pluck. 
He  began  life  with  limited  capital  and  his  success  has  been  phenom- 
enal. He  has  never  aspired  to  political  honors,  preferring  to  lead  the 
life  of  the  prosperous  and  useful  citizen.  Mr.  Rhyne  is  identified 
with  the  Lutheran  church.  October  22,  1872,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Martha  ].,  daughter  of  Ambrose  Costner,  of  Lincoln  county,  N.  C. 
Unto  this  union  si.x  children   have  been  born,  namely:    Augusta  G., 


552  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Walter  G.,  Henry  A.,  Lillie  C,  Susan  j\I.  and  Helen  A.  Mr.  Rhyne 
is  a  self-made  man,  and  his  success  in  life  is  largely  due  to  his  excel- 
lent qualities  as  a  man  of  culture  and  a  high  sense  of  honon 

HENRY  W.  COBB, 

one  of  the  leading  tobacco  dealers  oi.  Guilford  county,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  January  21,  1866.  He  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  Caswell  county  and  at  the  Eastman  business 
college  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  In  1879  he  went  to  Danville,  Va.,  and 
until  1883  was  employed  in  a  mercantile  establishment  in  that  city. 
In  1884  he  accepted  the  management  of  Mr.  O.  W.  Dudley's  tobacco 
warehouse,  and  held  that  position  for  one  year.  In  1885  he  removed 
to  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  embarked  in  the  leaf-tobacco  business  on 
his  own  account.  He  started  in  a  modest  way,  but  such  has  been  his 
success  that  he  has  been  obliged  to  increase  the  capacity  of  his  ware- 
houses four  times  since  he  first  started  in  the  trade.  Miss  Jennie  B. 
Scales,  a  daughter  of  Col.  J.  I.  Scales,  now  deceased,  but  during  his 
life  a  prominent  attorney  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  during  the  late 
war  a  colonel  of  a  Mississippi  regiment,  became  his  wife  in  1887. 
Mrs.  Cobb  is  the  niece  of  ex-Gov.  A.  M.  Scales,  of  North  Carolina. 
One  child,  Effie,  is  the  issue  of  this  happy  marriage.  Henry  W. 
Cobb  was  the  father  of  our  subject.  He  was  born  in  Caswell  county, 
N.  C.,  June  13,  1S22.  He  was  a  prominent  planter  of  Caswell  county, 
and  died  there  in  1876. 

B.  L.  JONES. 

One  of  the  great  industies  of  the  thriving  city  of  Beaufort,  N.  C, 
is  that  of  shipping  fish  and  oysters  to  northern  markets.  This  enter- 
prise gives  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men,  as  large  factories 
have  been  erected  there  for  the  canning  of  oysters  and  manufacture 
of  fish  scraps  and  oil.  Of  the  few  progressive  men  who  have  b}^  their 
energy  and  business  foresight  made  this  happy  state  of  affairs  possible 
is  Mr.  Benjamin  L.  Jones,  who,  in  connection  with  Mr.  W.  S.  Chad- 
wick  and  J.  S.  Caffrey,  is  extensively  interested  in  this  business.  Mr. 
Jones  is  a  native  of  Beaufort,  having  first  seen  the  light  there  on  the 
i8th  of  June,  1838.  His  parei.ts,  John  and  Susan  Jane  (Bell)  Jones, 
were  also  natives  of  Carteret  county,  N.  C.  John  Jones  was  the  son 
and  namesake  of  John  Jones,  a  Virginian,  who  removed  to  Beaufort 
in  his  early  manhood.  He  was  a  sea  captain  for  many  years,  and  in 
later  life  was  engaged  in  agriculture.  His  son,  John,  was  born  in 
1810.  His  scholastic  training  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  his  na- 
tive state.  He  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  early  life  and  labored  in  his  honored  calling  for  many  years 
with  signal  success.  In  1879  he  was  called  home  to  his  Master,  and 
his  life  and  influence  is  left  as  a  noble  heritage  to  those  who  shall 
come  after.  His  first  wife  died  in  early  life,  leaving  seven  children, 
one  other  having  preceded  her  in  death,  five  of  the  seven  children 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  553 

are  living,  viz.:  William  C,  Benjamin  L.,  Michael  F.,  Susan  J.  and 
Sarah  E.  The  father  was  married  a  second  time,  Sarah  C.  Davis 
becoming  his  wife.  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Davis,  of  Florida,  and  a  deceased 
daughter,  Emil^-  C,  by  name,  who  died  in  early  life,  were  the  issue  of 
this  union.  Benjamin  L.  Jones  was  given  a  practical  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  his  native  town.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the 
Confederate  army  a  member  of  Company  D,  Sixty-seventh  North 
Carolina  infantry,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  leaving  the 
service  with  the  rank  of  quartermaster-sergeant. 

Peace  having  been  declared  between  north  and  south,  Mr.  Jones 
settled  in  Beaufort,  as  a  clerk  in  the  mercantile  establishment  of 
Capt.  Thomas  Duncan,  with  whom  he  remained  until  1S71,  when  he 
established  a  business  of  his  own.  Two  years  later  Mr.  Jones  became 
associated  with  Mr.  W.  S.  Chadwick  in  the  mercantile  business,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Chadwick  &  Jones,  and  this  partnership  existed 
until  iSqo,  in  which  year  they  dissolved  co-partnership.  During  this 
time  chadwick  &  Jones  had  become  verj-  extensively  interested  in 
the  fish  business,  and  they  formed  a  company  known  as  the  Carteret 
County  Fish  Oil  and  Guano  company.  These  gentlemen  are  still  in- 
terested together  in  this  and  other  ventures.  Bj'  the  exercise  of  his 
undoubted  business  abilities  and  the  most  rigid  integrity,  Mr.  Jones 
has  become  prosperous,  and  he  has  done  much  to  the  building  up  of 
the  community  in  which  he  lives.  The  beautiful  building  known  as 
the  Beaufort  high  school  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  generosity  anci 
public  spirit  of  Mr.  Jones  and  others.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the 
democratic  party  in  his  section  of  the  state,  and  has  been  treasurer 
of  Carteret  count}'.  He  is  also  a  prominent  communicant  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  is  a  steward  in  the  Beaufort 
church  of  that  denomination.  His  domestic  life  has  been  most 
happy,  he  having  married  Miss  Orpha  Neal  Gibbs,  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  Lockhert  Gibbs,  of  Carteret  county,  in  i8bS.  John  L.,  Hugh  C, 
William  H.  and  Mary  G.  were  the  children  born  to  this  union.  H.  C, 
the  only  child  living,  is  now  connected  with  his  father  in  mercantile 
business.  As  one  who  has  done  much  to  enchance  the  industrial 
growth  of  his  town,  elevate  the  people  by  making  a  more  extended 
education  possible,  and  who  has  furnished  to  the  young  men  of  the 
community  an  example  worthy  of  their  following,  it  is  eminently 
proper  that  a  sketch  of  Benjamin  L.  Jones  should  appear  in  this 
volume. 

BENJAMIN  L.  PERRY, 

manager  of  the  Carteret  Oyster  company,  of  Beaufort,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  tliat  city  November  7,  1841,  the  son  of  B.  L.  and  Elizabeth 
(Manney)  Perry.  The  parents  were  natives  of  Beaufort,  and  were 
prominent  and  highlj'  esteemed  residents  of  that  city.  The  father 
for  many  years  held  an  influential  position  in  the  community  as  clerk 
and  master  in  equity,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  was  agent  for 
the  board  of  underwriters.     He  died  in  1868.     He  was  a  steward  and 


554  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

trustee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  was  also  a 
member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  His  wife  survived  him  until  1879.  The 
six  children  born  to  this  marriage  were  all  reared  to  maturit}',  and 
three  of  them  are  now  living,  viz.:  Edward,  a  merchant  at  Newbern; 
Frederick,  proprietor  of  the  Newbern  House,  at  Morehead  city,  and 
Benjamin  L.  The  latter  was  graduated  from  the  University  at 
Chapel  Hill,  and  in  1S68  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Atlantic 
hotel,  at  Beaufort,  which  he  conducted  successfully  for  three  years, 
after  which  he  removed  to  Wilmington,  and  took  charge  of  the  Pur- 
cell  house  there.  For  six  years  he  was  connected  with  the  latter 
house,  and  for  one  year  operated  a  hotel  at  Carolina  Beach,  a  lead- 
ing summer  resort.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  ]\Ir.  Perry  acted 
as  agent  for  the  underwriters'  exchange  for  several  years,  and  in  iSgo 
accepted  the  position  he  now  occupies,  as  general  manager  of  the 
Carteret  Oyster  company.  Mr.  Perry  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Sec- 
ond North  Carolina  regiment,  in  May,  1S61,  and  subsequently  was 
transferred  to  the  Fifty-eighth  North  Carolina,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  In  1868  Miss  Etta  Duncan,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Duncan,  Esq.,  became  his  wife,  and  their  children  are:  Frank,  a 
civil  engineer  now  engaged  on  the  United  States  River  &  Harbor 
Improvement  survey  corps;  John  and  Etta.  Mr.  Perry  is  a  promi- 
nent Mason,  and  himself  and  family  are  communicants  of  the  Episco- 
pal church,  in  which  he  is  a  vestryman. 

EDWARD  C.  DUNCAN. 

One  of  the  leading  connections  of  Beaufort,  N.  C,  is  the  Duncan 
family.  Mr.  Edward  C.  Duncan,  the  present  collector  of  customs  at 
the  port  of  Beaufort,  was  born  in  that  city,  Marcl^  28,  1S62,  and  is  a 
son  of  William  B.  Duncan,  who  first  saw  the  light  in  Beaufort  on  the 
13th  of  June,  1835.  The  latter  was  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Duncan, 
who  was  born  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Beaufort.  Thomas  Duncan,  Jr.,  son  of  Thomas,  and  father  of 
William  B.  Duncan,  was  born  in  Beaufort.  He  was  a  sea  captain  for 
several  years,  and  later  entered  mercantile  life  in  his  native  city,  and 
also  engaged  as  a  vessel  builder.  He  was  a  very  influential  man  in 
the  community  and  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  whig  party.  He 
married  Miss  Eliscia  Howland,  and  they  had  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren. William  B.  Duncan  married  Miss  Sarah  A.  Ramsey,  by  whom 
he  had  six  children,  the  three  now  living  being:  W'illiam  E.,  Thomas 
and  Edward  C,  all  residents  of  Beaufort.  His  first  wife  dying,  he 
married,  sometime  later.  Miss  Emily  F.  Jones,  and  their  five  living 
children  are:  David  J.,  Emily  E.,  Julius  F.,  James  E.  and  Lillian. 
The  father  was  a  leading  merchant  of  Beaufort  for  many  years,  and 
for  a  long  time  was  a  director  of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  R.  R.,  and  was  at  one 
time  station  agent  for  that  road  at  Morehead  City,  and  also  agent  for 
the  Clyde  line  of  steamers.  He  was  treasurer  of  Carteret  county  for 
a  t.erm,  and  was  elected  the  first  mayor  of  Beaufort  after  the  close  of 
the   Civil   war.     He  is  now  retired   from  active  business  life,  and  re- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  555 

sides  in  Beaufort.  He  has  been  prominent  in  church  work  since  early 
manhood,  and  is  now  secretary  of  the  board  of  stewards  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  south,  and  also  president  of  the  missionary 
society,  and  treasurer  of  the  Sabbath-school  of  the  Beaufort  church. 
Edward  C.  Duncan  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  He  en- 
tered upon  his  business  career  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Thomas  & 
E.  C.  Duncan,  merchants,  and  has  since  been  quite  extensively  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  and  cotton  speculation.  In  1880  he  established 
the  first  steam  cotton-gin  ever  in  Carteret  county,  and  operated  the 
same  until  1S8S.  For  a  time  he  served  as  captain  of  the  steamer 
"  Margerie,"  which  plys  between  Beaufort  and  points  on  the  New 
river.  March  28,  1890,  President  Harrison  appointed  him  collector 
of  customs  for  the  port  of  Beaufort,  and  he  now  holds  that  office. 
Mr.  Duncan  has  been  most  active  and  efficient  in  the  republican 
party,  and  is  recognized  as  a  leader  in  that  political  body  in  his  sec- 
tion of  the  state.  He  resigned  the  office  of  commissioner  of  naviga- 
tion to  accept  the  one  he  now  holds,  and  his  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  this  most  important  office  has  been  as  satisfactory  as  well  as  his  in- 
cumbenc}'  of  the  former  position. 

DANIEL  BELL. 

One  of  the  prominent  merchants  of  Morehead  City,  N.C.,  is  Dan- 
iel Bell,  who  was  born  in  the  village  of  Bear  Banks,  Onslow  county, 
N.  C,  on  the  24th  of  February,  184.6.  His  parents  were  William  B. 
and  Hannah  (Wade)  Bell,  both  natives  of  Carteret  county,  N.  C. 
The  father  was  captain  of  a  sailing  vessel,  and  followed  the  sea  all 
his  life.  He  died  in  Carteret  county  in  1S51,  his  wife  surviving 
him  until  1882.  The  son,  Daniel,  was  reared  in  Carteret  county, 
where  he  received  a  very  limited  education,  as,  upon  the  death  of  his 
father,  his  services  were  required  to  help  support  his  mother  and  two 
smaller  brothers.  The  boy  was  not  daunted  by  the  thought  of  hard 
work,  and  started  his  business  career  as  a  fisherman.  He  saved 
enough  money  to  enable  him  to  establish  a  very  small  business,  and 
in  1867  he  embarked  in  the  fish  and  oyster  trade  at  Morehead  City, 
and  shipped  his  goods  to  Goldsboro,  and  points  along  the  line  of  the 
A.  &  N.  C.  railroad.  His  thrift  and  enterprise  were  rewarded  from 
the  start  by  success,  and  the  business  steadily  grew,  until  it  is  now 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  state.  In  1883,  he 
erected  a  menhaden  fish  factory  and  now  has  two  of  these  factories 
in  operation,  and  besides  he  is  engaged  as  a  catcher  of  porpoises. 
In  1887  Mr.  Bell  opened  his  present  mercantile  house,  which  is  very 
extensive  at  this  time.  In  January,  1874,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
secure  Miss  Julia  W.  Gaskill,  daughter  of  Gilford  Gaskill,  of  North 
Carolina,  as  his  wife,  and  their  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth 
of  five  children,  viz.:  Lillie,  Mary,  Olive,  Daniel,  Jr.,  and  John.  Mr. 
Bell  is  an  ardent  democrat,  and  has  served  on  the  board  of  town 
commissioners,  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  is  a 
prominent   member   of  the  Baptist  church,  being  a  member  of  the 


5=^6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

finance  committee  of  the  Morehead  society.  As  a  self-made  man  who 
has  grasped  opportunity  and  turned  it  into  possession,  he  is  entitled 
to  respect,  and  his  name  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  throughout  the 
community.  As  a  citizen  he  has  shown  himself  liberal  minded  and 
progressive. 

HON.  ROBERT  T.  HODGES, 

sheriff  of  Beaufort  county,  was  born  in  that  county  on  the  20th  of 
September,  1S34,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Sally  (Perry)  Hodges, 
natives  of  Beaufort  and  Martin  counties,  respectively.  The  father 
was  a  prominent  citizen,  and  for  many  years  was  a  deacon  in  the 
Primitive  Baptist  church.  His  demise  occurred  in  18S0,  and  his  wife 
died  in  the  same  year.  Their  eight  children  were,  Henry,  deceased; 
Francis  P.,  of  Beaufort  county;  John  G.,  deceased;  Edwin  G., 
deceased;  Noah  B.  (deceased)  was  second  lieutenant  in  Captain 
Triff's  company  in  the  Confederate  army;  Louisa,  wife  of  John 
Wood,  of  Martin  county,  N.  C;  Robert  T.,  and  James  W.,  a  resident 
of  Beaufort  county.  Robert  T.  Hodges  received  a  competent  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  county.  He  remained  on  the 
homestead  for  several  years,  and  was  engaged  in  agriculture,  and- 
was  also  extensively  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  In 
1882  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Beaufort  county,  and  in  the  same  year 
was  made  treasurer  of  the  county.  For  six  years  he  served  as  a 
commissioner  of  the  county,  and  was  the  first  democratic  justice  of 
the  peace  ever  elected  in  his  native  township,  and  the  only  man  on 
the  ticket  who  was  successful.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, and  also  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  His  marriage  to  Miss  Annie 
E.  Latham,  daughter  of  Dempsey  Latham,  of  the  county,  was 
solemnized  in  1855,  and  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  three  children, 
named  as  follows:  Helen,  wife  of  Walter  Jones,  of  Washington, 
N.  C;  Jimmie  and  Jennie  Gray  Hodges.  The  family  are  communi- 
cants of  the  Christian  church.  Mr.  Hodges  has  been  a  most  success- 
'  ful  and  efficient  official,  and  his  continued  retention  in  the  important 
offices  he  has  held  speaks  for  his  popularity  with  the  people.  He  is 
able,  progressive  and  upright,  and  his  name  is  honored  wherever 
known. 

HON.  GOETHE  WILKENS, 

clerk  of  the  circuit  and  superior  courts  of  Beaufort  county,  N.  C,  is 
a  native  of  Sweden,  his  birth  having  taken  place  at  Carlscrona,  on 
the  2nd  of  September,  1S51,  his  parents  being  Rudolph  and  Charlotte 
(Thomel)  Wilkens.  Mr.  Wilkens  was  reared  and  educated  in  his 
native  country,  having  been  a  student  in  the  military  academy  of 
Carlsbere,  near  Stockholm,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution 
before  attaining  his  eighteenth  year.  In  1870  he  sought  a  wider  field 
for  his  life  work  in  America,  and  at  that  time  located  at  Bath,  Beau- 
fort county,  N.  C,  where,  in  June  of  the  following  year,  he  married. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  55  7 

Miss  Hattie  Harvey,  a  daughter  of  W  .  L.  Har\ey,  of  Beaufort 
county.  For  several  years  after  his  removal  to  the  United  States 
Mr.  Wilkens  was  engaged  in  agriculture  and  merchandising.  In  1882 
he  was  elected  to  the  office  he  now  holds,  having  been  retained  in  the 
ofifice  ever  since.  President  Grant  appointed  him  postmaster  of  Bath 
in  1 87 1,  and  for  several  years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is 
a  prominent  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Excelsior  lodge  of  the  Golden 
Chain,  and  is  a  leading  democrat.  His  marriage  has  been  blessed  b}' 
the  birth  of  four  children,  viz.:  Annie  Thaimee,  Henry  Theodore, 
John  Harvey  and  Charlotte  D.  As  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  he  is  active  and  consistent,  and  his  wife  is  a  communicant  of 
the  Episcopal  denomination.  Mr.  Wilkens  has  proven  himself  a  man 
well  fitted  for  public  office,  and  the  satisfaction  he  has  rendered  to 
the  people  is  amplj'  proven  by  his  continued  re-election  to  so  import- 
ant an  office.  Intelligent  and  upright,  he  is  eminently  qualified  for 
the  highest  citizenship. 


WILLIAM  Z.  MORTON, 

one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Washington,  N.  C,  was  born  in  that 
place  on  the  15th  of  June,  1825,  and  is  a  son  of  Winslow  B.  and  Ann 
Maria  (Christ)  Morton,  the  former  a  native  of  Lubec,  Me.,  and  the 
mother  of  eastern  Virginia.  Winslow  Morton  came  to  North  Caro- 
lina as  a  captain  of  a  vessel  in  1823.  He  married  and  located  in 
Washington,  though  still  interested  in  vessels,  he  owning  one  in  the 
W^est  India  trade,  and  at  one  time  he  commanded  a  vessel  which 
sailed  from  Washington  to  South  America.  His  death  occurred  in 
Havana  in  1S37.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  His 
widow  subsequently  married  Benjamin  Meekins,  and  died  in  1842. 
Three  sons  and  one  daughter  were  born  to  Winslow  and  Ann  M. 
Morton,  viz.:  William  Z.;  George  went  to  California  in  1S47,  and 
died  there;  X'alentine  was  a  member  of  the  Washington  Grays  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war;  in  1865  he  settled  in  \'irginia,  but  two  years  later 
went  to  California,  where  he  died  in  1871;  and  Mary  Catherine,  who 
died  in  infancy.  Martha  Meekins,  the  offspring  of  Mrs.  Morton  by 
her  second  husband,  married  Charles  lluddler,  and  is  now  deceased. 
William  Z.  Morton,  the  subject  of  this  mention,  spent  his  boyhood  in 
Washington  until  his  fourteenth  year,  when  he  went  to  Portland,  Me., 
and  there  learned  the  trade  of  a  pump  and  block  maker.  In  1S46  he 
returned  to  his  native  town,  and  for  fourteen  years  thereafter  was 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  pumps  and  blocks  at  that  place,  and 
from  1850  to  1862,  carried  on  a  large  fruit  and  confectionery  business 
in  connection  with  his  other  interests.  As  a  member  of  the  Home 
guards,  commanded  by  Gov.  Vance,  Mr.  Morton  served  during  the 
Civil  war  in  the  state  service,  having  been  honorably  discharged  after 
the  evacuation  of  Xewbern,  at  which  time  the  company  was  dis- 
banded. In  1866  he  established  his  present  mercantile  business,  and 
has  since  conducted  that  with  marked  success.     He  is  also  quite  ex- 


55^  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tensively  engaged  in  agriculture.     In  1S47  he  joined  the  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  is  now  a  dimitted  member. 

Formerly  a  whig,  Mr.  Morton  is  now  an  ardent  democrat,  and  has 
served  as  a  town  commissioner,  and  for  several  years  held  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  largely  instrumental  in  organizing 
the  present  fire  department  of  Washington,  having  been  for  ten  years 
captain  of  the  old  department;  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  school 
committee,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  for  ten  years.  He  was 
the  one  to  inaugurate  the  movement  having  for  its  object  the  erec- 
tion of  the  present  public  school  building,  and  did  much  toward  secur- 
ing its  erection.  In  1S47,  Mr.  Morton  married  Miss  Melissa  A.  Dar- 
den,  daughter  of  George  F.  Darden,  of  Virginia,  and  these  children 
have  been  born  to  them:  Mary,  wife  of  Col.  D.  M.  Bogart;  Wins- 
low  B.,  William  Z.,  attorney-at-law;  James  C,  Alice,  wife  of  B.  M. 
Bell,  of  Chattanooga,  Tenn.;  Lucy  D.,  wife  of  David  P.  Blount,  of 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  and  George  O.  Morton.  The  family  are  communi- 
cants of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  Mr.  Morton  is  treasurer  of  the 
same,  and  for  fifteen  years  he  has  been  a  vestryman.  As  a  business 
man  he  is  held  in  the  highest  respect  and  esteem  by  the  community 
at  large,  and  as  a  citizen  he  is  regarded  as  among  the  most  progres- 
sive and  intelligent.  Winslow  B.  Morton  married  Miss  Matilda 
Lamb,  of  Martin  count}',  N.  C,  and  their  children  are:  Charles, 
Melissa,  Irene  and  Matilda.  William  Z.  Morton,  Jr.  was  happily 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Carrie  Hardeson,  of  Martin  county, 
and  five  children  have  blessed  their  home,  viz.:  Mary,  Corney,  Irene, 
William  and  Hubert.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Dobbins,  of 
Baltimore,  M.  D.,  Mr.  James  C.  Morton  has  had  three  children, 
named  as  follows:  Catherine  Lee,  James  and  Emma,  and  Mrs.  Alice 
Morton  Bell  is  the  mother  of  Mary,  Bryant  and  Douglas  Bell.  To  the 
union  of  Miss  Mary  Morton  and  Col.  D.  M.  Bogart,  seven  children 
have  been  born,  their  names  being:  Isabella,  Alice,  Malcolm,  Will- 
iam, Robert,  Gilbert  and  Mary  C.  Bogart. 


JESSE  RUSSELL  STARNES, 

a  representative  merchant  and  business  man  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  was 
born  in  Buncombe  county.  May  26,  1856.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  A. 
Starnes,  also  a  native  of  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  and  a  farmer  by 
occupation.  At  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years,  Mr.  Starnes  still 
lives  on  the  old  Starnes'  homestead  in  his  native  county.  He  served 
in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  entire  Civil  war.  He  is  the 
son  of  John  A.  Starnes,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Buncombe 
county,  but  a  native  of  Burke  county.  The  mother  of  Jesse  R. 
Starnes  was  Elizabeth  Morgan,  a  native  of  McDowell  count}', 
N.  C,  and  the  daughter  of  Jesse  Morgan,  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Mr. Starnes'  maternal  grandmother,  Morgan,  was  from  England. 
Mrs.  Starnes  is  also  living,  and  is  about  sixty-eight  years  of  age. 
Jessie  R.  Starnes  was  reared  on  the  homestead  farm  until  he  reached 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  559 

the  age  of  eighteen,  and  he  received  a  good  education  in  the  Sand 
Hill  academy,  taught  by  Jacob  Hood,  a  well  known  educator.  He 
entered  Candler  college  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  where  he  remained 
three  years,  missing  a  portion  of  each  year,  however,  in  order  to 
teach  school  and  secure  the  necessary  means  with  which  to  keep  him 
in  school  during  the  balance  of  the  year.  In  1878  Mr.  Starnes  en- 
tered Waversville  college  and  there  spent  one  year.  On  account  of 
ill  health  he  was  compelled  to  leave  the  college,  but  four  months 
before  graduation.  Prior  to  leaving  the  last  named  college,  Mr. 
Starnes  taught  for  eight  months,  having  a  school  of  iSo  pupils,  and 
one  assistant.  While  engaged  in  this  pursuit  he  devoted  his  leisure 
time  to  the  study  of  law  under  James  H.  Merrmion.  In  1S80  he 
abandoned  the  stud}^  of  law,  and  engaged  as  a  clerk  with  Smith, 
Cheesb'orough  &  Co.,  of  Asheville,  general  merchants.  On  the  ist 
of  September,  1881,  Mr.  Starnes  embarked  in  the  grocery  business,  in 
Asheville,  upon  his  own  responsibility,  and  followed  the  same  for  six 
3'ears.  His  entire  capital,  when  he  began,  was  $iSo.  In  1S87  he  sold 
his  stock  and  went  into  the  undertaking  business,  with  which  he  has 
ever  since  been  identified.  He  was  for  some  time  the  only  under- 
taker in  Asheville,  and  at  present  is  the  leading  one  in  his  profession 
at  that  place.  Mr.  Starnes  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  traffic  in  1888, 
and  since  that  year  has  been  identified  with  the  leading  merchants  of 
Asheville.  Aside  from  his  undertaking  and  merchandising  affairs, 
Mr.  Starnes  has  given  much  attention  to  real  estate,  not  as  an  agent, 
but  upon  his  own  account.  Politically  he  is  a  democrat  and  an  offi- 
cial member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  K. 
of  H.,  the  A.  O.  U.  \V.,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Mr.  Starnes  was 
married,  in  1885,  to  Miss  Maggie  Brand,  daughter  of  Xenophon 
Brand,  late  of  Asheville.  They  have  an  only  son,  X.,  who  is  in  his 
sixth  year.  Mr.  Starnes  is  now  worth  from  $75,000  to  $100,000,  and 
is  a  strong,  healthy  man;  weighs  152  pounds,  and  is  five  feet  eleven 
inches  high;  square  built  and  level-headed.  The  young  man  has 
been  in  business  for  himself  only  ten  years,  and  can  always  be  found 
at  his  place  of  business  at  No.  27  North  Main  sfreet,  Asheville,  N.  C. 


ROBERT  BURTON  MILLER 

was  born  January  29,  1852,  at  Shelby,  N.  C.  He  is  the  ninth  child  in 
order  of  birth  and  the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  W.  J.  T.  Miller  and  Eliza- 
beth (Fullenwider)  Aliller,  and  received  his  early  education  at 
Shelby,  which  included  an  academical  and  a  classical  course.  He 
showed  an  early  fondness  for  literature,  and  after  leaving  the  schools 
of  Shelby  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  completed  his  education  without 
the  aid  of  instruction,  relying  upon  his  own  resources  for  his  mental 
training.  About  the  year  1870  Mr.  Miller  entered  the  mercantile  es- 
tablishment of  his  uncle,  Mr.  Fullenwider,  as  clerk,  remaining  in  this 
business  over  two  years.  He  then  went  to  Georgia,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  business  for  a  year.     On  his  return  in  the  fall  of  1873  he 


560  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

embarked  in  the  mercantile  trade  with  his  brother  at  Shelby,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Miller  Brothers,  which  firm  still  exists.  In  his  social 
relations  Mr.  Miller  is  a  liberal  and  public-spirited  citizen,  and  in 
1887  he  was  the  prime  mover  in  organizing  the  Belmont  Cotton  Mills 
company.  These  mills  have  been  in  successful  operation  in  Shelby 
ever  since  and  Mr.  Miller  is  president  of  the  corporation.  Two  years 
later  he  built  on  his  own  responsibility  the  Laural  Cotton  mills,  lo- 
cated on  Broad  river  three  miles  from  Shelby.  These  mills  are 
now  doing  a  thriving  business,  and  are  a  source  of  profit  to  their 
owner  and  to  the  surrounding  inhabitants,  who  furnish  supplies  for 
their  operation.  The  two  sets  of  mills  have  each  over  4,000  spindles. 
Beside  his  mercantile  and  manufacturing  interests  Mr.  Miller  is  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  which  help  to  swell  his  in- 
come. Politically  Mr.  Miller  is  a  staunch  democrat,  but  not  one  of 
the  demonstrative  kind  of  politicians,  and  is  not  in  any  sense  anotifice- 
seeker.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  his 
party,  and  in  1880  acted  as  chairman  of  the  Cleveland  county  prohi- 
bition party.  Under  his  management  the  party  polled  the  largest 
vote  of  any  county  in  the  state.  He  made  a  personal  canvass  of  his 
county  in  this  campaign,  and  the  effects  of  his  efforts  were  obvious  in 
the  result.     In  several  conventions  he  has  acted  as  delegate. 

In  the  development  and  promotion  of  the  material  interests  of  his 
town  and  county,  Mr.  Miller  has  both  eyes  open  and  is  looked  upon 
as  a  live,  energetic  and  pushing  man.  In  every  movement  for  the 
progress  and  prosperity  of  the  industrial  and  social  interests  of  the 
community,  he  is  ready  to  lead  off  in  the  expenditure  of  money  and 
personal  effort  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  desired  end.  Mr.  Mil- 
ler is  a  member  of  the  Cleveland  lodge  of  Free  Masons,  and  is  a  de- 
vout communicant  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  holding 
therein  high  official  positions.  To  that  church  he  attached  himself 
in  early  manhood,  and  he  has  steadfastly  kept  the  faith.  October  7, 
1885,  Mr.  Miller  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Miss  Laura  Glenn, 
daughter  of  Hon.  James  McCants,  of  Winnsboro,  one  of  the  most 
prominet  lawyers  in  South  Carolina.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller  have  had 
two  children,  but  only  one,  Laura  Burton,  is  now  living.  Mr.  Miller 
has  a  large  and  well  selected  library  in  which  to  indulge  his  literary 
tastes.  The  ravages  of  the  war  swallowed  up  the  estate  of  Mr.  Mil- 
ler's father,  and  in  the  outset  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources. 
But  energy,  force  of  character,  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose  have 
more  than  supplied  the  place  of  patrimony,  the  lack  of  which  has 
served  all  the  more  to  develop  character  and  give  zest  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  own  accomplishments.  Besides  his  connection  with  the 
church,  Mr.  Miller  is  an  active  member  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  He  was 
for  many  year  a  member  of  the  Philologian  literary  society,  in  the 
exercises  of  which  he  took  an  active  part,  and  to  the  training  and 
discipline  of  which  he  attributes  his  qualities  as  a  public  speaker. 
Maj.  Miller  served  several  years  as  a  staff  officer  of  his  state  militia, 
with  rank  of  major,  having  been  commissioned  by  Gov.  Thomas  J. 
Jarvis. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  56  1 


MAJ.  THOMAS  J.  BROWN, 

the  pioneer  wholesale  tobacco  dealer  of  Winston,  X.  C,  and  one  of 
the  most  extensive  dealers  in  the  state,  was  born  in  Caswell  county, 
N.  C,  in  August,  1833.  The  famil}'  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
prominent  in  the  state,  and  its  members  have  at  different  times  held 
high  offices  in  both  the  commonwealth  and  national  government.  Maj. 
Brown  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Dan  River  institute.  His 
mother  then  removed  with  her  family  to  Davie  county,  in  the  Yadkin 
valley,  where  he  engaged  in  agriculture  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  war,  when  he  enlisted  in  Capt.  Kelley's  company  as  a  private, 
but  was  at  once  elected  lieutenant.  This  company  was  organized  in 
Davie  county,  and  afterward  assigned  to  the  Fourth  North  Carolina 
volunteer  infantry.  Lieut.  Brown  served  with  this  command  until  prior 
to  the  battle  of  Culpeper  Court  House,  and  while  the  same  was  in 
camp  at  that  point  he  was  given  a  permit  to  return  home  and  raise  a 
new  company,  which  he  did,  and  of  which  he  was  elected  captain. 
This  company  was  assigned  to  the  Forty-second  regiment  North  Car- 
olina volunteer  infantry.  The  close  of  hostilities  found  him  still  in 
the  field  as  a  member  of  the  last  mentioned  regiment  with  the  rank 
of  major,  which  office  he  had  won  by  his  faithfulness  and  valor  on 
the  following  battle-fields:  Cold  Harbor,  all  the  fights  around  Peters- 
burg, Fort  Fisher,  two  battles  below  Kinston,  and  at  Bentonsville,  and 
various  skirmishes  and  engagements  of  minor  importance. 

Major  Brown  returned  to  North  Carolina  after  the  war  and  was 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  tobacco  for  a  short  time,  subsequent- 
ly removing  to  Winston,  where  he  established  the  first  tobacco  ware- 
house, and  where  he  sold  the  first  tobacco  ever  brought  to  that 
market,  in  February,  1872.  This  industry  has  since  grown  to  enor- 
mous proportions  in  Winston,  and  forms  one  of  its  most  important 
enterprises,  the  sales  from  Major  Brown's  establishment  alone 
amounting  to  between  four  and  five  million  pounds  annually. 
This  progressive  gentleman  is  also  a  member  of  the  extensive  hard- 
ware firm  of  Brown,  Rogers  &  Co.,  of  Winston;  is  a  partner  in  one 
of  the  largest  dry  goods  houses  in  the  city;  is  also  a  director  in  the 
First  National  bank  of  Winston,  largely  interested  in  three  different 
land  companies,  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Roanoke  &  Southern  rail- 
road company.  Major  Brown  has  been  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  for  a  number  of  years,  as  well  as  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school.  Major  Brown  was  happily  married  in  1868  to  Miss 
Delphine  Hall,  of  Mobile,  Ala.  This  estimable  lady  died  on  the  8th 
of  August,  iSSq,  leaving  no  children.  Her  father  was  Daniel 
Emerson  Hall,  a  native  of  Middle  Granville,  N.  Y.,  who  graduated 
at  Yale  in  the  class  of  1834.  Subsequently  he  read  law  with  his 
brother,  Willis  Hall,  a  prominent  lawyer  and  politician  and  at  one 
time  attorney-general  of  New  York  state,  and  then  removed  to 
Mobile,  Ala.,  where  he  soon  rose  to  eminence  in  his  profession,  and 
B— 36 


562  NORTH  CAROLINA.  , 

married  a  descendant  of  Louis  D'Olive,  a  French  officer  sent  out  by 
his  government. 

Major  Brown  is  the  son  of  John  E.  Brown,  M.  D.,  who  was  born 
in  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  in  1800  and  died  in  1846.  He  was  an  emi- 
nent physician  of  his  day,  having  prepared  for  his  professional  career 
in  the  old  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  his  state,  and  for  many  years  was 
chairman  of  the  county  board  in  Caswell  county.  In  1S26  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Elizabeth  B.,  daughter  of  Mr.  Jesse  Carter,  and  five  chil- 
dren blessed  their  union,  the  four  surviving  ones  being  Col.  John 
Edmunds  Brown,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  a  prominent  lawyer  and  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church;  Major  Thomas  J.  Brown,  Sallie  C, 
widow  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Hall,  and  Miss  Jessie  E.  Brown.  The  eldest 
child  was  William  Carter  Brown,  M.  D.,  who  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
Confederate  service  and  died  from  illness  contracted  in  camp  in  1S62. 
The  Hon.  Bedford  Brown,  who  served  as  United  States  senator  for 
many  years,  was  an  elder  brother  of  John  E.  Brown,  and  they  were 
sons  of  Jethro  Brown,  a  Virginian,  who  spent  his  active  life  in  Cas- 
well county,  N.  C,  as  a  planter  and  merchant.  When  a  young  man 
he  removed  to  North  Carolina,  where,  for  several  terms,  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  county  court  of  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  and  died 
leaving  the  family  name  stainless.  His  father  was  John  Brown,  who 
was  born  in  Virginia,  and  came  to  North  Carolina  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  died  in  this  state.  This  branch  of  the  Brown 
family  originated  in  Bedfordshire,  England,  having  emigrated  to 
America  many  years  prior  to  the  Revolution.  Elizabeth  Brown 
Carter,  who  became  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  John  E.  Brown,  M.  D.,  was 
a  descendant  of  the  Shirley  Carter  family,  of  Virginia.  This  proud 
old  family  furnished  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 

GEORGE  N.  IVES, 

a  prominent  business  man  of  Newbern,  N.  C,  is  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut, having  been  born  in  New  Haven  county  on  the  6th  of 
March,  1843.  His  parents,  Luther  and  Laura  (Barnes)  Ives,  were 
of  Welsh  descent.  John  Ives,  the  oldest  known  ancestor  of  the  Ives 
family,  was  the  first  settler  of  the  town  of  Cheshire,  Conn.,  he  hav- 
ing located  there  about  the  year  1640.  Stephen  Ives,  the  grandfather 
of  our  subject,  was  a  representative  man  of  New  Haven  county,  a 
large  land  owner  and  a  respected  citizen.  At  his  demise  he  left  a 
large  estate  in  New  Haven  and  adjoining  counties.  The  father  of 
our  subject  was  the  youngest  of  a  large  family  of  children,  and  be- 
came a  prominent  agriculturist  of  the  section.  In  1874  he  came  to 
North  Carolina,  and  two  years  later  died  in  Beaufort,  Carteret 
county.  He  was  a  leading  politician,  having  been  a  member  of  the 
Connecticut  senate  and  legislature  for  a  number  of  years  as  a  repub- 
lican.    For  many  years  he  was  a  deacon  in  the  First  Congregational 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  563 

church  of  Fan-  Haven,  Conn.,  and  was  a  life  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can missionary  society.  His  wife  still  survives  him,  having  taken  up 
her  residence  at  Newbern.  Their  family  consists  of  three  children: 
George  N.,  Charles,  superintendent  of  the  lumber  concern  of  D.  Cong- 
den  &  Sons,  and  Ella,  wife  of  Clarence  E.  Gipe,  of  Nevada,  Mo. 
The  latter  is  a  musician  of  rare  ability,  having  at  one  time  been  one 
of  the  most  noted  vocalists  of  North  Carolina. 

George  N.  Ives  received  his  early  schooling  in  the  Cheshire  public 
schools  and  later  in  the  Episcopal  academy  at  Cheshire,  Conn.,  com- 
pleting his  studies  in  the  West  Haven  seminary.  He  then  secured  a 
position  as  book-keeper  for  an  uncle  in  New  Haven,  and  after  re- 
maining with  him  for  a  number  of  years,  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  wooden  ware,  under  the  firm  name  of  Kellogg  &  Ives.  In  1S72 
their  extensive  plant  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  two  years  later  Mr. 
Ives  removed  to  North  Carolina.  He  embarked  in  the  fish  and  oys- 
ter business  at  Morehead  City,  and  in  1877  located  in  Newbern,  still 
retaining  a  branch  house  in  the  latter  place  and  at  Beaufort.  He 
carries  on  the  largest  concern  of  the  kind  in  that  section,  his  business 
in  1S90  amounting  to  $75,000.  In  the  year  1S75,  ^I^"-  I'^'^s  introduced 
in  navigation  on  the  eastern  shore  of  North  Carolina,  the  "Sharpie  " 
boat,  which  is  much  better  adapted  to  successful  navigation,  than 
the  class  of  boats  formerly  used,  and  to-day  a  most  excellent  fieet  of 
boats  is  in  use,  and  has  been  a  useful  reform.  In  1S63  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Lucia  A.  Burnham,  of  West  Haven,  Conn.,  a  step- 
daughter of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jason  Atwater,  a  distinguished  clergj-man 
of  the  state.  John  B.,  an  employe  in  the  ofifice  of  the  United  States 
river  and  harbor  surveyor,  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  Lucia  E.  Ives, 
are  the  children  of  this  marriage.  Mr.  Ives  was  one  of  the  prime 
movers  in  the  organization  of  the  Eastern  North  Carolina  Fish,  Oys- 
ter and  Game  association,  of  which  he  is  a  director;  and  he  has 
charge  of  the  fish  and  oyster  exhibit,  which  is  the  principal  attraction 
of  the  annual  fair  held  at  Newbern,  attracting  much  attention  and 
winning  wide  and  well  deserved  reputation.  Both  himself  and  wife 
are  valued  communicants  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Newbern,  of 
which  he  is  a  deacon.  As  a  progressive,  intelligent  business  man, 
Mr.  Ives  is  an  honor  to  the  town  in  which  he  lives.  He  is  prominent 
in  the  democratic  party,  jet  he  has  never  sought  nor  wanted  political 
preferment. 

THE  ARENDELL  FAMILY 

has  been  most  prominently  and  actively  identified  with  the  settlement 
and  growth  of  eastern  North  Carolina,  and  from  time  to  time  its 
members  have  held  of^ces  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  state  and  national 
governments.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  this  connection  is 
I\Iichael  F.  Arendell,  M.  D.,  who  was  born  at  Shepperd's  Point,  now 
Morehead  City,  N.  C,  January  26,  iSiQ,  and  is  a  son  of  Bridges  and 
Sarah  (Fisher)  Arendell.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  Thomas 
Arendell,  who  was  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  and   was  of 


564  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

English  descent.  He  was  a  planter  and  general  trader,  and  amassed 
a  large  fortune,  and  was  very  influential  in  the  community.  His  son, 
Bridges,  was  born  in  1781  and  died  in  18^0.  In  early  life  he  became 
identified  with  the  North  Carolina  Methodist  Episcopal  conference, 
and  after  having  completed  his  education  in  Franklin  county,  he  was 
ordained  as  a  minister  in  that  church,  and  for  many  years  rode  what 
was  known  as  the  "Trent"  circuit.  After  his  retirement  from  the 
ministr}'  he  held  the  office  of  collector  of  customs  at  Beaufort  for 
several  years,  and  subsequently  engaged  in  planting  and  the  manu- 
facture of  lumber  at  Newport  on  Black  creek.  Through  his  wife  he 
became  the  owner  of  Shepperd's  point,  having  600  hundred  acres  of 
the  land  under  cultivation,  and  about  3,000  acres  on  Black  creek.  He 
was  a  Jacksonian  democrat  in  early  life,  and  afterward  a  stanch 
whig.  He  was  chairman  of  the  county  court  for  man}'  j-ears.  His 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  William  Fisher,  of  Accomack  county,  Va. 
William  Fisher  first  moved  to  Beaufort,  and  later  to  Newport,  N.  C, 
where  he  conducted  a  large  general  store,  and  he  was  also  a  very 
extensive  land  owner.  The  children  born  to  this  union  were:  Caro- 
line, deceased;  William,  deceased;  Michael  F.;  Sarah,  now  Mrs. 
William  N.  Dennis;  Matilda,  Polly  and  Bridges  are  deceased,  and 
Thomas  Arendell,  of  Carteret  county.  Michael  received  his  schol- 
astic training  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  began  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  James  L.  Manney, 
of  Beaufort,  and  later  under  Dr.  G.  S.  Bedford,  of  New  York  city.  In 
March,  1843,  he  was  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  New  York  citj',  and  the  same  year  began  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Beaufort,  and  continued  with  marked  success 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  war.  He  was  opposed  to  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  Union,  but  when  the  state  declared  for  secession,  he 
stood  with  his  people  and  remained  true  to  the  southland.  He  was 
appointed  regimental  surgeon,  and  was  detailed  for  dutj'  in  the  sur- 
geon-general's office  at  Raleigh,  and  later  was  sent  by  Gov.  Vance  to 
settle  a  serious  difference  which  had  arisen  among  the  soldiers  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.  Dr.  Arendell  was  long  before  the  voters  as  a  lead- 
ing politician.  His  first  important  office  was  that  of  state  senator,  he 
having  been  nominated  for  that  position  by  the  people  of  Jones 
county,  and  his  nomination  confirmed  by  the  voters  of  Carteret 
county.  He  was  elected,  in  1850,  on  the  whig  ticket,  and  served  four 
conservative  years  thereafter,  and  in  i860  was  again  nominated  for 
the  senate  and  elected,  having  been  opposed  by  Dr.  Laffers.  He 
served  in  that  body  during  the  entire  war,  and  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind,  and  insane,  and  on  proposi- 
tions and  grievances,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  cor- 
porations. He  was  appointed  by  the  legislature  one  of  a  committee 
to  confer  with  President  Davis,  in  regard  to  the  defense  of  eastern 
North  Carolina,  and  in  his  every  capacity  rendered  the  highest  satis- 
faction to  the  people.  After  the  war,  Dr.  Arendell  resumed  his  prac- 
tice at  Morehead  City,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  chairman  of 
the  court  of  Carteret  county,  and  also  a  member  of  the  state  board 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  565 

of  health.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  organizers  of  the  Carteret 
county  medical  society  and  was  president  of  the  same,  and  also  a 
member  of  the  State  medical  society,  and  of  the  Royal  Arch  and 
Scottish  Rite  Masons,  and  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  having  been  the  first  noble 
grand  of  Concordia  lodge,  of  Beaufort.  Dr.  Arendell  was  intimately 
connected  with  the  organization  of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  railroad  company, 
having  been  active  in  "securing  its  charter,  and  also  one  of  its  origi- 
nal stockholders,  and  a  director  for  many  years.  At  one  time  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  road,  but  declined  to  accept  the  office.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  hold  the  stock  of  the  Shepperd's  Point  Land 
company,  and  was  also  largely  interested  in  the  building  of  the  New 
Atlantic  hotel,  at  Morehead  City.  He  is  prominent  as  a  democrat. 
By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Zelphia  Ann  Lee  Craft,  of  Beaufort,  which 
was  solemnized  in  1S43,  two  children  were  born.  The  rnother  died 
in  184S.     Mary  B.  and  William  L.  Arendell  are  the  offspring. 

William    L.  Arendell  was  born  in  Carteret,  N.  C,  on  the  22d  day 
of  January,   1848.     After  completing  the  excellent  course   at   Bing- 
ham's school,  he  entered  West   Point,  where  he  remained   for  two 
years,  having  been  prevented   from  graduating  by  rheumatism.     In 
October,  1868,  he  was  discharged  from  the  National  academy,  and  at 
that  time   returned  to  his  native  city.     Mr.  Arendell   became   a  sur- 
veyor, and   for  the  past   few  years  has  held  the  office  of  surveyor  of 
Carteret  county.     In  1870  he  removed  to  Morehead  City,  and  has 
since  been  extensively  interested  in  the  fish  and  oyster  business,  hav- 
ing built  up  a  large  shipping  house.    He  is  prominently  identified  with 
the  Shepperd's   Point  Land  company,  and  since  1870  has  been  one  of 
its  directors.     Democratic  in  politics,  he  has  held  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  for  the  past  ten  years,  and  for  the  same  length  of  time 
was   mayor  of   Morehead  City,  and  in    1884  was  elected  a  county 
commissioner,    and    is  the    present    chairman    of    the    board.      Mr. 
Arendell  is  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  G.T.,  and  was  deputy  grand  worthy 
chief  templar  of  the  same.     In  1870  he  was  united  in   marriage  to 
Miss  Sarah  C.  Davis.     A  leading  and  influential  communicant  of  the 
Alethodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  Mr.  Arendell  is  superintendent  of 
the   Sabbath-school,  and   also   a  trustee  of  the   church  at  Morehead 
City.     He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  substantial  busi- 
ness men  of  eastern  North  Carolina. 

WASHINGTON  DUKE 

was  born  on  the  20th  of  December,  1820,  in  the  then  county  of 
Orange,  now  Durham,  N.  C.  His  parents  were  Taylor  and  Dicie 
(Jones)  Duke.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Orange  and  the  mother 
a  native  of  Granville  county,  N.  C;  the  former  was  of  English  and 
Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  while  the  latter  was  of  Welsh  lineage.  Taylor 
Duke  was  a  successful  farmer  by  occupation,  and  was  a  well  respected 
citizen,  and  held  several  county  official  positions,  which  he  filled  with 
much  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  people.  He  was  a 
deputy  sheriff  of  Orange  county  and  was  a  captain  of  militia.     He 


566  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

was  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  and  of  strong  mind,  and  enjoyed  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.  Of  his  ten  children,  we 
are,  in  this  biographical  mention,  more  directly  interested  in  the 
career  of  Washington  Duke,  whom  we  have  introduced  as  the  subject 
of  our  sketch.  Reared  upon  a  farm,  Mr.  Duke  early  in  life  chose 
farming  for  an  occupation,  but  his  career  as  a  business  man  and 
manufacturer  will  prove  of  special  interest,  for  as  such  his  success  in 
life  has  been  phenomenal.  Like  so  many  of  the  distinguished  men 
of  the  country,  the  mental  and  moral  fibre  of  his  nature  was  hardened 
and  invigorated  in  the  school  of  adversity.  His  pathway  to  fame 
and  fortune  was  strewn  with  thorns,  not  with  roses.  The  educational 
advantages  afforded  him  in  youth  were  meager,  and  not  more  than 
six  months  of  his  life  were  spent  at  school,  but  through  the  avenues 
of  subsequent  years  of  wide  business  experience,  and  being  naturally 
of  strong  intellect,  keen  discerning  powers,  he  has  become  possessed 
of  a  well  Informed  mind,  recognized  wisdom  and  sound  judgment. 
He  labored  at  farm  work  on  the  paternal  homestead  till  he  became 
of  age,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  began  life  for  himself,  begin- 
ning as  a  farmer,  farming  on  rented  land  for  four  years  with  such 
success  as  enabled  him  to  then  purchase  a  small  farm  upon  which  he 
continued  to  farm,  and,  being  successful,  he  purchased  one  small 
tract  after  another  until  he  had  acquired  a  farm  of  three  hundred 
acres,  and  at  farming  he  continued  until  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in 
the  Confederate  army  as  a  private,  and  being  assigned  duty  at  Camp 
Holmes,  as  guard,  he  remained  here  for  a  few  months  when  he  was 
transferred  to  the  navy  and  sent  to  Charleston,  .S.  C.  Six  months 
later  he  was  transferred  to  Richmond  and  assigned  duty  at  Battery 
Brook,  where  he  remained  until  the  army  retreated  to  Appomatox, 
where  he  was  captured  and  for  a  few  weeks  confined  in  Libby  prison. 
For  his  expert  management  of  artillery  he  was  distinguished,  and  at 
Battery  Brook  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  orderly  sergeant. 
After  the  surrender  and  the  establishment  of  peace,  Mr.  Duke  was 
given  transportation  as  far  as  Newbern,  N.  C.,  whence  he  walked 
home,  a  distance  of  134  miles,  "and,  accepting  the  situation  in  good 
faith,  applied  himself  once  more  to  tilling  the  soil." 

In  1S44  Mr.  Duke  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  C, 
daughter  of  Jesse  and  Rachael  (V^ickers)  Clinton,  of  Orange  county, 
N.  C.  To  the  happy  union  were  born  two  children,  namely,  Syd- 
ney T.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  Brodie  L.  The  mother 
of  these  children  died  on  the  iSth  of  November,  1847,  and  on  De- 
cember q,  1S52,  Mr.  Duke  was  married  to  Miss  Artelia,  daughter  of 
John  and  Mary  Rone}',  of  Alamance  county,  N.  C.  To  this  marriage 
were  born  one  daughter,  and  two  sons,  viz.:  Mary  E.,  Benjamin  N. 
and  James  B.  Mr.  Duke's  second  wife  died  August  20,  1S58.  When 
Mr.  Duke  entered  the  Confederate  army  service,  he  had  placed  his 
elde  rson,  Brodie  L.,  in  the  care  of  Major  Gee,  superintendent  of  the 
Salisbury  prison,  and  had  placed  his  three  children  by  his  second 
wife  in  the  home  of  their  maternal  grandfather,  Mr.  Roney.  Arriv- 
ing home  from  the  war,   Mr.   Duke   gathered   together  his  scattered 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  567 

family,  and  returning  to  the  farm  betran  life  anew.     He   had  no  capi- 
tal other  than  his  land,  and  a  determination  to  succeed.     With  but  50 
cents  in  silver,  received  in   exchange   from  a   Federal  soldier  for  five 
dollar  Confederate  note,  and   with  a  pair  of  blind   mules,  which   he 
had  obtained  from  the  army  of  Gen.  Sherman,  Mr.  Duke  set  out  to 
support  his  family  of  four  motherless  children  and  to  repair  his  shat- 
tered estate.     He  had  pluck,  character,  persistence  and  courage,  and 
success  attended   his  labors.     His  daughter,  then  but  twelve  ycarsof 
age,  applied  herself  with  remarkable  tact   and  industry  to  the  duties 
of  housekeeping,  and  he  and  his  sons  were  left  to  give  their  united 
attention  to  the  farm  and  factory.     The  factory  was  a  log  cabin  i6xi8 
feet,  in   which   was  begun,  in    1865,  the  manufacture  of  smoking  to- 
bacco, in  which  business  Mr.   Duke,  aided  by  his  sons,  has  achieved 
phenomenal   success   and   wide-spread    fame.      In  consequence  of  a 
largely   increased  business   he    removed   to    Durham    In    1873,  and 
erected  a  factory  with  floorage  capacity  40x70  feet,  three  stories  high, 
and   fifteen    hands   were    employed.     In   1875   another  building  was 
added,  and  in  the  meantime  he  had  consolidated  his  business  with 
that  of  his  son,  B.  L.  Duke,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  same  busi- 
ness at  Durham  for  three  years.     From  time  to  time  as  their  business 
still  increased  in  volume  they  enlarged  their  facilities,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  cigarettes  had  been  added  to  the  manufacture  of  smoking 
tobacco,  and  now  they  operate  the  largest  cigarette  and  smoking  to- 
bacco establishment  in  the  world,  and  are  doing  an  annual  business 
of  over  four  and  a  half  million  dollars,  employing   near  goo  hands. 
In  addition  to    the  stupendous  establishment  at  Durham,  they  oper- 
ate a  branch  factory  at  New  York,  in  which  over  500  hands  are  em- 
ployed.    Their  cigarettes  and  smoking  tobacco  are  sold  all  over  the 
United  States,  Canada,  and  in  foreign  lands,  and  the  name   Dnke  is 
one  familiar  not  only  to  thousands  but  millions.     It  is  the  founder  of 
this  great  and  stupendous  business,  whom  we   have  introduced  as  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

Mr.  Duke  is  recognized  throughout  the  land  and  even  abroad,  as 
a  business  man  of  superior  endowment,  and  to  his  sons,  who  have 
been  faithful  and  instrumental  in  aiding  their  father  to  establish  such 
a  stupendous  business,  is  due  much  credit.  Mr.  Duke  has  had  abun- 
dant cause  to  feel  proud  of  his  family;  and  his  domestic  relations  are 
the  most  happy.  The  distinguished  subject  of  our  sketch  is_a 
Christian  gentleman,  and  is  an  inlluential  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  at  Durham.  1  h;  has  given  largely  of  his  means  to 
church,  education  and  charity.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  l)uilding 
and  organization  of  the  Main  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
Durham,  to  which  he  gave  abundantly  of  his  means,  and  of  which  he 
is  a  valuable  member.  At  a  very  early  age  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  through  the  course  of  many 
years  he  lias  lead  the  life  of  a  consistent  Christian.  When  a  new 
building  was  proposed  for  Trinity  college  of  North  Carolina,  Mr. 
Duke  donated  \o  the  college  $85,000;  it  being  the  largest  sum 
ever  given   I)}'  any  one  man   for  any  purpose;  in  the  state.     In  conse- 


568  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

quence  of  his  donation,  there  is  building  at  Durham  a  magnificent 
structure  for  Trinity  college,  and  the  same  will  stand  a  monument  to 
his  memory,  and  an  evidence  of  his  estimate  placed  upon  education. 
Recently,  Mr.  Duke  purchased,  for  $5,000,  the  Louisburg  female  col- 
lege, and  placed  it  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  for  educational  purposes,  and,  in  doing  so,  again  gave  impetus 
to  the  cause  of  education,  and  especially  to  this  particular  college, 
which  was  about  to  collapse,  but  his  purchase  of  the  property  lifted  a 
long  standing  indebtedness  over  the  college,  and  now  this  barrier  to 
its  progress  has  been  happily  removed. 

Mr.  Duke  has  watched  closely  the  course  of  public  events,  and 
has  kept  pace  with  public  policy  and  with  the  conduct  of  public  men, 
yet  he  has  never  aspired  to  public  political  honors.  In  his  views  in 
regard  to  political  science,  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  he  has  been 
somewhat  in  the  advance  of  many  of  his  contemporaries.  He  fore- 
saw the  inexpediency  of  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  of  secession  by 
his  state  in  i860,  and  argued  against  it;  but  when  it  came  he  went 
with  his  people  in  their  choice,  and  when  peace  came  and  found  the 
country  in  its  new  and  changed  condition,  he  felt  and  believed  the 
principles  of  the  national  republican  party  to  be  safer  for  the  country, 
and  fell  in  line  with  that  party,  to  which  he  has  since  adhered,  yet  it 
cannot  be  said  that  Mr.  Duke  is  active  in  politics,  nor  is  it  to  be 
understood  that  he  has  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  political  his- 
tory of  his  state,  for  his  time  and  attention  have  been  given  largely  to 
his  business  interests.  And  in  business  relations  and  affairs  he  has 
excelled.  From  adversity  he  has  surmounted  the  many  obstacles 
that  have  fallen  in  his  way  to  fortune  and  fame,  and  having  amassed 
an  unusual  fortune,  established,  too,  an  unusually  voluminous  busi- 
ness, and  having  attained  to  high  social  standing,  and  established  an 
unblemished  character,  he  is  justly  held  in  high  esteem  and  confi- 
dence. For  well  on  to  a  half  century  he  has  displayed  business 
qualifications  unrivaled,  and  his  course  would  secure  honor  in  any 
field  of  action.  Maintaining  a  strict  character  for  probity,  being 
mindful  of  the  rights  of  others,  and  being  kind,  courteous  and 
charitable  in  bearing  and  disposition,  he  has  become  not  only  highly 
respected  but  popular  wherever  he  has  extended  his  acquaintance. 
Imbued  with  the  spirit  of  charity,  he  has  annually  given  largely  of 
his  means  to  charitable  purposes,  and  as  a  public  benefactor,  and  as 
a  good  man,  and  worthy  citizen,  he  will  long  live  in  affectionate 
remembrance. 

WILLIAM   DORSEY  PENDER. 

William  D.  Pender,  a  major-general  in  the  Confederate  army,  was 
born  in  Edgecombe  county,  N.  C.,  February  6,  1834,  at  the  mansion 
of  his  father,  Mr.  James  Pender,  whose  family  had  long  been  resi- 
dents of  that  vicinity.  Entering  West  Point,  he  successfully  stood 
the  ordeal  of  that  institution,  and  took  a  reputable  stand  in  his  class, 
of  which  G.  W.  Custis   Lee,  Stephen   D.  Lee,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  56Q 

John  A.  Pegram  were  members.  On  graduating  he  was  assigned  to 
the  artiller}-,  but  on  his  request  he  was  transferred  to  the  dragoons. 
For  several  j'ears  he  was  on  duty  in  New  Mexico,  and  on  the  break- 
ingoutof  Indian  hostilities  on  the  Pacific  coast,  he  was  highly  compli- 
mented for  his  action  in  the  battles  of  Four  Lakes  and  the  Spokane 
Plains,  and  won  his  promotion  to  a  first  lieutenancy.  He  married, 
March  3,  1859.  Miss  M.  F.  .Shepperd,  daughter  of  Hon.  Augustin  H. 
Shepperd,  of  Salem,  X.  C.and  was  glad  to  be  stationed  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  at  Carlisle,  Penn.,  after  that  event.  On  March  3,  1861,  he 
left  Washington  city  for  the  south,  and  cast  his  fortunes  with  his  peo- 
ple. On  the  secession  of  North  Carolina  he  was  appointed  lieuten- 
ant-colonel, and  put  in  charge  of  the  camp  of  instruction  at  Garysburg, 
but  was  soon  afterward  elected  colonel  of  the  Third  North  Carolina 
volunteers.  Upon  the  death  of  the  lamented  Col.  Fisher,  who  was 
killed  at  Manassas,  Gov.  Clark  appointed  him  to  the  command  of  the 
Sixth  regiment  North  Carolina  troops,  and  he  behaved  with  such  con- 
spicuous gallantr}'  at  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  that  President  Davis, 
who  was  present,  promoted  him  to  brigadier-general  on  the  held  of 
battle.  His  brigade  was  composed  of  the  Thirteenth  regiment,  CoU 
Scales;  Sixteenth  regiment,  Col.  Lee;  Twenty-second  regiment.  Col. 
Pettigrew;  Thirty-fourth  regiment,  Col.  Leaventhorpe,  and  Thirty- 
eighth  regiment.  Col.  \V.  J.  Hoke. 

Gen.  Pender  was  a  fine  disciplinarian  and  was  most  strenuous  in 
his  efforts  to  bring  his  brigade  to  the  highest  state  of  efficiency. 
Whenever  opportunity  offered  he  had  brigade  drill  and  he  practiced 
his  brigade  in  held  evolutions.  In  the  fights  around  Richmond  he 
again  displayed  high  soldierly  conduct,  and  at  Malvern  Hill  was 
severely  wounded.  His  brigade  was  assigned  to  A.  P.  Hill's  light 
division  and  was  a  part  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  corps.  He  gallantly 
led  it  in  the  hard-fought  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  and  advanced 
that  night  some  distance  beyond  the  battle-field  in  pursuit.  He  was 
with  Gen.  Jackson  in  the  campaign  against  Gen.  Pope,  and  won  praise 
for  his  fine  generalship  at  second  Manassas,  pursuing  tht^  enemy 
on  the  last  day  far  from  the  battle-field  and  capturing  many  prisoners. 
Here  too  he  was  wounded.  .\nd  again  at  Chantilly.  He  accompa- 
nied Jackson  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  not  knowing  the  ground,  sent 
Maj.  Cole,  of  the  Twenty-second,  to  reconnoitre.  The  major  entered 
the  Federal  lines,  and  on  his  report.  Gen.  Pender  urged  such  move- 
ments as  resulted  in  the  speedy  fall  of  the  post  with  a  great  number 
of  prisoners  and  munitions.  He  reached  Sharpsburg  at  a  critical 
juncture  and  rendered  imijortant  service  there.  In  the  battle  of 
Fredricksburg  his  brigade  suffered  severely;  and  at  Chancellorsville, 
he  won  his  promotion  to  a  major-generalc}'.  His  division  was  com- 
posed of  the  following  brigades:  Lane's,  Scales',  McGowan's  and 
Thomas',  and  it  was  assigned  to  A.  P.  Hill's  corps.  At  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  he  again  displayed  his  high  qualities  as  a  general.  On 
the  first  day  he  carried  Seminary  Ridge.  While  on  the  right  of  his 
command  on  the  afternoon  of  July  2nd,  watching  the  progress  of  the 
fight,  wrote  Gen.  Lane;  "Our  Christian-division  commander,   who 


570  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

had  won  so  many  laurels  on  so  many  hard-fought  fields,  received  his 
fatal  wound."  He  was  conveyed  from  the  field  and  was  carried  to 
Stanton,  Va.,  where,  on  the  8th  of  July,  he  expired. 

Gen.  Lee  said  of  him:  "The  confidence  and  admiration  inspired 
by  his  courage  and  capacity  as  an  officer,  were  only  equalled  by  the 
esteem  and  respect  entertained  by  all  with  whom  he  was  associated 
for  the  noble  qualities  of  his  modest  and  unassuming  character."  It 
is  not  invidious  to  say  that  Gen.  Pender  deserves  to  rank  next  after 
Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  among  Lee's  lieutenants.  Gen.  Pender  was  publicly 
baptised  in  August,  1861,  on  the  field  near  Manassas,  by  Rev.  A.  T. 
Porter,  of  Charleston,  the  ceremony  being  very  impressive.  He  was 
confirmed  as  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  during 
that  summer;  and  in  his  camp,  or  on  the  march,  he  regularly  retired 
each  night  apart  from  his  men  and  humbled  himself  in  prayer  and 
asked  for  Divine  guidance.  Gen.  Pender  left  several  children,  who 
3'et  survive. 

JOHN  STARKEY. 

One  of  the  most  strongly  delineated  characters  in  the  colonial  days 
was  John  Starke}',  of  Onslow  county.  He  made  his  first  appearance 
in  the  legislature  in  1739,  and  at  once  took  a  prominent  place  among 
the  leaders  of  that  body.  In  1746,  when  the  committee  on  proposi- 
tions and  grievances  was  first  formed  to  hear  any  matters  calling  for 
redress,  he  was  placed  on  that  committee,  and  from  the  beginning  of 
his  legislative  career  he  was  heart  and  soul  in  the  struggle  against 
Gov.  Johnston's  measures.  To  him  belongs  the  honor  of  having 
brought  forward  the  first  bill  to  establish  a  free  school  in  North 
Carolina.  His  bill  passed  the  legislature  April  5,  1749,  but  the  gover- 
nor under  instructions  did  not  give  it  effect.  On  the  death  of  Treas- 
urer Eleazer  Allen,  he  was  elected  by  the  house  one  of  the  two 
general  treasurers  of  the  province.  The  upper  house  dissented,  and 
a  struggle  ensued,  but  the  assembly  carried  its  point,  and  in  1750  he 
became  treasurer,  and  held  the  position  until  his  death,  when  the 
same  controversy  was  revived.  During  Gov.  Dobbs'  administration 
he  was  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  governor.  He  held  the  position  of 
colonel  of  militia  in  his  county,  and  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  he 
was  the  local  adviser  of  his  vicinage,  and  settled  up  large  numbers  of 
estates.  Being  continuous!}'  a  member  of  the  assembly  and  the 
treasurer,  he  exercised  a  controlling  influence.  He  was  held  in  high 
esteem  by  the  people,  and  was  powerful  in  the  assembly.  He  co- 
operated always  with  Col.  Sam  Swann,  and  was  a  leader  in  every 
important  measure  brought  before  the  legislature.  He  was  on  the 
committee  of  correspondence  with  the  assembly's  agent  at  London, 
the  others  being  Swann,  John  Ashe  and  George  Moore;  and  these 
formed  the  junta  so  roundly  denounced  by  Gov.  Dobbs,  who  ascribed 
to  them  a  purpose  to  absorb  all  executive  powers  into  their  own 
hands,  and  who  understood  that  they  would  make  his  administration 
easy  if   he  would   abdicate  the    prerogative  of   the  crown    for  their 


NORTH  CAkUIJXA.  57 1 

benefit.  lie  asserted  that  Starkey  and  these  associates  of  his  were 
strong  repubUcans,  and  that  republican  principles  had  a  deeper  hold 
in  this  than  in  any  other  colony. 

Gov.  Dobbs  said  of  Starkej'  that  he  had  won  public  contklence 
"  by  his  capacit}'  and  diligence,  and  in  some  measure  from  his  garb 
arid  seeming  humility,  by  wearing  shoe-strings,  a  plain  coat,  and  hav- 
ing a  bald  head."  From  this  we  may  infer  that  Starkej'  practiced 
democratic  principles  and  differed  from  the  other  gentlemen  of  the 
province  in  not  wearing  knee-breeches  and  a  wig.  And  again  the 
governor  described  him  as  "  a  professed,  violent  republican."  At 
least,  he  always  found  him  a  warm  friend  to  the  liberty  and  freedom 
of  the  colonjand  a  hot  opponent  of  an}- arbitrar}-  purpose  of  the  gov- 
ernor. After  being  a  leading  spirit  in  all  public  matters  for  more 
than  a   quarter  of  a   century,  Mr.  Starkey  died  in  the  spring  of  1765. 


JULIAN  SHAKESPEARE  CARR. 

Among  the  eminent  and  representative  men  of  the  Carolinas  we 
would  give  emphasis  to  the  name  of  Julian  Shakespeare  Carr.  No 
other  individual,  whose  achievements  and  mental  characteristics  are 
outlined  in  this  volume,  is  more  deserving  or  more  widely  and  favor- 
ably known,  especially  in  North  Carolina,  than  Mr.  Carr.  He  was 
born  and  reared  at  Chapel  Hill,  Orange  county,  N.C.,  the  date  of  his 
birth  being  October  12,  1845.  His  father  was  the  late  John  Wesley 
Carr,  who  was  for  many  j'ears  a  respected  citizen  and  successful  mer- 
chant of  Chapel  Hill.  John  Wesley  Carr  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  business  talent;  and  by  means  of  his  practical  business  tact, 
his  honest  endeavor,  and  his  frugality,  he  acquired  a  competency  for 
the  support  of  himself  and  family,  and  to  contribute,  as  he  always 
did,  a  liberal  share  toward  every  public  enterprise  or  worthy  charitable 
object  arising  in  his  community.  Eliza  Pannel  Bullock,  who  is  now 
past  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-si.x  years,  became  the  wife  of  John 
Wesley  Carr.  She  is  of  a  well-known  and  respected  family  of  Gran- 
ville count}'.  Her  marriage  with  Mr.  Carr  gave  issue  to  several 
children,  of  which  there  arc  still  surviving  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Of  those  children,  however,  we  are  most  interested  in 
that  son  whose  name  introduces  this  sketch.  Julian  Shakespeare 
Carr  remained  under  the  parental  roof  till  he  had  reached  his  ma- 
jority; and  being  reared  in  the  quiet  village  of  Chapel  Hill,  his  native 
place,  he  was  afforded  but  little  opportunity  to  develop  those  poten- 
tialities that  have  since  distinguished  him  as  a  business  man;  but  he 
was  reared  under  the  lasting  influence  of  pious  and  e.xemplary  Meth- 
odist parents,  who  early  instilled  into  the  nature  of  their  son  the 
principles  and  precepts  of  morality,  Christianity,  and  ambition;  and 
who  imparted  to  him  that  gentlemanly  instinct  which  from  early  life 
has  pre-eminently  distinguished  his  character.  His  early  scholastic 
training  was  at  Chapel  Hill,  where  he  was  attending  school  when  he 
entered  the  Confederate  army. 


572  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Mr.  Carr  did  true  and  manly  service  as  a  soldier  in  Company  K, 
Third  North  Carolina  cavalry,  Barringer's  brigade  of  W.  H.  F.  Lee's 
division.  His  comrades,  as  an  evidence  of  their  esteem  and  respect 
for  Mr.  Carr,  recently  elected  him  to  the  presidency  of  the  North 
Carolina  Veteran  association.  Mr.  Carr  has  ever  manifested  love  of 
countr}',  and  devotion  to  the  Union  and  his  native  state.  It  is  worthy 
of  him  that  mention  is  made  of  an  incident  in  his  life,  that  occurred 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  several  years  ago.  Upon  the  occasion  of 
his  visiting  old  Independence  Hall,  and  while  inspecting  the  many 
historic  relics  in  that  patriotic  collection,  Mr.  Carr  observed  that  sus- 
pended on  the  walls  of  one  of  the  rooms  were  the  insignia  and  coat 
of  arms,  handsomely  designed  and  printed,  of  nearly  all  the  thirteen 
original  states,  and  with  humiliation  he  noticed  that  North  Carolina 
was  not  represented.  At  once,  with  commendable  state  pride,  at  his 
own  instance  and  expense,  Mr.  Carr  procured  permission  and  caused 
North  Carolina's  patriotic  emblems  and  insignia  to  be  placed  side  by 
side  with  her  sister  states,  in  the  grand  old  hall  of  the  Union.  In 
November,  1886,  Mr.  Carr  was  chosen  chief  marshal,  and  acted  as 
such  at  the  Fayetteville  centennial  celebration  of  the  ratification,  by 
North  Carolina,  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  to  him 
was  largely  due  the  success  of  that  occasion. 

For  a  brief  time  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  Mr.  Carr  attended 
the  university  at  Chapel  Hill,  which  he  left  to  become  a  partner  with 
his  father,  in  the  firm  of  Carr,  Freeland  &  Co.,  at  Chapel  Hill.  This 
was  Mr.  Carr's  first  venture  in  business;  and  after  remaining  with  this 
firm  three  years,  he  went,  in  i86g,  to  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  on  account  of 
the  residence  of  an  uncle  in  that  city,  and  here  he  merchandised  for 
about  one  year,  after  which  he  returned,  in  1870,  to  his  native  state, 
and  at  this  date  became  interested  in  manufacturing  tobacco,  in  which 
his  career  has  been  pre-eminently  successful. 

In  1870  he  purchased  a  one-third  interest  in  the  manufacturing 
business  of  W.  T.  Blackwell  &  Co.,  then  composed  of  W.  T.  Blackwell 
and  J.  R.  Day,  at  Durham,  N.  C,  and  at  once  Mr.  Carr  entered  upon 
a  career  of  an  active  and  successful  business  life,  as  a  manufacturer. 
At  that  time  the  business  of  Blackwell  &  Co.  had  just  begun  to  grow, 
and  the  only  need  was  additional  capital  and  prudent  management; 
these  Mr.  Carr  well  supplied,  and  from  that  day  the  business  of  Black- 
well's  Durham  Tobacco  company  has  continuously  grown,  until  now 
the  Blackwell  Durham  corporation,  as  now  organized,  operates  per- 
haps the  largest  smoking  tobacco  establishments  in  the  world  —  having 
a  capital  stock  of  $4,ooo,oco,  and  doing  annuallj^  an  immense  volume 
of  business.  Aside  from  this  business  interest,  Mr.  Carr  has  many 
others,  and  his  prominence  in  business  affairs  may  be  inferred  from 
the  numerous  positions  of  trust  in  private  corporations  which  he  holds, 
viz.:  President  Blackvvell's  Durham  Tobacco  companj^;  First  National 
bank,  of  Durham;  Commonwealth  Cotton  manufacturing  company, 
Durham;  Golden  Belt  manufacturing  company,  Durham;  Jule  Carr 
Home  Loan  fund,  Durham;  Durham  Electric  Lighting  company; 
Durham  Street  Railway  company,  Durham;  Consolidated  Land  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  573 

Improvement  compaii}-,  Durham;  Board  Trustees  Methodist  female 
seminarv,  Durham;  Commonwealth  Club,  Durham;  North  Carolina 
Bessemer  cornpany,  McDowell  county;  Greensboro  female  college 
association,  Greensboro;  Atlantic  Hotel  company,  Morehcad  City; 
North  Carolina  \'eteran  association;  Association  Young  Men's  Dem- 
ocratic clubs;  Southern  Manganese  company.  Kings  Mountain,  N.  C; 
vice-president  Lynchburg  &  Durham  railroad  company;  Durham 
Cotton  manufacturing  company;  Durham  Bull  Fertilizer  company, 
Durham;  Consumers'  Phosphate  company',  Richmond,  Va.;  North 
Carolina  Steel  and  Iron  company,  Greensboro;  Kerr  Bag  machine 
company.  Concord;  trustee  and  member  of  the  executive  committee 
University-  of  North  Carolina;  trustee  of  Trinity  college;  Davenport 
female  college;  Kittrell's  normal  school;  trustee  American  univer- 
sity, Washington  D.  C;  director  of  Oxford  orphan  asylum;  Oxford 
&  Clarksville  railroad;  member  of  governor's  staff  (paymaster-gen- 
eral), v.ith  the  rank  of  colonel;  the  executive  committee  of  the  Na- 
tional Tobacco  association  of  the  United  Utates;  and  of  the  state 
democratic  committee. 

That  Mr.  Carr  is  a  busy  man  of  affairs  these  numerous  positions 
would  seem  to  indicate  and  those  about  him  well  know,  for  his  ex- 
ecutive abilit}-  is  everywhere  recognized  and  conceded.  But  in  the 
midst  of  all  his  business  affairs  and  engagements  he  never  seems  to 
be  in  as  great  a  hurry  as  many  having  less  to  do.  In  his  daily  inter- 
course with  his  employes  he  never  forgets  to  be  a  gentleman,  and 
finds  time  to  advise  and  help  them  in  their  own  private  matters, 
which  few  in  his  position  would,  if  they  could,  devote  spare  time  to 
do.  Mr.  Carr  has,  by  his  superior  business  talent  and  management, 
and  together  with  his  most  excellent  traits  of  character  and  com- 
mendable works,  become  not  only  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the 
state,  but  has  become  deservingly  one  of  the  most  influential,  honored 
and  beloved,  as  well  as  popular  leader  among  the  public  spirits  of  the 
state.  He  has  ever  been  an  ardent  promoter  of  industrial  enter- 
prises, educative  and  church,  and  has  given  much  of  his  means,  time 
and  influence  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-man.  He  has  given  much 
financial  aid  to  the  churches,  schools  and  colleges  of  his  state;  and 
stands  pre-eminently  an  aid  and  giver  to  charity.  He  is  the  pa- 
tron of  many  poor,  struggling  men,  and  has  assisted  out  of  difficulty 
scores  of  the  needy.  He  has  given  to  the  hungry;  he  has  aided  the 
sick;  he  has  educated  the  poor  urchin;  he  has  given  home  and  succor 
to  the  poor  veteran  and  maimed  Confederate  soldier;  has  supported 
poor  preachers,  schools  and  churches  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
poor;. and  has  given  large  and  material  financial  aid  to  the  university, 
to  Wake  Forest  college,  to  Trinity  college  and  other  institutions  of 
learning;  and  in  so  many  ways  has  he  been  a  blessing  to  humanity, 
that  manifold  are  the  voices  that  called  him  blessed  and  give  praise 
to  his  name  and  deeds.  Were  we  to  mention  his  many  worthy  traits 
of  character  we  would  give  emphasis  to  his  purity  of  soul  and  his 
magnanimous  heart.     He  is  wholly  free  of  affectation  and  ostenta- 


574  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tion,  and  in  consequence,  as  a  benefactor,  he  appears  in  all  his  deeds 
as  free  of  all  selfishness. 

In  the  political  arena  Mr.  Carr  is  prominent  and  active,  and  while 
he  has  never  sought  political  preferment,  his  name  has  several  times 
been  prominently  and  favorably  mentioned  in  connection  with  offices 
of  high  honor.  In  the  popular  sense  of  the  term  he  has  never  been 
an  office  seeker,  yet  some  two  j^ears  ago  he  was  enthusiastically  sup- 
ported for  nomination  to  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  twice  elected  a  delegate  for  the  state  at  large  to 
the  national  convention  of  the  democratic  party,  and  in  the  conven- 
tion that  nominated  Mr.  Cleveland  for  the  presidency,  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  committee  to  frame  the  platform  on  which  Mr. 
Cleveland  was  elected.  His  name  is  prominently  mentioned  as  a 
candidate  for  governor  of  the  state  in  the  approaching  campaign  of 
1892,  and  strong  and  enthusiastic  would  be  his  support  if  he  would 
consent  to  become  a  candidate. 

Mr.  Carr  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years,  and  in  the 
selection  of  his  wife  displayed  equal,  if  not  better,  sound  judgment 
than  in  his  most  successful  business  affairs.  He  was  the  fortunate 
winner  of  the  hand  and  heart  of  Miss  Nannie  G.,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Col.  D.  C.  Parrish,  of  Durham.  Two  daughters:  Lida 
and  Lallah,  and  three  sons,  Julian,  Marvin  and  Claiborne,  have 
blessed  their  happy  union.  Mr.  Carr's  family  residence  in  Durham, 
is  one  of  the  most  handsome  and  expensive  ones  in  the  south,  and 
ornamented  with  suitable  surroundings,  and  there  can  be  found  no- 
where a  home  of  more  ideal  and  elysian  domestic  happiness.  There 
is  nowhere  to  be  found  a  more  dignified,  refined  and  amiable  woman 
than  Mrs.  Carr,  and  she  has  been,  and  is,  in  every  true  sense  a  help- 
mate for  her  husband,  worthy  to  grace  and  adorn  the  family  circle 
around  any  domestic  fireside  where  female  virtues  shed  their  hallowed 
light  and  contribute  the  chief  essentials  to  happiness.  Whatever 
may  be  the  lot  in  life  of  their  children,  they  will  have  no  cause  to  re- 
gret their  parentage. 

RUFUS   MURRAY   JOHNSTON, 

the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  on  June  5,  1S25,  at  the  old  home- 
stead of  the  Johnston  family,  "Oak  Grove"  farm,  which  lies  along 
the  fertile  banks  of  the  Catawba  river,  in  what  was  known  in  colonial 
times  as  Tryon  county.  The  name  was  changed  to  Lincoln,  the  large 
county  divided,  and  this  well-known  plantation  was  situated  about 
fifteen  miles  north  of  Charlotte,  in  what  now  constitutes  Gaston 
county.  The  Johnston  family  trace  their  lineage  to  the  bold,  sturdy 
.Scotch-Irish  stock.  Firm  and  dauntless,  loyal,  conservative  and 
honorable,  are  the  characteristics  that  marked  this  stalwart  race  in 
the  mother  country;  traits  that  were  not  lost  by  emigration  and  resi- 
dence in  this  land  of  freedom  and  adventure.  After  the  battle  of 
Culloden,  when  the  claims  of  the  Stuarts  and  the  hopes  of  their  ad- 


NORTH  CAROLIN-A.  575 

herents  were  finall}'  dispelled,  in  those  troublous  times  when  men's 
hearts  were  wearied  and  men's  lives  burdened  with  the  incessant  civil 
and  religious  agitations  that  vexed  the  old  country,  a  tide  of  emigra- 
tion llowed  from  Scotland  to  America.  Among  the  families  who 
then  settled  in  this  country,  whose  brave  deeds  brighten  the  pages  of 
our  early  history  and  whose  names  are  household  words,  were  the 
Johnstons.  Henry  Johnston,  the  great-grandfather  of  Rufus  M. 
Johnston,  attracted  by  the  genial  climate,  the  rich  soil  and  the  mineral 
wealth  of  this  section,  made  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Catawba 
river,  and  began  to  build  up  this  "Oak  Grove"  plantation,  which  is 
still  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants.  During  the  Revolution  his 
son  Col.  James  Johnston  served  his  country  with  honor,  both  on  the 
field  and  in  the  council.  The  firmness  and  unflinching  courage  of 
his  Scotch-Irish  ancestry  can  be  recognized  in  this  epitome  of  his 
character,  given  bj-  a  contemporary,  Maj.  John  Davidson:  "  hie  was 
a  most  e.xcellent  man  and  never  shrunk  from  the  performance  of  any 
dutj'  when  the  v.elfare  of  his  country  demanded  such  service."  Col. 
Johnston  married  Miss  Jane  Ewart,  also  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  her 
father,  Robert  Ewart,  Jr.,  being  one  of  the  patriots  of  Mecklenburg 
county.  Robert  Johnston,  the  eldest  son  of  Col.  James  Johnston,  was 
a  successful  farmer,  an  influential  member  of  society,  and  was  for  fifty 
years  an  elder  in  Unity  church,  one  of  the  largest  and  wealthiest  con- 
gregations in  western  North  Carolina.  He  married  Miss  Mary  M. 
Reid,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Reid,  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and 
a  senator  from  Lincoln  county  in  the  legislature  of  1810-11,  and 
again  of  1S17-1S.  They  were  the  parents  of  a  family  of  twelve 
children. 

Rufus  Murray  Johnston  was  the  seventh  and  youngest  son  of  this 
family.  It  was  the  wish  of  his  father  that  this  son  should  adopt  his 
own  vocation  and  become  a  farmer,  and  to  him  he  designed  to  leave 
the  homestead,  Oak  Grove  farm;  consequently  all  of  his  early  train- 
ing and  education  was  with  this  end  in  view,  and  the  full  collegiate 
course  given  to  the  older  sons,  he  did  not  receive.  Mr.  Johnston, 
however,  strenuously  opposed"  this  plan.  His  tastes  and  his  abilities 
led  him  to  prefer  so  decidedly  a  business  life  that  he  felt  it  was  im- 
possible to  fulfil  the  expectations  of  his  father.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
Mr.  Johnston  left  his'ancestral  home  and  entered,  as  a  clerk,  the  store 
of  his  brother,  Robert  E.  Johnston,  Jr.,  at  Lincolnton.  After  two 
years  spent  in  this  position,  a  good  school  for  the  rudiments  and  dis- 
cipline of  a  business,  life,  he  took  a  bold  step  and  went  to  New  York, 
that  mighty  metropolis,  which  then,  as  now,  tests  a  man's  powers, 
bringing  out  all  that  is  strongest  and  best  in  a  virile  character,  while 
the  weak  are  submerged  and  lost  in  the  struggle  for  reputation  and 
fortune.  Mr.  Johnston  obtained  a  clerkship  with  L.  M.  \Vylie  «J<:  Co., 
but  soon  after  embarked  in  business  on  his  own  capital  and  formed  a 
partnership  under  the  firm  name  of  Churchill,  Johnston  &  Co.,  which 
was  changed,  upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Churchill,  to  Johnston,  Shep- 
herd &  Saunders.  They  were  importers  and  jobbers  of  fine  dry 
goods  and  were  in  the  full  tide  of  successful  commercial  enterprise  when 


576  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the   Civil   war  interrupted  their  career  and  brought  upon  them  un- 
avoidable changes  and  losses. 

On  May  2Q,  1856,  Mr.  Johnston  was  married  to  Miss  Cecelia  Latta, 
daughter  of  Robert  Latta,  Esq.,  of  Columbia,  S.  C,  a  lady  of  charm- 
ing grace  and  dignity  of  manner,  of  varied  accomplishments  and  of 
wealth.  Soon  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Johnston  was  elected  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Exchange  bank  of  Columbia,  and  established  his 
residence  in  that  delightful  city.  The  office  of  president  he  filled  till 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  during  this  period  he  was  chosen  for  two 
terms  to  represent  Richland  district  in  the  legislature  of  the  state. 
At  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Johnston  made  a  short  stay  in  Charlotte, 
N.  C,  where  his  brother,  Col.  William  Johnston,  resided.  He  then 
moved  to  New  York  city,  and  after  settling  up  his  mercantile  and 
banking  business,  became  a  traveling  salesman  in  the  extreme  south. 
His  first  engagement  was  with  John  T.  Martin's  Sons  &  Co.,  of  New 
York,  and  then  he  formed  a  business  connection  with  Longstreet, 
Sedgewick  &  Co.,  of  the  same  city.  As  an  evidence  of  the  high  es- 
teem in  which  Mr.  Johnston's  ability  was  held,  he  received  at  this 
time  an  annual  salar}'  of  $10,000,  with  the  addition  of  certain  com- 
missions. He  continued  to  travel  for  only  a  few  years,  when  his 
health  became  impaired,  and,  surrendering  active  business,  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Charlotte,  N.C.,  where  he  had  a  large  circle 
of  friends  and  many  relatives. 

Not  more  than  a  year  later,  in  iS6q,  he  died,  leaving  a  widow  and 
one  son,  his  only  living  child.  Mrs.  Johnston  continued  to  reside  in 
Charlotte  after  her  husband's  death,  and  survived  him  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  She  died  on  the  17th  of  April,  iSqi,  leaving  a  hallowed 
memory.  Her  life  was  beautified  by  untold. acts  of  charity  and  un- 
forgotten  deeds  of  kindness.  She  exerted  a  noble  and  wide-spread 
influence  in  the  church,  in  society  and  in  her  own  home,  which  was 
ever  the  center  of  a  refined  and  elegant  hospitality.  Latta  C.  Johns- 
ton, their  only  son,  was  born  in  Columbia,  S.  C,  on  the  20th  of  May, 
1857.  His  youth  was  spent  there  and  in  New  York  and  in  Charlotte, 
successively,  with  his  parents.  He  was  educated  mainly  at  Spartan- 
burg, S.  C,  and  at  Charlotte.  His  home  has  been  with  his  mother, 
with  whom  he  resided  until  her  recent  death.  On  July  14,  1S87, 
Latta  C.  Johnston  and  Miss  Annie  Lee  Thorne  were  united  in  mar- 
riage, and  their  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  a  son,  who 
bears  the  full  name  of  his  paternal  grandfather,  Rufus  Murray  Johns- 
ton, the  principal  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Rufus  Murray  Johnston  was  a  thoroughly  practical  man,  careful 
and  judicious  in  all  his  business  operations.  His  transactions  were 
dictated  by  sound  good  sense  and  a  correct  judgment  that  seemed  to 
be  inborn  and  intuitive.  Though  he  began  life  with  a  limited  capi- 
tal, his  wonderful  zeal  and  energy,  combined  with  prudence  and  fore- 
sight, were  worth  more  to  him  than  an  unlimited  inheritance. 
Though  he  was  cut  off  in  the  pfime  of  life,  and  his  business  career 
interrupted  by  a  civil  war  of  gigantic  proportions,  he  had  accumulat- 
ed at  his  death  a  handsome  estate  and  left  to  his  surviving  family 


z 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  577 

more  than  a  competency.  lie  was  generous  and  chivalrous  in  all  his 
relations  in  life,  kind  and  affectionate  to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
a  dev^oted  son  to  his  patents.  He  was  liberal  and  i)opular  with  all 
his  commercial  and  other  acquaintances,  and  made  friends  of  them. 
The  writer  of  this  sketch  well  remembers  the  gentleness  and  winning 
courtesy  of  his  manner,  and  his  quick  sympathy  and  prompt  response 
to  any  appeal  of  distress.  His  useful  life  was  closed  in  his  forty- 
second  year,  and  his  death  was  the  first,  in  a  family  oi  twelve,  to 
break  the  charmed  circle  of  sister  and  brotherhood. 

JUDGE  DAVID  SCHENCK,  LL.  D. 

No  compilation  of  the  biographical  sketches  of  the  illustrious  sons 
of  North  Carolina  would  be  complete  that  excluded  the  name  of 
Judge  David  Schenck.  His  ancestors  came  from  Switzerland  to  this 
country'  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  having  first  been 
e.xiled  from  their  native  country  to  England,  on  account  of  their 
religious  convictions  —  they  being  Menonites  —  and  in  that  country 
receiving  an  invitation  from  William  Penn,  in  1708,  to  join  his  colony, 
then  being  fitted  out  for  settlement  in  Pennsylvania.  Three  brothers, 
Michae'l,  John  and  Henry  Schenck,  accepted  the  invitation  of  Penn, 
and  in  Pennsj'lvania,  February  28,  1737,  was  born  to  the  eldest 
brother,  Michael,  a  son,  who  was  also  named  Michael,  and  to  this 
second  Michael  there  was  born,  on  the  15th  day  of  P^ebruary,  1771,  in 
Lancaster  county,  a  son,  who  was  also  named  Michael.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  this  third  Michael  Schenck  came  to  North  Carolina 
and  settled  in  Lincolnton,  in  the  year  1790;  here  he  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business  and  also  established  a  cotton  mill.  To  this  Michael 
Schenck  there  was  born  at  Lincolnton,  P"ebruary  3,  180Q,  a  son,  who 
was  named  David  Warlick  .Schenck,  who  became  a  physician  and 
surgeon  of  great  skill.  David  Warlick  Schenck  married  .Susan  Re- 
becca Bevens,  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  to  this  union  there  was  born, 
at  Lincolnton,  N.  C,  March  24,  1835,  David,  the  subject  proper  of 
this  sketch.  David  gained  a  very  fair  knowledge  of  books,  and,  study- 
ing the  principles  of  law  under  Haywood  W.  Guion,  obtained  a  license 
to  practice  the  profession  in  the  county  courts  in  June,  1856.  Later  in 
the  same  year  he  studied  law  under  Chief-Justice  R.  M.  Pearson,  at 
Richmond  Hill,  and  was  duly  admitted  as  a  full-fledged  practitioner 
of  law  in  Dallas,  Gaston  county,  N.  C,  in  1857.  Near  his  birth  place, 
August  25,  1859,  he  married  Sallie  Wilfong  Ramseur.  In  i860,  Mr. 
Schenck,  having  met  with  eminent  success  in  his  practice,  was  elected 
county  solicitor,  having,  however,  filled  the  same  position  in  Gaston, 
where  his  transcendent  abilities  had  already  been  recognized.  In 
1861  he  was  elected  to  the  state  convention  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
l)y  the  promotion  of  the  Hon.  William  Lander  to  a  seat  in  the  Con- 
federate congress.  In  [86g  he  was  compelled  to  yield  his  nomination 
for  the  state  senate,  on  account  of  his  political  disabilities  not  having 
been  removed  b)'  congress,  and  until  1874  followed  his  vocation  of 
lawyer.  On  the  13th  day  of  May,  1874,  he  was  nominated  as  a  democrat 
B— 37 


578  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

for  the  office  of  judge  of  the  ninth  judicial  district,  won  the  victory 
and  was  seated  upon  the  bench.  There  the  pure  and  clean  charac- 
teristics of  his  legal  mind  were  fully  exhibited  and  his  decisions  as 
judge  added  new  luster  to  his  fame.  In  iSSo  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  voluntarily  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  in 
recognition  of  his  erudition  and  his  profundity  of  knowledge  of  law 
especially. 

In  i88r  Judge  Schenck  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench  and  accepted 
the  office  of  general  counsel  of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  R.  R.  Co., 
on  account  of  the  demands  of  a  growing  family  in  a  pecuniary  way,  and 
the  compensation  afforded  by  the  railway  company  being  greater 
than  that  given  by  the  state,  and  for  the  same  reason  he  declined  to 
accept  a  position  on  the  supreme  court  bench  of  North  Carolina,  ten- 
dered him  by  Gov.  Jarvis  in  18S3.  Judge  Schenck  is  also  counselor 
for  the  Charleston,  Cincinnati  &  Chicago  railroad  company,  with 
office  at  Greensboro,  where  he  is  also  engaged  in  private  practice. 

Ex-Judge  Schenck  has  long  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  at  Lincolnton  was  an  elder  in  that  religious  denomina- 
tion. Ever  alive  to  the  advancement  of  his  local  surroundings,  the 
judge  lends  his  services  willingly  in  aid  of  any  project  for  the  benefit 
or  the  prosperity  of  his  fellow-citizens,  be  the  task  enjoined' ever  so 
humble;  and  so,  in  May,  1887,  he  accepted  a  position  as  commissioner 
on  the  reform  ticket  at  Goldsboro,  and  gave  valuable  aid  in  restoring 
to  vitality  the  half-dead  city.  In  1S86  Judge  Schenck  compiled  a  his- 
tory entitled,  "North  Carolina — 17S0-81,"  which  is  essentially  of  and 
for  North  Carolina,  which  work  has  met  with  universal  commenda- 
tion, and,  curiously  enough,  has  proved  to  be  a  financial  success,  a 
result  not  always  rewarding  the  historian. 

COL.  JOHN  SOMERVILLE  CUNINGHAM. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the  successful  planters  of 
North  Carolina,  who,  inheriting  a  large  estate,  has  in  its  management 
exhibited  rare  executive  ability  and  a  sagacity  in  business  affairs  that 
stamps  him  as  one  of  the  foremost  agriculturists  of  the  southern 
country.  Residing  in  Person  county,  in  the  center  of  the  famous 
Bright  Tobacco  Belt,  whose  products  are  unrivaled  in  the  markets 
of  the  world,  he  has  on  his  splendid  plantation  so  developed  the  cul- 
ture of  the  golden  leaf  as  to  be  known  as  the  largest  tobacco  planter 
in  the  world.  He  sets  out  two  million  hills  of  Bright  tobacco  and 
obtains  the  highest  prices  for  his  crops.  Although  his  father 
had  long  resided  in  Person,  Col.  Cuningham  was  born  in  Warren- 
ton,  N.  C,  the  home  of  his  mother's  family.  He  was  born  Septem- 
ber 5,  1861,  and  in  his  youth  received  all  the  benefits  of  a  cultured 
and  refined  home.  After  a  thorough  course  at  those  famous  schools, 
Horner's  at  Oxford,  and  Bingham's  at  Mebane,  he  entered  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  completed  his  education.  He 
entered  upon  the  activities  of  life  admirably  equipped,  possessing 
arge  wealth,  with  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  inheriting  a  name 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  579 

that  was  the  synonym  of  honor,  courtesy  and  liberal  hospitality.  To 
these  he  united  quick  intelligence,  pleasing  manners  and  an  agree- 
able address.  He  might  well  have  chosen  a  road  to  fame  through 
the  portals  of  a  professional  career,  or  have  entered  into  the  alluring 
walks  of  political  life.  But  with  discretion  and  wisdom  he  resisted 
such  inclinations,  and  has  chosen  to  serve  his  state  by  advaricing  her 
agricultural  interests  and  setting  an  example  of  successful  farming, 
which  all  can  follow  to  their  advantage.  He  takes  a  pride  in  agri- 
culture and  devotes  himself  industriously  to  the  care  of  his  large 
property,  seeking  with  diligence  to  make  his  farming  operations  a 
continued  success,  and  inaugurating  improvements  and  improved 
methods  of  culture  as  experience  justifies.  Thus  he  prornotes  the 
agricultural  interests  of  the  state  and  advances  the  prosperity  of  the 
farming  element.  His  management  indeed  affords  ample  proof  of 
what  steady  application  and  unremitting  industry  will  accomplish 
when  joined  to  tine  executive  ability  and  love  for  the  vocation  of 
one's  choice. 

But  although  strictly  pursuing  the  business  of  farming,  Col.  Cun- 
ingham  has  exhibited  on  suitable  occasions  great  interest  in  public 
matters  and  zeal  for  the  success  of  the  democratic  party,  of  which  he 
is  a  leading  member  in  his  section  of  the  state.  His  earnestness  has 
been  displayed  not  merely  by  his  personal  exertions,  his  advice  and 
canvasses,  but  by  liberal  contributions  of  money,  and  his  efforts  being 
appreciated  by  the  democrats  of  his  county,  Person,  he  exerts  there  a 
powerful  influence.  As  a  public  speaker.  Col.  Cuningham  is  easy 
and  graceful,  speaking  directly  to  the  point  and  presenting  his  ideas 
forcibly,  without  any  attempt  at  artificial  effect,  beyond  the  excel- 
lence of  the  sentiments  expressed  and  purit}'  of  diction,  so  that  the 
humblest  capacity  can  comprehend  his  points.  In  particular  did  his 
address  at  Oxford,  N.  C,  April  i8,  iSSS,  upon  the  completion  of  the 
Oxford  &  Clarksville  railroad,  win  him  praise  and  encomiums.  On 
February  2,  1888,  there  was  held  at  Danville,  Va.,  the  inter-state 
farmers'  convention,  and  of  that  large  assembly  of  prominent  agri- 
culturists. Col.  Cuningham  was  elected  the  president,  and  he  pre- 
sided with  admirable  poise  over  the  deliberations  of  the  bodj'.  As 
a  presiding  officer,  he  is  rapid,  fair  and  impartial,  and,  while  hastening 
business  to  an  end,  courteous  and  pleasant  to  the  members  of  the 
bod}'.  Evidently  he  has  learned  the  rule,  that  he  who  would  rule 
others  well,  must  first  learn  to  govern  himself.  Col.  Cuningham  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Paris  exposition  in  i8Sq,  and  spent  some  time  in  at- 
tendance at  the  exposition.  During  the  same  trip  to  Europe,  he 
traveled  through  France,  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  availed 
himself  of  the  occasion,  to  compare  the  condition  of  those  European 
peoples  with  that  of  his  own  countrymen,  coming  to  the  conclusion 
that,  in  all  essentials,  Americans  were  ahead  of  the  world.  At  the 
opening  of  the  campaign  of  1888,  some  of  the  friends  of  Col.  Cun- 
ingham brought  his  name  forward  for  the  position  of  lieutenant- 
governor  of  the  state,  but  although  not  seeking  such  political  honors 
at  this  time,  he  participated  actively  in  the  canvass  and  contributed 


5S0  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

largely  to  securing  a  fine  vote  for  Gov.  Fowle  in  his  section  of  the 
state.  As  a  compliment,  Gov.  Fowle,  upon  his  inauguration,  invited 
him  to  become  the  senior  member  of  his  staff  with  the  rank  of  col- 
onel, and  in  that  capacity  he  has  at  various  times  attended  the  governor 
of  the  state  upon  important  occasions.  When  Gov.  Holt  succeeded 
to  the  executive  office,  Col.  Cuningham  was  asked  to  retain  his  posi- 
tion on  the  staff  and  he  is  yet  a  member  of  the  governor's  military 
family. 

Col.  Cuningham  takes  a  deep  interest,  not  merely  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  agriculture  and  the  development  of  the  resources  of 
the  state,  but  also  in  all  those  questions  of  an  economic  character 
tending  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  people.  He  is  a 
born  democrat,  and  believes  that  men  should  be  selected  to  office  for 
fitness,  and  for  what  they  can  accomplish  for  the  good  of  the  masses 
and  of  the  state.  In  1889  Col.  Cuningham  married  Miss  Otey  M. 
Carrington,  of  Virginia,  a  beautiful,  accomplished  and  lovely  lady, 
who  adorns  his  elegant  home  and  presides  with  grace  over  his  hos- 
pitable board.  There  true  southern  refinement  and  culture  hold 
their  sway,  and  a  picture  is  presented  of  a  typical  southern  home. 
Careful  business  management,  activity  and  progressive  ideas  are 
united  with  a  fine  hospitality  and  liberal  giving  toward  all  proper 
objects  of  bounty.  The  father  of  Col.  Cuningham  was  the  late  Hon. 
John  W.  Cuningham,  a  gentleman  of  admirable  culture,  high  char- 
acter and  social  standing.  For  more  than  fort}^  years  he  took  an 
active  part  in  public  affairs,  and  left  his  impress  upon  the  history  of 
his  state.  No  man  was  more  cherished  by  his  friends  than  this  dis- 
tinguished gentleman,  and  none  deserved  to  be  held  in  higher  esteem 
for  his  personal  worth  and  rare  excellence.  He,  like  his  son,  was  a 
successful  planter,  and  added  to  his  fortune  by  the  skillful  and  pru- 
dent management  of  his  farms.  His  death,  in  the  year  1SS7,  was 
greatly  deplored  by  hosts  of  friends  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea- 
board. 

HON.   JOHN    W.   CUNINGHAM. 

One  of  the  most  admirable  of  the  public  men  of  North  Carolina  of 
the  generation  now  rapidly  passing  away,  was  the  gentleman  who  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  In  every  relation  of  life  he  was  excellent.  In 
his  family  he  was  wise  and  affectionate;  as  a  planter  and  merchant, 
diligent  and  sagacious;  as  a  neighbor,  kind  and  given  to  hospitality; 
as  a  friend,  stanch  and  true,  and  as  a  public  man  he  was  patriotic, 
honest  and  sincere.  There  was  no  blemish  on  his  spotless  character, 
but  he  stood  among  the  first  men  of  the  state,  worth}^  of  their  warm 
acimiration  and  high  esteem.  He  was  descended  from  the  Cuning- 
hams  of  Scotland,  and  inherited  the  finest  characteristics  of  his 
Scotch  descent.  His  father  was  a  wholesale  merchant  in  Petersburg, 
Va.,  and,  in  1796,  established  a  branch  store  in  Person  county,  N.  C, 
at  what  is  now  known  as  "Cuningham's  Store,"  and  this  mercantile 
establishment  has  ever  since  been  maintained,  it  being  the  oldest  bus- 


J.  W.  CUNINGHAM. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  58 1 

iness  house  kept  up  in  unbroken  succession  by  the  same  familj^  in 
North  CaroHna.  Their  honesty,  tlirift,  enterprise  and  sagacitj'  have 
been  blended  in  unison  for  a  century,  and  through  three  generations 
the  business  has  been  successfully  carried  on. 

John  \V.  Cuningham  was  born  in  Petersburg,  Va.,  on  the  6th  day 
of  i''ebruary,  1S20.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  that  thorough 
school  —  Bingham's  —  then  in  the  very  meridian  of  its  high  fame,  and 
passing  thence  to  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  easily  graduated 
with  credit  in  the  class  of  1S40.  Returning  to  the  plantation  in  Per- 
son count}',  on  which  he  had  been  reared,  he  devoted  himself  to  its 
cultivation,  for  agriculture  was  congenial  to  his  simple  tastes  and  his 
sincere  disposition.  He  was  well  adapted  to  the  vocation,  possessing 
a  robust  constitution,  sound  judgment  and  untiring  industry.  The  es- 
tate was  large  and  valuable,  but  his  energy  prompted  him  to  under- 
take great  improvements.  Year  after  year  he  added  something  either 
in  ornamentation  or  in  construction  of  drains,  augmenting  the  fertility 
of  his  fields,  or  enlarging  the  clearings,  until  at  last  he  possessed  one  of 
the  most  productive  estates  and  pleasant  homes  in  the  county,  and  his 
elegant  residence  and  fine  fields  largely  awoke  a  spirit  of  improve- 
ment in  his  section.  A  man  of  such  merit,  so  much  esteemed  and  so 
well  equipped  for  the  discharge  of  public  duties,  could  not  be  allowed 
to  reside  in  seclusion.  In  1844,  when  but  twenty-four  years  old,  he  was 
elected  to  the  house  of  commons.  And  from  1852  to  1859,  he  served 
in  the  senate.  He  seldom  spoke  in  either  body,  but  whenever  there 
was  a  great  question  of  public  importance,  he  expressed  his  views 
and  gave  his  counsel.  His  strong  sense,  his  force  of  character,  fine 
intelligence  and  high  integrity  gave  great  weight  to  his  utterances, 
and  contributed  to  make  him  one  of  the  most  infiucntial  of  the 
members. 

In  those  trying  days  when  the  clouds  began  to  gather,  he  was  sel- 
ected as  one  of  the  council  of  state  to  advise  with  Gov.  Ellis;  and  in 
1861  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  convention  to  decide  on  the  ac- 
tion of  the  state  in  view  of  the  grave  crisis.  That  convention  re- 
mained in  session  until  1863,  and  in  1864  and  1865  he  was  again  a 
member  of  the  house.  After  the  war,  when  the  questions  arising 
from  the  changed  condition  of  affairs  wore  the  gravest  aspect,  he  was 
returned  to  the  senate  chamber,  and  to  the  same  body  he  was  con- 
tinuously sent  from  1872  to  1880.  Frequently  solicited  to  stand  for 
congress  or  to  allow  his  name  to  be  used  in  connection  with  the 
nomination  for  governor  of  the  state,  he  invariably  declined,  being 
averse  to  holding  any  office  that  would  for  any  protracted  period 
separate  him  from  his  home.  He  had  married  Miss  Helen  .Somer- 
ville,  a  daughter  of  John  Somerville,  Esq.,  of  Warren  county;  a  lady 
who  was  as  lovely  in  character  as  she  was  beautiful  in  person;  gifted 
by  nature  and  of  rare  accomplishments;  and  his  home  was  a  seat  of 
elegance  and  refinement.  As  much  as  he  loved  his  state,  his  home 
and  home  life  were  still  dearer  to  him.  But  in  the  winter  of  1886-87, 
Mrs.   Cuningham   died,  and  life  lost  its  charm  for  him,  and  after  a 


582  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

deep  grief  of  eighteen  sad  months,  he  followed  her  to  the  grave,  dy- 
ing on  the  15th  of  July,  18S9. 

GEN.  ALEXANDER  LILLINGTON 

was  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  generation  in  North  Carolina. 
His  grandfather,  Maj.  Alexander  Lillington,  came  to  the  Albemarle 
settlement  from  the  Barbadoes,  when  the  colony  was  in  its  infancy. 
He  was  commissioned  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1679,  and  he  held  the 
court  in  Berkeley  precinct  until  1693,  when  he  was  appointed  deputy 
governor.  During  his  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  colony, 
the  people  enjoyed  tranquility  and  prosperity.  The  lords  proprietors 
abrogated  the  fundamental  constitutions,  and  the  people,  at  their  re- 
quest, were  governed  under  the  charter.  Without  question  Maj. 
Lillington  was  the  most  commanding  figure  in  the  colony.  One  of 
his  daughters,  Elizabeth,  married  Col.  Sam  Swann,  and  after  his 
death,  Col.  Maurice  Moore;  another,  Mary,  married  Jeremiah  Vail; 
Anna  married  Gov.  Henderson  Walker,  and  after  his  death,  Edward 
Moseley;  Sarah  married  Col.  John  Porter.  There  were  three  sons, 
George,  Thomas  and  John.  The  latter  married,  about  1690,  Sarah 
Porter,  sister  of  Col.  John  Porter,  and  to  them  were  born  three  girls 
and  one  son,  Alexander,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  At  an  earl}'  day 
he  was  left  an  orphan,  and  fell  under  the  care  of  his  uncle,  Edward 
Moseley,  and  removed  with  him,  about  1735,  to  Rocky  Point,  New 
Hanover  county.  He  passed  his  early  years  surrounded  b}'  his  kins- 
men, Moseley,  the  Ashes,  Porters,  Moores  and  the  Swanns.  He  pos- 
sessed a  large  frame,  Herculean  strength,  and  intellectual  powers  of 
a  high  order. 

When  the  people  embodied  in  February,  1766,  to  force  a  release 
of  the  vessels  seized  for  a  violation  of  the  stamp  act,  they  chose 
Lillington,  John  Ashe  and  Lloyd  to  be  their  "  directors."  He  was  a 
colonel  in  the  army  to  subdue  the  regulators.  Wlien  the  troubles 
with  the  mother  country  grew  serious,  he  raised  a  company  of  minute 
men  in  New  Hanover  county  and  entered  actively  upon  military 
duties.  He  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  safety  in  1775,  and 
was  in  that  year  appointed  colonel  of  the  New  Hanover  militia.  He 
commanded  at  Moore's  creek,  where  the  tories  were  defeated  in 
February,  1776.  In  April  following  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the 
Sixth  regiment  of  continental  troops  and  served  with  them  until  the 
regiments  were  consolidated,  in  May,  1778.  He  was  later  appointed 
brigadier-general  of  the  Wilmington  district,  and  was  active  during 
the  remaining  years  of  the  war.  He  fought  with  his  brigade  at  Cam- 
den, and  when  Craig  occupied  Wilmington  he  hovered  around  with 
his  scanty  forces  and  kept  the  British  somewhat  in  check.  After  the 
war  he  retired  to  his  beautiful  home,  "  Lillington  Hall,"  and  passed 
his  declining  years  in  well-earned  repose.  He  died  in  17S6.  He 
married  Miss  Waters,  and  many  of  his  descendants  still  reside  in 
North  Carolina. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  583 


BENNEHAN    CAMERON, 

the  only  surviving  son  of  the  late  Paul  C.  Cameron,  was  born  at 
F"airntosh,  the  residence  of  his  father,  and  the  home  established  by 
his  paternal  grandfather,  Judge  Duncan  Cameron.  Fairntosh  is  in 
Durham  count}',  N.  C,  and  here  our  subject  was  born  on  the  Qth  day 
of  September,  1854.  His  early  schooling  was  at  Cedar  Grove,  Orange 
county,  under  Mr.  Samuel  Hughes,  who  conducted  an  excellent  board- 
ing school  at  this  place.  He  then  attended  the  boarding  school  of 
Messrs.  Horner  &  Graves,  at  Oxford.  He  was  now  prepared  for 
college,  and  after  completing  a  commercial  course  at  Eastman  business 
college,  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  he  entered  the  Virginia  military  in- 
stitute at  Lexington,  \'a.  It  would  have  been  his  purpose  to  enter 
the  L'niversity  of  North  Carolina,  but  at  that  period  in  his  life,  when 
Mr.  Cameron  was  to  enter  college  for  higher  education,  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina  was  under  a  cloud  of  adversity',  and  could 
promise  but  little  of  that  scholastic  training  and  higher  education  of 
which  he  now  stood  in  need.  He  entered  the  Militar}-  Institute  of 
Virginia,  on  the  i6th  of  September,  1871,  and,  with  both  academic  and 
military  distinction,  graduated  on  the  4th  of  July,  1875.  Upon  the 
day  of  his  graduation  he  was  tendered  the  position  of  commandant 
of  the  corps  of  cadets,  of  professor  of  tactics,  ordnance  and  gunnery, 
and  military  history  and  strategy,  in  Bowling  Green  military  institute, 
at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.  This  position,  however,  was  declined,  as  he 
wished  to  prepare  for  the  law  profession,  a  vocation  quite  suited  to 
his  taste,  his  mental  character,  and  one  which  could  afford  him  a  broad 
and  intellectual  course,  application  of  a  liberal  education,  and  becom- 
ing ciualification  for  important  and  future  work,  honor  and  conse- 
quence, which  one  of  his  station  might  justly  anticipate.  He  took  up 
the  study  of  law  under  the  guidance  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  William  K. 
Ruffin,  of  Hillsboro,  who,  doubtless,  was  possessed  of  a  greater  legal 
mind  and  broader  learning  than  any  other  of  his  illustrious  family. 
In  1S77  Mr.  Cameron  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  under  an  examination 
conducted  by  Chief-Justice  Richmond  Pearson  and  his  associates. 

However,  although  well  prepared  and  equipped  for  the  profession, 
Mr.  Cameron  never  practiced  the  profession  of  law,  and  after  the 
performance,  for  a  short  time,  of  office  work,  in  the  law  office  of  the 
distinguished  law  firm  of  Messrs.  Graham  &  Ruffin,  at  Hillsboro,  he 
repaired  to  Stagville  and  entered  the  field  of  agriculture,  in  which 
pleasant,  honored  and  useful  vocation  he  has  since  continued  on  the 
broad  acres  of  his  paternal  ancestors.  In  this  he  has  followed  the 
enterprising  footsteps  of  his  late  father;  and  to  the  vocation  of  agri- 
culture he  was  called  in  consequence  of  necessity;  for  varied  and 
extensive  were  the  agricultural  interests  of  his  father,  who  at  this 
period  was  nearing  the  close  of  a  useful,  active  and  honored  career, 
and  who  very  much  needed  the  aid  of  his  son  in  the  control  of  such 
vast  estates  and  varied  interests.  Assuming  control  of  an  important 
and  extensive  agriculture   and   subsequently    manifesting  zeal    and 


5S4  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ability,  meeting  with  success  as  an  agriculturist,  mucli  credit  is  due 
Mr.  Cameron.  He  takes  special  pride  in  and  conducts  one  of  the 
best  regulated  stock  farms  in  his  state,  breeding  Hambletonian  and 
English  coach  horses,  and  Jersey  cattle.  Beside  the  many  and 
absorbing  matters  pertaining  to  his  agricultural  interests,  Mr. 
Cameron  has  played  a  prominent  part  in  his  attentions  to  other 
affairs  of  varied  importance  and  consequence,  and  thus  has  proven 
a  marked  financial  abilit}',  wide  capacity,  executive  talent,  force  of 
energy  and  enlightenment.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  organization 
of  the  Moreheacl  Banking  company,  which  company  organized  and 
now  operate  banks  at  Durham  and  Burlington,  in  each  of  which 
banks  Mr.  Cameron  is  director.  Mr.  Cameron  is  also  interested  in 
phosphate  lands  and  the  cultivation  of  oranges  in  Florida,  being  a 
stockholder  and  director  in  certain  companies  controlling  such  inter- 
ests and  business.  He  is  also  interested  in  cotton  manufacturing, 
being  a  director  in  the  cotton  mills  at  Rocky  Mount,  N.  C.  As  a 
director  of  the  North  Carolina  railroad,  his  services  have  proven  his 
usefulness  in  this  line  of  industry;  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  the  building  of  the  new  union  depot  at  Raleigh,  and  the  construc- 
tion of  a  branch  road  from  Raleigh  to  the  Caraleigh  mills.  Mr. 
Cameron  was  an  ardent  advocate  and  promoter  of  the  Lynchburg  & 
Durham,  of  the  Oxford  &  Clarksville,  and  of  the  Durham  & 
Northern  railroads. 

But  in  his  military  services  and  his  identity  with  the  state  guards 
has  Mr.  Cameron  especiall}^  attained  to  distinction,  and  become  fa- 
vorably and  well  known.  A  year  after  his  graduation,  though  a  very 
young  man,  it  was  his  distinguished  privilege  to  introduce  at  the 
centennial  exposition  at  I^hiladelphia,  in  1876,  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Ran- 
dall, then  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  congress,  to  the 
corps  of  cadets  from  the  Military  Institute  of  Virginia,  whom  Mr. 
Randall  welcomed  to  Pennsylvania  soil  in  a  fitting  speech.  In  1877, 
while  reading  law  at  Hillsboro,  Mr.  Cameron  organized  the  Orange 
guards,  one  of  the  few  volunteer  companies  of  the  state.  This  or- 
ganization resulted  in  forming  a  nucleus  of  what  is  now  the  state 
guards.  Mr.  Cameron  became  captain  of  the  reorganized  company, 
but  resigned,  on  changing  his  residence  to  Stagville,  but  at  this 
juncture,  he  was  appointed  assistant-inspector-general  by  Gov.  Z.  B. 
Vance,  and  continued  to  hold  this  appointment  through  the  adminis- 
trations of  Govs.  Vance,  Jarvis  and  Scales,  but  by  Gov.  Fowle  was 
promoted  or  commissioned  on  the  governor's  staff  as  inspector-gen- 
eral of  rifie  practice,  which  commission  he  now  holds  under  Gov. 
Holt,  upon  whose  staff  he  ranks  as  colonel.  In  his  military  and  of- 
ficial capacity,  Mr.  Cameron  has  done  effectual  work,  and  has  repre- 
sented his  state  on  several  occasions  with  deserving  credit.  At  the 
Yorktown  centennial  in  his  official  capacity  he  represented  his  state, 
and  during  Gov.  Scales'  administration  he  represented  the  state  at 
the  constitutional  centennial,  in  1S77,  being  upon  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Phil.  .Sheridan,  of  the  United  States  army,  and  at  which  time  80,000 
troops  were  in  line.     By  Gov.  Fowle  he  was  appointed  as  aid,  repre- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  585 

senting  North  Carolina  on  the  staff  of  Maj.-Gen.  Schofield,  of  the 
United  States  army,  at  the  inauguration  centennial  at  Xew  York, 
April  30,  i88q,  when  100,000  troops  were  in  line.  Again  he  bore  the 
honor  of  the  Old  North  State  with  becoming  grace  at  the  Maryland 
exposition,  at  Baltimore,  where,  in  his  capacity  of  representing  his 
state,  he  was  upon  the  staff  of  Gen.  Clinton  Payne,  who  was  com- 
mander of  the  Maryland  troops,  in  the  military  parade  and  sham 
battle  and  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry.  By  Gov.  Holt  he  holds 
commission  to  represent  North  Carolina  on  the  military  committee 
of  the  Columbian  exposition  at  Chicago.  In  point  of  commission, 
Mr.  Cameron  is  an  old  militarj'  man,  and  among  the  oldest  of  the 
state  guards,  and  has  taken  prominence  in  this  respect.  Honor  is 
due  to  him  for  the  first  suggestion  of  the  formation  by  state  govern- 
ment of  a  naval  militia  or  of  a  naval  force  in  addition  to  the  state's 
present  militar}-  service.  As  a  man  of  military  affairs,  Mr.  Cameron 
is  a  man  of  marked  ability,  learning,  and  practical  ideas,  and  his  serv- 
ices to  the  state  have  been  of  much  value  and  he  is  deserving  of 
much  credit.  He  was  instrumental  in  establishing  a  permanent  en- 
campment for  the  state  guards,  as  was  affected  at  Wilmington. 

Politically  Mr.  Cameron  is  democratic,  and  an  influential  member 
of  the  democratic  party,  and  his  name  has  frequently  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  highest  and  most  honored  offices  in  the  gift  of 
the  people,  but  he  has  never  sought  political  preferment,  and  has  an 
aversion  to  politics  as  such.  In  all  his  multifarious  relations  he  has 
not  neglected  to  give  attention  and  encouragement  to  education.  He 
is  chairman  of  the  North  Carolina  branch  of  the  society  of  alumni  of 
Virginia  military  institute,  and  as  such  participated  in  and  arranged 
for  the  semi-centennial  celebration  of  the  institution  in  i8Sq.  Mr. 
Cameron  is  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  se- 
cured the  establishment  of  ten  scholarships  by  the  Paul  C.  Cameron 
heirs.  He  is  also  manager  of  property  of  the  St.  Mary's  school  for 
girls,  at  Raleigh,  managing  the  property  for  the  owners,  who  are  the 
Cameron  heirs,  as  he  is  executor  of  his  father's  estate.  Mr.  Cameron 
is  a  man  of  strong  force  of  character,  charitable  and  kind  in  disposi- 
tion, hospitable  and  a  royal  entertainer.  He  is  a  man,  too,  of  iron 
will  and  good  nerve,  and  firm  as  a  rock;  such  a  man  could  not  be 
other  than  a  good  general,  an  excellent  citizen,  and  a  hero  in  adver- 
sity, or  at  a  critical  period. 

We  would  fail  signally  to  do  our  subject  justice  in  this  sketch  were 
we  not  to  make  mention  of  his  heroism  on  the  night  of  August  27, 
1891,  when  on  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad,  near  Statesville, 
N.  C,  there  occurred  one  of  the  most  fatal  railroad  wrecks  in  the 
history  of  the  south.  On  this  occasion  he  was  the  only  one  of  some 
less  than  a  hundred  passengers  who  were  either  killed  or  so  wounded 
that  they  w^re  helpless.  He  rendered  timely  aid,  and  his  coolness  and 
nerve  saved  many  fellow-passengers.  He  was  the  hero  of  the  wreck, 
and  the  public  spoke  of  his  heroism  and  jjresence  of  mind  in  terms 
of  warm  praise,  and  his  course  and  action  on  this  occasion  are  l)ut  the 
expressions  of  the  brave,  prudent  and  good   man  he  is.     On  Wed- 


586  NORTH    CAROLINA. 

nesday  evening,  October  28,  1891,  there  occurred  at  All  Saints  church 
in  Richmond,  Va.,  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Cameron  to  Miss  Sallie 
Taliaferro  Mayo,  daughter  of  Mr.  P.  H.  Mayo,  a  prominent  and 
wealthy  manufacturer  and  tobacconist  of  Richmond.  Mrs.  Cameron 
is  a  lady  of  rare  accomplishments  and  universal  popularity  with  an 
extended  acquaintance,  and  comes  of  an  old  and  highly  respected 
Virginian  family,  most  of  whose  members  have  attained  distinction 
in  more  than  one  way. 

WILLIAM  F.  KORNEGAY, 

a  representative  agriculturist  of  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  N.  C,  June  18,  1832.  His  parents  were  James  F.  and  Har- 
riet H.  (Whitfield)  Kornegay,  both  natives  of  Wayne  county.  The 
father  was  a  leading  farmer  and  owned  many  slaves.  Although  he 
took  no  active  part  during  the  Civil  war,  yet  his  sympathy  and  sup- 
port were  given  to  the  Confederate  cause.  He  served  as  chairman  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners,  and  for  many  years  was  a  steward 
and  trustee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  was  a 
member  and  liberal  supporter,  having  built  a  church,  mainly  by  him- 
self, for  that  denomination  at  Indian  .Springs,  N.  C.  He  died  in  1S85. 
Mr.  Kornegay  was  thrice  married,  his  first  wife  having  died  in  1845. 
Three  children  were  born  to  this  union,  of  whom  two  are  now  living, 
named:  John  J.,  of  Goldsboro,  and  William  F.  His  second  mar- 
riage was  to  Mrs.  Margaret  Kornegay,  by  whom  he  had  no  children. 
Mrs.  Fannie  E.  Saul  became  his  third  wife  and  bore  him  two  chil- 
dren, Albert  U.,  of  Goldsboro,  being  the  one  now  living.  William  F. 
Kornegay,  of  whom  we  are  now  writing,  was  reared  on  the  home- 
stead farm,  and  was  educated  at  Randolph-Macon  college,  and  then 
for  some  time  taught  school.  Subsequently  he  turned  his  attention 
to  agriculture  and  was  thus  occupied  when  the  war  broke  out.  He 
joined  the  Confederate  army  and  was  elected  second  lieutenant  of 
the  First  North  Carolina  cavalry.  For  two  years  of  the  war  he  was 
confined  to  his  home  with  rheumatism,  but  was  at  his  post  of  duty 
when  able.  At  the  close  of  the  conflict  he  exchanged  his  farm  for  a 
mercantile  business  in  Goldsboro,  and  continued  in  that  for  seven 
years.  At  this  time  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  Dewey  in 
the  organization  of  the  Goldsboro  Machine  works.  In  1884  the  con- 
cern was  burned  out,  and  at  that  time  Mr.  Kornega}'  sold  his  inter- 
est and  returned  to  farming. 

Mr.  Kornegay  and  Mr.  Dewey  were  largely  instrumental  in  intro- 
ducing steam-power  for  cotton-gins  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  state, 
and  manufactured  a  great  number  of  engines  for  that  purpose.  His 
plantation  extends  for  two  and  a  half  miles  on  the  line  of  the  W.  &  W. 
railroad,  and  he  is  one  of  the  largest  cotton  producers,  in  Wayne 
county.  He  is  an  active  supporter  of  the  democratic  party,  and  was 
its  nominee  for  state  senator  in  1886,  but  was  defeated.  Since  June, 
1890,  he  has  been  the  chairman  of  the  board  of  county  commission- 
ers.   He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of,  and  is  now  a  stockholder  in,  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  587 

Goldsboro  Oil  company,  and  for  the  past  thirteen  years  has  been  a 
director  of  the  North  CaroHna  railroad  company,  of  which  company 
he  has  been  president  since  April,  1891.  Mr.  Kornegay  Ls  a  promi- 
nent member  of  Goldsboro  chapter,  Raleigh  commandery  of  the 
Masonic  order,  and  is  past  grand  master.  He  was  a  prime  mover  in 
the  establishment  of  the  farmers'  alliance  in  Wayne  county,  and  is  its 
treasurer  at  the  present  time.  His  hrst  marriage  was  solemnized  on 
the  6th  of  October,  1S57,  to  Miss  Lou  Borden,  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Maria  A.  Borden,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Goldsboro.  Mrs. 
Kornegay  died  in  1883,  leaving  no  children.  Two  years  later  Mr. 
Kornegaj'  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Annie  L.  Snow,  daughter  of 
Theophilus  Snow,  of  Raleigh,  X.  C.  Both  himself  and  wife  are 
earnest  communicants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and 
he  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Goldsboro  church  for  some  years,  and 
its  Sunda3'-school  superintendent  for  nine  years.  He  was  a  lay  dele- 
gate to  the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
south,  in  1877,  held  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  has  also  served  as  a  steward 
of  the  church. 


BEDFORD  BROWN, 

farmer 'and  statesman,  was  born  in  Caswell  county,  N.  C,  in  1795.  He 
embarked  early  in  political  life,  and  in  181 5,  was  elected  to  the  North 
Carolina  house  of  commons,  to  represent  his  native  county.  In  that 
body  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  its  ablest  members.  Again,  in  1823, 
he  was  elected  to  the  same  house,  and  in  1828,  he  was  elected  to  the 
senate,  and  was  chosen  its  president.  When  John  Branch  resigned 
his  seat  in  the  United  States  senate,  to  be  made  secretary  of  the  navy, 
Mr.  Brown  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  and  was  afterward  re-elected 
by  the  legislature.  He  served  in  this  position  until  1840,  when  he  re- 
signed, because  he  could  not  conscientiously  follow  the  instructions  of 
the  state  legislature.  In  1842,  while  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  he 
was  again  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  senate,  but  was  beaten 
in  the  race  by  W.  H.  Haywood,  Jr.  He  then  retired  from  official  life 
for  a  time,  and  went  to  Missouri,  but  did  not  long  tarry  in  that  state. 
He  returned  again  to  North  Carolina,  and  was  elected  again  to  the 
state  senate,  from  185S  to  1862,  and  again  in  1868.  But  he  had 
scarcely  completed  this  last  term  before  death  put  an  end  to  his  long 
and  busj'  career.  He  died  at  his  home,  December  6,  1870,  deeply 
lamented  by  both  state  and  nation. 

Mr.  Brown  was  a  man  of  firm  purpose  and  of  unyielding  tenacity 
to  what  he  deemed  sound  in  princiijU;.  His  integrity  never  came  in 
question,  and  there  was  no  taint  to  the  purity  of  his  character.  He 
was  not  a  person  of  brilliant  parts,  but  of  strong  common  sense.  His 
political  life  began  when  politics  were  sharply  defined;  he  took  his 
stand  with  the  democratic  party,  and  with  that  party  he  preserved 
his  standing  through  life.  He  was  honest,  firm,  patriotic  and  ever 
true  to  his  highest  convictions. 


588  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


JOHN  ROBINSON, 

the  efficient  and  distinguished  commissioner  of  agriculture   of  the 
state  of  North  Carolina,  was  born   in    Marlborough  county,  S.  C., 
March  20,  1831,  and  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  North  Carolina, 
when  they  settled  in  Anson   county,  in  January,  1835.     He   attended 
school  in  Anson  county,    and    afterward   finished    his    education    at 
Davidson  college.     He  left  college,  however,  in  1S50,  before  graduat- 
ing, and,  returning  home,  lived  on  his  father's  farm  until    1853,  when 
he  married  and  began   farming  on  his  own  account.     This  has  been 
his  vocation  in  life.     His  best  thought  has  been  bestowed  on  agricul- 
ture and  methods  of  improvement   in  farm  work.     Acquainted  with 
the  theories  of  advanced  agriculture,  he  experimented   on   his  own 
fields,  and  proved  what  was  good  and  put  it  into  practice.     Success 
attended  his  efforts,  and   in  cotton  growing  especially  he  won  many 
prizes,  the  most  gratifying  being  the  award  made  to  him  at  the  inter- 
national cotton  exposition,  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  for  the  best  bale  of  cotton 
exhibited   from   North  Carolina.     He   served   for   many   years   as   a 
magistrate  in  Anson  count}',  and  was  highly  esteemed  throughout  the 
state.     At  the   re-organization  of  the   department  of  agriculture,    in 
1883,  he  was  elected  by  the   legislature  as  a   member  of  the  board  of 
agriculture  from  the  Sixth  congressional  district,  and  in  1887    he  was 
selected  by  the  state  board  of  agriculture  as  the  fittest  man  to  fill  the 
chair  of  commissioner  of  agriculture.     In  this  position  his  services 
have  been  of  great  advantage  to  the  people.     He  has  the  chief  honor 
of  originating  and  organizing  the  farmers'  institutes  in  the  state,  and 
he   has  delivered  many  addresses  stimulating  thought   among   the 
farmers  in  regard  to  the  amelioration  of  their  condition  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  agriculture.     Under  his  direction  the  department  has 
issued  many  valuable  pamphlets  and  bulletins,  and   the  information 
disseminated  has  had  an  elevating  and  beneficial  influence  on   the 
farm  work  of  North  Carolina.     He  was  re-elected  to  this  position  in 
1889,  and  in  iSgi  there  was  added  to  his  duties   the  office  of  commis- 
sioner of  immigration.     In   1891,   the   legislature   passed  an  act,  pro- 
viding   for  certain    agricultural    statistical    reports,    and    under    Mr. 
Robinson's  direction,  as  commissioner   of    agriculture,  a  system  for 
gathering  statistical  reports  of  farm,  garden,  orchard  products   and 
live  stock  statistics,  was  originated,   and  in   1891,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  histor}' of  the  state,  were  collected  and  reported  these  statistics, 
which  reports,  when  compiled,   will   comprehend  a  large  volume  of 
valuable  information. 

Mr.  Robinson  is  a  man  of  fine  appearance,  agreeable  address  and 
of  admirable  sentiments.  For  many  years  he  has  been  an  active  and 
zealous  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  south,  and  he 
has  sought  to  discharge  all  his  religious  duties  equally  with  those  of 
a  secular  nature.  In  November,  1853,116  was  married  to  Araminta  J_ 
Watkins,  daughter  of  Dr.  Christopher  Watkins,  of  x'\nson  county^ 
and  by  her   had   a   familyof  children   of  whom   eight   survive,  viz. _ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  589 

T.  C.  John  A..  Jennie  W..  E.  C.  L.  D.,  Frank  P.,  Percy  P.  and  M. 
Marie.  .Mrs.  Robinson  dying  in  1S81,  Mr.  Robinson  was  married 
again  in  October,  18S3,  to  Miss  Harriet  A.  Coleman,  of  Edgefield 
county,  S.  C,  and  to  them  has  been  born  one  child,  Sallie  Berry  Rob- 
inson. Mr.  Robinson's  father,  Thomas  Robinson,  was  born  in  Cum- 
berland county,  England,  in  1801,  and  came  to  America  in  1822, 
settling  first  in  South  Carolina,  and  then  removing  to  Anson  county, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  4eath  in  1876.  The  father  of 
Thomas  Robinson  was  John  Robinson,  who  was  born  and  always  lived 
in  Cumberland  county,  England,  where  he  died  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-four.  Mr.  Robinson's  mother  was  Ann  E.,  a  daughter  of 
Henry  \V.  Auld,  a  prominent  North  Carolinian.  She  was  married  to 
Mr.  Thomas  Robinson  in  1830,  and  bore  him  two  children,  Henry  W. 
Robinson,  who  died  in  1885,  and  the  distinguished  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

NATHANIEL  MACON, 

patriot  and  statesman,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  N.  C,  December 
17,  1757.  \Mien  the  Revolutionary  war  began  he  was  engaged  in  his 
studies  at  Princeton  college,  but  he  left  his  books  to  engage  in  the 
defense  of  the  independence  of  the  colonies.  He  returned  to  his 
home  and  enlisted  as  a  private  in  a  company  of  volunteers  who  joined 
the  regiment  of  which  his  brother,  John  Macon,  was  colonel.  Pie  was 
offered  promotion  in  the  regiment,  but  persisted  in  remaining  a  pri- 
vate. He  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Fort  Moultrie,  the  evacua- 
tion of  Charleston  and  the  rout  at  Camden.  While  in  the  service  and 
without  his  knowledge,  he  had  been  elected  to  the  general  assembly 
of  North  Carolina,  as  a  member  of  the  senate  to  represent  the  county 
of  Warren;  he  was  in  camp  on  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin,  when  the 
summons  came  from  the  governor  of  North  Carolina  to  attend  a  ses- 
sion of  the  general  assembly.  At  first  he  declined  to  obey  this  civil 
order,  declaring  that  "his  country  needed  the  services  of  all  her  sons; 
that  he  had  seen  the  faces  of  the  British  many  times  but  never  their 
backs;  he  intended  to  stay  in  the  army  until  he  did."  He  was  finally 
persuaded  by  Gen.  Greene,  who  had  great  respect  for  his  ability,  to 
recall  this  determination.  That  distinguished  officer  intimated  to 
Macon  that  "  he  could  do  more  good  as  a  member  of  the  legislature 
than  as  a  soldier;  that  in  the  army  he  was  only  one  man,  but  in  the 
legislature  he  might  induce  manj'  to  furnish  supplies  to  the  army  by 
showing  what  utter  destitution  prevailed  among  the  soldiers."  He 
3'ielded  to  the  evident  reasonableness  of  this  appeal  and  returned  to 
his  state.  But  though  this  was  a  most  honorable  discharge  from  the 
military  service,  he  refused  pay  and  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to 
accept  a  pension.  He  served  in  the  senate  continuously  from  this 
time  until  1785,  and  was  mo.st  effective  in  securing  the  adoption  of 
measures  for  the  relief  of  the  army.  Pie  held  positions  on  the  most 
important  legislative  committees  in  which  he  could  make  his  influ- 
ence felt.     During  this    time  he   settled  upon  a  plantation  on  the 


590  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Roanoke  river  which  became  his  permanent  home.  He  was  opposed 
to  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution,  but  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  second  congress  under  it.  He  was  re-elected  without  opposi- 
tion for  the  next  twenty-two  years.  During  this  time,  he  was  twice 
chosen  speaker  of  the  house,  and  twice  during  the  administration  of 
President  Jefferson  was  he  offered  the  position  of  postmaster-gen- 
eral, which  honor  he  declined. 

In  1815  Mr.  Macon  was  elected  a  United  .States  senator,  and  was 
re-elected  to  that  oftice,  serving  two  senatorial  terms,  when  he  de- 
clined another  election.  From  1825  to  1827  he  was  president  of  the 
senate,  and  in  1824  he  received  the  twenty-four  electoral  votes  of 
V^irginia  for  vice-president.  In  his  long  congressional  career,  he 
served  in  the  house  during  the  presidential  administrations  of  Wash- 
ington, Adams,  Jefferson  and  Madison,  and  in  the  senate  during  those 
of  Madison,  Monroe  and  John  Ouincy  Adams.  He  was  of  the  strict 
school  of  Jeffersonian  democrats;  he  would  accept  no  appointive 
office;  it  required  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  or  their  representa- 
tives, to  bring  him  into  the  public  service,  and  in  the  exercise  of  offi- 
cial patronage  he  would  never  recommend  any  of  his  relatives  for 
appointments.  His  speeches  were  of  the  laconic  order,  and  Mr. 
Benton  said  of  him,  "  He  spoke  more  good  sense  while  getting  in 
his  chair  and  getting  out  of  it  than  many  delivered  in  long  and  elab- 
orate speeches."  John  Randolph  said  of  him:  "He  Is  the  wisest, 
the  purest  and  the  best  man  that  I  ever  knew."  His  political  services 
were  finished  up,  first  as  a  delegate  in  the  North  Carolina  constitu- 
tional convention,  in  1835,  and  then  as  presidential  elector,  in  1836,  in 
favor  of  Van  Buren  and  Johnson.  Mr.  Macon  married  Miss  Hannah 
Plummer,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters.  He  was  a  thorough 
student  of  the  Bible,  and  in  religious  belief  inclined  to  the  Baptist 
denomination.  He  died  at  his  home  quite  suddenlj',  on  the  29th  of 
June,  1837. 

ALGERNON  S.  PERRY 

was  born  near  Louisburg,  N.  C,  in  the  year  1807.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  Jefferson  medical  college,  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  from  the  time 
of  his  graduation  until  1865,  when  he  retired.  In  1836,  Dr.  Perry,  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Leah  Hillard,  daughter  of  James 
Hilliard,  of  Hilliardston,  Nash  county,  N.  C,  and  to  their 
union  were  born  nine  children,  six  of  whom  now  survive,  as 
follows:  Stella,  Jeremiah,  Leah,  wife  of  D.  C.  Cooper,  of  Hen- 
derson, N.  C;  Redding,  also  a  resident  of  Henderson;  Tempie, 
wife  of  A.  C.  Zollicoffer,  of  the  same  place;  and  Genevieve,  who  mar- 
ried Dr.  W.  H.  Nicholson,  of  Louisburg,  N.  C.  The  father  of  these 
children  died  on  the  23d  of  January,  1873,  having  lived  a  life  of  use- 
fulness and  honor.  Dr.  Perry  was  the  son  of  Jeremiah  Perry,  a  na- 
tive of  the  vicinity  of  Louisburg,  where  he  was  born  about  the  3'ear 
1785.     He  followed  planting  during  his  active  life,  and  died  in  the 


XORTH  CAROLINA.  59I 

year  1S45.  His  father  was  also  named  Jeremiah,  and  he  was  a  native 
of  England.  With  five  brothers  he  emigrated  to  the  American  colo- 
nies prior  to  the  Revolution.  Settling  in  North  Carolina,  he  turned 
his  attention  to  agriculture,  and  followed  that  vocation  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days.  Having  given  a  brief  outline  of  the  family  since 
its  settlement  in  this  country,  this  sketch  may  now  properly  be 
brought  down  to  the  present  generation.  Henry  Perr}-,  the  son  of  Dr. 
Algernon  S.  Perry,  was  born  in  Louisburg,  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  on  the 
3d  of  December,  1S57.  He  wasgiven  ample  opportunity  for  thoroughly 
laying  the  foundation  of  his  literary  education  at  AlcCabe's  school, 
in  Petersburg,  \'a.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  graduated  therefrom  in  iSjg,  after  which  he  settled  in 
Henderson,  X.  C,  where  he  became  interested  in  the  tobacco  busi- 
ness. For  the  succeeding  five  years,  or  until  1SS4,  Mr.  Perry  con- 
tinued in  the  tobacco  business.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
engaged  in  agriculture,  retaining  his  home  at  Henderson,  however. 
From  iSS5to  iSSS,  he  held  the  deput}-  collectorship  of  internal  reve- 
nue of  his  district,  under  President  Cleveland,  and  in  November, 
1890,  was  elected  clerk  of  the  superior  court,  of  \'ance  county,  N.  C, 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  he  is  now  engaged  in  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  this  honorable  office.  Mr.  l-'erry  was  very  fortunate  in 
his  marriage  to  Miss  Jane  L.  Hall,  a  daughter  of  John  G.  Hall,  now  de- 
ceased, of  Oxford,  N.  C.  This  union  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  one 
child:   H.  Leslie  Perry. 

HON.  E.  A.  POWELL. 

The  Hon.  Erastus  A.  Powell  is  a  North  Carolinian  by  birth,  hav- 
ing come  into  this  world  in  Granville  (now  \'ance|  county,  Jul}'  10, 
1846.  He  obtained  his  scholastic  training  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  county.  When  he  was  about  eight  years  of  age  his  father,  who 
was  a  farmer,  established  a  grist-mill,  and  the  boy  was  employed  about 
the  mill  until  his  eleventh  year.  When  he  was  but  thirteen,  in  com- 
pany with  a  younger  brother,  he  operated  a  verj'  small  farm,  which 
he  had  the  charge  of  for  about  three  years.  From  1S61  to  1S63  he 
was  employed  by  the  government  in  hauling  provisions.  From  the 
latter  year  until  the  close  of  the  war  he  held  a  position  on  the  R.  &  G. 
railroad,  which  he  left  to  embark  in  the  milling  business  in  Granville 
county,  in  which  he  remahied  for  eighteen  months.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  this  time  he  purchased  a  tan-yard  and  conducted  that  enter- 
prise for  three  years  more,  after  which  he  turned  his  attention  to 
agriculture  and  has  since  been  successfully  engaged  in  this  vocation. 
His  first  public  office  was  held  as  a  constable  of  Granville  county,  to 
which  office  he  was  appointed  in  1870.  Having  held  that  position  for 
four  years,  he  was  appointed  magistrate  of  Granville  county  in  1876 
by  the  legislature,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  eight  years.  In  1884  he 
was  made  magistrate  of  Vance  county  and  was  serving  on  the  last 
year  of  the  six  years'  term  at  the  time  of  his  removal  from  the  town- 
ship.    In  1S85   he  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff,  and  in   November, 


592  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

1890,  was. elected  treasurer  of  Vance  county.  Mr.  Powell  is  a  member 
of  the  Kittrell  lodge,  No.  337,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
fanners'  alliance.  October  i,  1868,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Candice  E. 
Falkner,  daughter  of  Noel  J.  Falkner,  of  Granville  county,  N.  C,  and 
to  them  have  been  born  eight  children,  the  surviving  ones  being: 
Sadie  E.,  Delia  E.,  Robert  D.  G.,  Henry,  Alice,  Jessie  P.  and  Elma 
Cromwell  Powell.  Mr.  Powell  is  the  son  of  Henry  Powell,  who  was 
born  in  Granville  county,  N.  C.,  in  1826.  He  was  a  farmer  in  his 
early  manhood,  but  subsequently  became  a  miller.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  was  constable  of  Granville  county,  and  was  a  man  of  consid- 
erable influence  in  the  community.  He  was  married  in  1844  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Hayes,  a  daughter  of  Presley  Hayes,  and  to  their  union 
were  born  five  children,  of  whom  four  are  now  living,  as  follows: 
Erastus  A.,  Silas,  Geneva,  wife  of  J.  \V.  Duke,  of  Vance  county,  N.C., 
and  Delia,  wife  of  J.  M.  Harp,  of  V^ance  county,  N.  C.  The  mother 
died  in  1S62,  and  the  father  was  again  married  one  year  later,  Miss 
Pattie  F.  Robinson  becoming  his  wife.  One  daughter  was  the  issue 
of  this  marriage,  viz.:  Lena,  wife  of  W.  A.  Falkner,  of  Vance  county, 
N.  C.  Henry  Powell's  demise  occurred  in  1870.  He  was  the  son  of 
Robin  Powell,  a  native  of  England,  whence  he  came  to  America  in 
his  early  manhood.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  two  brothers,  Will- 
iam and  Edwin.  They  all  settled  in  Granville  county,  N.  C.,  where 
the  family  has  since  been  prominently  identified  with  the  growth  and 
advancement  of  the  community. 

TIMOTHY  BLOODWORTH 

was  one  of  those  earl}'  patriots  and  statesmen  of  North  Carolina,  to 
whom  the  public  records  have  done  but  partial  justice.  He  was  born 
in  1736;  the  place  of  his  birth  is  not  recorded,  but  it  is  probable  that 
it  was  in  New  Hanover  or  Moore  county.  Owing  to  the  straitened 
circumstances  of  his  father,  his  education  was  quite  limited,  but  he 
had  natural  endowments  which  equipped  him  for  high  official  sta- 
tions. About  1758  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  legislative  assem- 
bly of  North  Carolina,  to  represent  his  native  county,  and  he  made 
his  services  so  valuable  that  he  was  retained  in  the  same  office  for 
about  thirty  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  continental  congress  in 
1786-7,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the  first  congress  under  the  Fed- 
eral constitution.  In  1795  he  was  elected  a  Lnited  States  senator, 
holding  that  office  for  the  full  term  of  six  years.  At  the  end  of  his 
congressional  service,  he  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  at  the 
port  of  Wilmington.  While  serving  his  district  in  the  general  assem- 
bly, the  question  of  the  location  of  the  state  capital  was  at  issue, 
Fayetteville  and  Raleigh  being  the  chief  contending  places  desiring 
its  location.  The  members  of  the  general  assembly  were  very  nearly 
equally  divided  in  their  preferences  between  these  two  places,  and  it 
appears  that  Mr.  Bloodworth  was  the  member  who  held  the  balance 
of  power.  He  voted  for  Raleigh,  and  thus  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  all  of  the  ardent  friends  of  Favetteville. 


NORTH   CAROLINA.  593 

It  was  for  his  partiality  to  Raleigh  that  the  coinmissioiiers  who 
platted  that  city  named  one  of  its  streets  for  him,  thus  perpetuating 
the  memory  of  his  name  and  official  act.  He  was  a  man  of  broad 
views  and  charitable  instincts.  Benevolence  towards  his  fellow-men 
was  one  of  his  distinguishing  characteristics.  He  knew  from  experi- 
ence what  poverty  was,  and  sympathized  with  those  who  were  called 
to  endure  its  trials.  Besides  serving  the  state  and  nation  for  so  many 
years  in  a  legislative  capacity,  he  tried  at  different  times  almost  every 
vocation  in  life  to  gain  a  respectable  living.  He  was  politician, 
farmer,  minister  of  the  gospel,  smith,  physician  and  wheelwright,  but 
in  none  of  these  occupations  did  money  stick  to  his  palms.  His  ver- 
satility of  emplojanents  was  doubtless  one  cause  of  his  lack  of  accu- 
mulation, but  the  great  cause  was  probably  his  open-handed  liberality. 
He  held  very  radical  views  upon  the  subject  of  statesmanship  and 
morals,  which  carried  him  quite  to  the  verge  of  eccentricity.  He 
possessed  a  will  that  was  unj'ielding  and  a  determination  which  no 
selfish  or  mercenary  considerations  could  turn  aside.  Mr. 
Bloodworth  died  near  Washington,  N.  C,  August  24,  1814. 

SPOTSWOOD  BURWELL. 

Among  the  leading  agriculturists  and  millers  of  Vance  county, 
N.  C,  appears  the  name  of  Spotswood  Burwell,  a  native  of  that 
county,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  7th  of  January,  1847.  Until 
his  eighteenth  year  he  was  engaged  in  acquiring  an  education,  hav- 
ing been  a  student  in  the  common  schools* of  his  native  county,  and 
subsequently  in  the  high  school  at  Oxford,  Granville  county,  and  the 
Hillsboro  academy.  While  a  cadet  in  the  latter  institution  he  was 
ordered  into  the  Confederate  service,  in  1S65.  The  Hillsboro  cadets 
were  under  the  command  of  Maj.  William  M.  Gordon,  of  V^irginia, 
doing  guard  duty  for  several  months.  In  1866  Mr.  Burwell  settled 
on  a  plantation  in  Granville  county,  and  some  time  later  went  to 
Portsmouth,  Va.,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  with  his 
brother-in-law.  After  three  years  spent  in  in  the  latter  place  he  re- 
moved to  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  for  one  year  was  in  business  in  that 
city,  after  which  he  returned  to  Granville  county,  N.  C,  and  has  since 
been  conducting  a  plantation  and  also  operating  a  milling  business 
there.  Mr.  Burwell  was  fortunately  married  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Parker, 
a  daughter  of  Dr.  R.  H.  Parker,  Sr.,  of  Portsmouth,  V'a.,  February  28, 
1S77,  and  six  children  resulted,  as  follows:  Emma  S.,  Willis  M., 
Mary  Parker,  Sarah  E.,  Spotswood.  and  William  Sumner  Riddick 
Burwell.  Mr.  Burwell  is  the  son  of  John  Spotswood  Burwell,  who 
was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  181 1.  In  his  early  life  he  was  a  mer- 
chant in  Granville  county  (now  V^ance  county),  and  subsequently  be- 
came a  plantc^r  and  miller.  I'Or  many  years  he  served  as  a  magis- 
trate of  the  county.  His  marriage  to  .Sarah  E.  Hayes,  daughter  of 
William  Hayes,  <.)f  Warren  county,  N.  C,  took  place  in  1834,  and  was 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  these  children:  Martha  H.,  wife  of  J.  B. 
Hunter,  of  Gates  county,  N.C.;  Mary  L.  (deceased),  wife  of  Dr.  R.  H. 
B-38 


594  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Parker,  Jr.,  of  Portsmouth,  \"a.:  and  Spotswood  Burwell.  The 
father's  aemise  occurred  in  18S9,  his  wife  having  died  in  September, 
1865.  Spotswood  Burwell,  the  father  of  John  S.,  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia in  17S6,  and  came  to  North  Carolina  about  1810,  settling  in 
Granville  county.  He  was  a  planter  of  prominence.  He  died  in 
1856.  His  father,  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  Lewis  Bur- 
well, a  Virginian,  who  was  also  a  planter.  His  first  wife  was  Ann 
Spotswood;  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Harrison.  So  in  this  way  the 
present  Spotswood  Burwell,  of  Vance,  is  connected  with  the  Bur- 
wells,  Spotswoods  and  Harrisons,  of  Virginia. 


S.  W.  BENNETTE. 

One  of  the  leading  planters  of  Lumberton,  Robeson  county,  N.  C, 
is  Mr.  S.  W.  Bennette,  who  is  a  native  of  this  state,  having  been  born 
in  Brunswick  county,  April  13,  1S32,  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Ann 
(Mintz)  Bennette,  both  North  Carolinians.  The  father  was  a  planter, 
and  was  a  man  of  influence  and  and  ability.  He  fought  in  the  war  of 
181 2,  and  although  he  never  sought  office  was  deeply  interested  in 
public  affairs.  For  many  years  he  was  a  consistent  communicant  of 
the  Baptist  church,  in  which  he  held  the  office  of  deacon.  At  the  age 
of  fifty-three  years,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1S45,  this  worthj'  citizen 
died;  his  wife  survived  him  until  1875,  when  she  too  went  to  rest, 
having  attained  to  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-five  years.  Of  the 
twelve  children  born  to  ttiis  union,  seven  are  living:  S.  W.  Bennette 
was  educated  in  Trinity  college,  which  institution  he  left,  in  1856,  to 
engage  in  teaching.  For  more  than  twenty-five  years  he  held  a  pro- 
fessorship in  different  leading  academies.  Like  most  educators  who 
love  the  calling,  Mr.  Bennette  met  with  distinguished  success,  and  the 
beauty  and  strength  of  his  own  mind  have  been  deeply  impressed  upon 
many  students  who  will,  doubtless,  rise  to  eminence  in  the  land.  His 
last  teaching  was  done  at  Lumberton,  where  he  now  lives.  For  four 
years  he  held  the  office  of  register  of  deeds  at  the  latter  place,  and 
for  two  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  and  dur- 
ing the  last  few  months  has  received  the  appointment  of  soliciting 
agent  for  the  Carolina  Inter-state  Building  and  Loan  association. 
On  the  nth  of  April,  1861,  this  man  offered  his  life  and  services  to 
his  state  by  enlisting  in  the  Thirtieth  North  Carolina  volunteer  in- 
fantry. He  enlisted  as  a  private,  was  soon  after  elected  a  second 
lieutenant,  and  subsequently  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  first  lieu- 
tenant for  gallant  conduct  on  the  field.  He  fought  in  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  and  at  Chancellorsville  was  grievously  wounded. 
May  3,  1863,  and  incapacitated  for  further  service.  May  25,  1870,  he 
was  most  happily  married  to  Miss  Amanda  M.,  daughter  of  Maj. 
Giles  Williams,  of  Robeson  county,  N.  C,  and  three  children  have 
been  born  to  them:  Henry  Leo,  the  eldest,  died  at  the  age  of  seven 
years;  Cora  E.  and  Mary  Cornelia  are  living.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bennette  are  active  and  valued  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  595 

church,  south,  in  which  he  is  recording  steward  and  Sunday-school 
superintendent.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  of 
the  K.  of  H. 

COL.  JOHN  D.  JONES 

was  the  son  of  David  Jones,  who  was  an  ofhcer  in  Gen.  Washington's 
arm}'.  He  was  with  Washington  at  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware  and 
the  attack  on  Trenton,  where  he  gained  distinction  and  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  married  Annie  Morris,  a  relative  of  Rob- 
ert Morris,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
distinguished  financier  of  the  Revolution.  Shortly  after  his  marriage 
he  removed  to  North  Carolina  and  settled  at  Love  Grove,  on  the 
northern  confines  of  the  present  city  of  Wilmington,  at  which  place 
his  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  1790.  Col.  Jones  re- 
ceived a  collegiate  education  and  was  reared  to  the  practice  of  the 
law  but  soon  abandoned  it  for  the  more  congenial  pursuits  of  litera- 
ture and  agriculture.  He  held  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer  and  it  was 
his  delight  to  go  back  into  the  past  of  our  history,  and,  in  a  style  of 
great  purity  and  infinite  humor,  record  the  transactions  and  traditions 
of  the  olden  time.  His  knowledge  of  events  and  incidentsconnected 
with  our  early  history  was  full  and  accurate,  for  he  was  a  close  ob- 
server and  blessed  with  a  remarkabl}'  retentive  memory.  He  loved 
books  and  was  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  standard  authors  but 
had  little  fancy  for  the  light  and  ephemeral  publications  of  the  day, 
did  not  believe  in  multiplicity  of  books,  but  thought  if  one  would 
study  carefully  the  Bible,  Shakespeare  and  Walter  Scott  he  would  be 
well  equipped  for  the  battle  of  life.  They  were  sufficient,  he  thought^ 
to  constitute  as  good  a  library  as  one  could  desire. 

Mr.  Jones  entered  public  life  in  iSii  as  the  representative  from 
the  county  of  New  Hanover  in  the  state  legislature,  and  was  also 
elected  from  the  borough  of  Wilmington  in  1819-20-21  and  22,  and 
again  in  1833;  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1S35.  He 
assumed  a  high  position  in  the  councils  of  the  state,  was  chosen 
speaker  of  the  house  of  commons,  and  presided  over  its  deliberations 
with  dignity  and  marked  ability.  He  was  a  skilled  debater,  quick 
and  pungent  at  repartee  and  prompt  to  take  advantage  of  any  ex- 
posed point  of  his  adversary,  but  was  uniformly  courteous  and 
urbane.  He  never  indulged  in  personalities,  but  was  always  and 
under  all  circumstances  the  courtly  gentleman.  He  could  not  toler- 
ate prevarication  or  deceit,  for  he  was  one  of  the  most  sincere  of 
men.  He  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  never  hesitated  to 
express  what  he  thought,  not  offensively,  but  with  a  firmness  and  with 
a  dignity  of  manner  that  commanded  respect.  Upon  his  retirement 
from  political  life,  he  accepted  the  position  of  naval  officer  for  the 
post  of  Wilmington  and  was  subsequently  elected  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Cape  Fear,  which  position  he  held  for  some  years,  until  fail- 
ing health  compelled  his  resignation.  He  conducted  the  affairs  of 
the  bank  with  great  skill  and  prudence,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 


596  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  directors  and  the  public.  He  died  at  Greenville,  S.  C,  while  on 
a  visit  to  his  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  late  Hon.  Waddy  Thompson, 
of  that  state,  at  one  time  minister  to  Mexico,  and  was  buried  at  that 
place.  Col.  Jones  was  a  most  estimable  gentleman,  genial  in  manner, 
particularly  so  to  the  young,  a  delightful  conversationalist,  free  from 
guile  and  always  scrupulously  regardful  of  the  feelings  of  others. 

DAVID  FANNING. 

There  was  born  in  Johnston  county,  N.  C,  in  1756,  one  of  the 
boldest  men,  fertile  in  expedients  and  quick  in  execution,  that  ever 
sprang  from  North  Carolina  parentage.  He  was  a  poor  boy,  obscure, 
humble  and  unlettered.  He  was  apprenticed  to  a  Mr.  Bryant,  from 
whom,  on  account  of  harsh  treatment,  he  ran  away  when  about  fif- 
teen years  of  age.  His  miserable  condition  secured  him  a  tempo- 
rary home  with  Mr.  John  O.  Deneil!,of  Haw  Field,  in  Orange  county, 
but  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years  he  went  to  South  Carolina 
and  engaged  in  trafficking  with  the  Catawba  Indians,  and  settled  on 
Raeburn's  creek,  a  branch  of  Reedy  river,  in  Laurens  district  in  up- 
per South  Carolina.  He  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was 
made  sergeant  of  Capt.  James  Lindley's  company,  and  on  the  15th 
day  of  May,  1775,  together  with  118  other  men  of  that  settlement,  re- 
fused to  sign  "the  Revolution  papers,"  but  signed  in  July  a  paper 
agreeing  to  fight  for  the  king.  They  embodied  about  the  post  of 
"  Ninety-Six,"  in  upper  South  Carolina  and  engaged  in  an  active 
warfare  with  their  whig  neighbors.  In  July,  1776,  he  made  his  way 
with  a  body  of  tories  to  the  Cherokees  and  came  down  with  them 
and  attacked  a  whig  force,  but  the  attack  was  unsuccessful.  Return- 
ing to  Raeburn  creek,  he  underwent  many  vicissitudes,  was  often 
captured,  escaped,  and  always  engaged  in  predatory  warfare. 

On  March  i,  177S,  orders  were  received  from  east  Florida  for  "the 
loyal  militia"  to  embody.  Fanning  was  chosen  by  the  tories  of  his 
section  to  be  their  commander.  They  scoured  the  country,  took  pris- 
oners and  seized  horses,  and  marched  to  Savannah  river,  two  miles 
above  Augusta,  where  they  were  turned  back  by  a  body  of  whigs  and 
pursued,  and  the  party  dispersed.  He  was  again  captured,  but  escaped. 
Eventually  he  embodied  some  500  men  to  go  to  St.  Augustine,  but  was 
again  turned  back  by  superior  forces.  He  was  on  his  way  alone  to ' 
the  Holstein  river,  140  miles  distant  over  the  mountains,  when  he  was 
again  captured  and  confined,  as  often  before,  in  the  jail  at  Ninetj'-six, 
but  again  got  free.  Eventually  he  made  submission  to  Gov.  Rut- 
ledge,  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  pardoned  on  condition  of  living 
peaceably  at  home.  He  remained  a  year  under  those  terms,  but  after 
Charleston  was  captured,  he  and  "Bloody  Bill"  Cunningham  began 
to  embody  a  loyal  force,  and  became  very  active  and  daring  in  their 
operations.  After  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  the  whigs  grew 
stronger  in  that  part  of  South  Carolina,  and  Fanning  made  his  way  to 
Deep  River,  N.  C.,  where  he  remained  quiet  until  February,  17S1,  dis- 
covering the  disposition  of  the  people.     When  Cornwallis  came  into 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  597 

this  state  Planning  raised  the  tor}'  standard  in  the  Deep  River  country, 
and  upon  the  arrival  of  the  British  army  at  Hillsboro,  quite  a  number 
of  disaffected  people  joined  him.  Col.  Pyles  also  had  a  force  of  about 
300  tories  in  the  same  region.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  active 
operations  in  central  North  Carolina. 

After  Cornwallis  withdrew  to  Wilmington  and  Greene  went  into 
South  Carolina  leaving  North  Carolina  a  free  field  for  Fanning's 
operations,  nearly  every  day  had  its  incidents.  Often  with  a  consider- 
able force,  sometimes  he  was  compelled  to  fight  single-handed  for 
his  life;  fleeing  one  daj'  through  the  wilderness;  the  next  saw  him 
pursuing  the.whig  parties  that  had  divided  to  capture  him.  Forag- 
ing on  the  country,  seizing  what  he  wanted,  slaying,  slaughtering, 
burning  hom.es  and  butchering  in  cold  blood  according  to  his  mood, 
he  was  a  terror  and  a  scourge.  On  the  5th  of  July,  17S1,  he  went  to 
Wilmington  and  obtained  from  Major  Craig  an  appointment  as 
colonel  of  the  Lo3'al  Militia  of  Randolph  and  Chatham  counties  and 
on  the  1 2th  of  July  organized  at  Coxe's  Mills  the  loyalists  of  Anson, 
Cumberland,  Orange,  Chatham  and  Randolph  counties  into  22  com- 
panies. Hearing  that  there  was  a  general  muster  at  Pittsboro  and  a 
court-martial  to  tr}-  some  tories  there,  he  marched  seventeen  miles 
that  night  and  by  seven  o'clock  took  the  village  —  with  fifty-three  pris- 
oners—  among  them  the  colonel,  major  and  all  the  milita  officers  in 
the  county,  a  captain  in  the  continental  army  and  three  members  of  the 
legislature.  He  next  attacked  Col.  Alston's  force  and  took  them,  pa- 
troling  the  colonel  to  his  residence  in  Cumberland  county.  And  so  he 
continued  fighting,  whenever  he  could  with  a  chance  of  success,  from 
Wilmington  to  Hillsboro.  In  September,  finding  himself  at  the  head 
of  950  men,  he  left  Coxe's  Mills,  marched  as  if  to  attack  General  But- 
ler and  Col.  Robert  Mebane,  of  the  continentals  who  were  nearby  but 
av'oided  them  and  hastened  to  Hillsboro,  where  at  seven  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  12th  of  September,  1781,  he  captured  Gov.  Burke,  the 
governor's  council,  Col.  Reade,  Mr.  Hurke,  Col.  Lyttle,  seventy-one 
continentals  with  their  of^cers  and  over  a  hundred  other  persons,  and 
opened  the  jail,  turning  loose  a  number  of  tories  and  criminals. 
Leaving  Hillsboro  at  twelve  o'clock,  by  the  next  morning  thej-  were  at 
Lindsey's  Mills  on  Cane  creek,  and  pushing  on  were  attacked  by  Gen. 
Butler.  The  fight  lasted  four  hours  and  Butler's  force  was  driven  off. 
Fanning  lost  twenty-seven  killed,  sixty  badly  wounded  and  thirty 
slightly  wounded.  He  himself  was  disabled,  and  he  sent  his  force 
with  the  prisoners  under  Col.  McDougal  on  to  Wilmington,  Gen.  But- 
ler and  Col.  Mebane  being  in  hot  pursuit  until  Maj.  Craig  with  a  force 
from  Wilmington  joined  the  fleeing  tories  and  turned  the  whig 
army  back.  In  twenty-four  days  Fanning  was  again  in  the  saddle. 
In  November  he  had  intelligence  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
and  of  the  evacuation  of  Wilmington  by  Maj.  Craig,  but  this  only  in- 
creased his  activity  and  desperation. 

Every  day  he  left  his  mark.  On  December  10,  Col.  Isaacs  came 
from  the  west  with  300  men,  to  Coxe's  Mills,  to  capture  Fanning, 
who  eluded  his  foes  with  great,  address.     About  the  first  of  January, 


59^^  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

he  offered  to  make  terms  with  Gov.  Martin,  and  remain  neutral 
thereafter,  living  with  his  men  within  bounds  —  "from  Cumberland 
twenty  miles  north  and  south,  and  thirty  miles  east  and  west;  to  be 
totally  clear  of  your  Light  Horse."  But  although  the  proposition 
was  entertained,  the  truce  was  not  made,  and  Planning  continued, 
with  but  slight  intermission,  to  kill  and  burn  until  May  7,  1782,  when 
he  started  to  "  a  Major  Garner's  truce  land  in  Pee  Dee,  S.  C.,  where  I 
had  made  a  truce  with  the  rebels  some  time  before."  Here  he  re- 
mained a  month  with  Mrs.  Fanning,  and  his  plunder,  and  then  re- 
paired to  Charleston.  On  the  28th  of  September,  he  took  shipping 
with  other  loyalists  to  St.  Augustine,  and  two  years  .later  went  to 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  where  he  continued  to  reside  in  poor  circum- 
stances until  his  death,  in  1825. 

Fanning's  career  in  the  upper  Cape  Fear  region,  after  Greene 
went  into  South  Carolina,  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  colony 
for  audacity,  bold  enterprise,  bloody  encounters  and  remorseless 
rapine.  He  refers  to  having  been  in  thirty-six  encounters;  but  if 
minor  engagements  were  reckoned  the  number  would  be  greater.  He 
was  one  of  the  three  persons  excepted  from  pardon  and  amnesty, 
proclained  by  the  general  assembly  of  the  state  after  peace  was  de- 
clared. 

COL.  J.  T.  ROPER. 

One  of  North  Carolina's  oldest  and  most  highly  respected  con- 
nections is  the  Roper  family.  Col.  j.  T.  Roper,  of  Richmond  county, 
N.  C,  being  the  representative  of  the  family  chosen  as  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Col.  Roper  was  born  in  Richmond  county,  September  14, 
iSrg,  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Hannah  (Hunter)  Roper,  natives  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina  respective!}'.  Thomas  was  a  planter. 
His  father,  Frederick,  and  his  two  brothers,  John  and  James,  were 
patriot  soldiers  in  the  Revolution.  They  were  the  sons  of  an  itiner- 
ant Methodist  minister.  Thomas  died  in  1858,  and  his  wife  in  i860, 
aged  respectively  eighty  and  seventy-eight  j'ears.  Two  sons  and  two 
daughters  are  the  children  surviving  them,  of  whom  Col.  J.  T.  Roper 
is  the  eldest.  Col.  Roper  began  active  life  at  the  age  of  twenty  years 
as  a  planter,  in  which  calling  he  has  continued  with  much  success.  In 
1844  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Daniel  McBride,  of  Rich- 
mond county,  and  six  children  have  been  born  to  them,  named  as 
follows:  Green  A.,  an  extensive  planter  of  the  county;  he  married 
M.  Ella  Bethea,  and  Willa  and  Fanny  are  the  offspring;  Sallie,  wife 
of  A.  F.  Bizzell,  their  children  are  Frank,  John,  Drew,  Mamie,  Albert 
and  Malcom;  Fanny,  wife  of  C.  E.  Smith,  a  commission  merchant  of 
New  York  city  —  their  two  children  are  Margaret  and  Roper.  Col. 
and  Mrs.  Roper  have  been  active  and  valued  communicants  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  for  nearly  half  a  century,  the  former 
having  served  as  a  steward  for  much  of  that  time.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  held  the  commission  of  colonel  of  the  militia  of  the  state,  it 
being  his  duty  to  protect  the  homes,  q,nd  capture  deserters   from  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  599 

army.     His  service  in  that  capacity  was  most  valuable  to  the  commu- 
nity, and  brought  him  much  credit. 

HON.  A.  H.  McNeill, 

who  for  thirty-two  years  served  the  citizens  of  Moore  county,  X.  C, 
as  clerk  of  the  count}'  and  superior  courts,  is  a  native  of  the  county, 
having  been  born  there  in  183 1.  His  parents  were  John  and  Fanny 
(Muse)  McNeill,  honored  residents  of  the  communit}-.  The  former 
died  in  1840  at  the  age  of  thirtj'  years.  His  father  was  Daniel  Mc- 
Neill, who  married  Margaret  McLeod,  both  being  nativ'es  of  Scotland. 
Daniel  was  the  son  of  John  McNeill,  who  is  mentioned  in  Caruthers' 
History  of  North  Carolina;  he  was  known  throughout  the  region  as 
"Strong  John."  Mrs.  John  McNeill  is  living  at  the  advanced  age  of 
seventy-seven  years,  and  is  a  lady  of  great  piety  and  of  true  Christian 
character,  being  a  life-long  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church. 
Of  the  three  children  born  to  John  and  F'anny  McNeill,  A.  H.  is  the 
eldest,  and  Martha  is  the  widow  of  A.  M.  Branson,  of  Carthage,  N.  C. 
Our  subject  began  life  for  himself  at  the  age  of  fifteen  as  a  clerk,  five 
years  later  becoming  the  proprietor  of  a  store  in  Carthage.  In  1855 
he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  county  court,  and  later  clerk  of  the  supe- 
rior court,  holding  these  positions  for  thirty-two  3'ears,  having  served 
during  the  administration  of  the  Confederate  government.  In  1852 
he  was  happily  wedded  to  Miss  Margaret,  daughter  of  A.  C.  and 
Christian  Currie,  and  it  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  for  twenty  years 
Mr.  Currie  held  the  same  office  in  which  his  son-in-law  was  retained 
so  long,  the  latter  having  succeeded  him  at  his  death.  The  children 
of  this  marriage  are:  Eveline,  wife  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Blue;  their  children 
are,  Ela  M.  and  Alexander;  Maggie,  wife  of  George  C.  Graves,  a 
leading  merchant  of  Carthage;  their  children  are,  Lessie,  Maggie  and 
George;  Charles  A.,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Carthage;  Robert  L.,  a 
planter;  Mittie,  wife  of  Charles  H.Graves;  Fannie,  Ella  and  George 
W.  The  mother  went  to  her  final  rest.  May  26,  1888,  aged  fifty-five 
years.  .She  was  a  devout  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in 
which  her  husband  is  a  deacon.  Mr.  McNeill  is  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Masonic  order,  and  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 

Mrs.  McNeill  lived  a  most  beautiful  life.  For  more  than  forty 
years  she  served  her  Master  with  ever  increasing  faith,  and  died  firm 
in  the  belief  of  His  supreme  power  to  save.  The  influence  of  a  godly, 
virtuous  life,  such  as  this  woman  lived,  cannot  be  estimated;  it  is 
widespread,  and  like  the  waves  of  the  ocean,  never  ending.  The  love 
in  which  she  was  held  by  the  entire  community  was  touchingly  illus- 
trated by  the  last  sad  services,  when  rich  and  poor  joined  in  paying 
tender  tribute  to  her  memory.  Mr.  McNeill's  mother  is  from  a  \'ir- 
ginia  family,  her  grandfather  being  Dr.  George  Cilasscock,  who  was 
a  first  cousin  of  the  great  Washington,  their  mothers  being  sisters,  and 
their  surname  Ball.  Daniel  and  Neill  McLeod  of  Cumberland 
county,  the  great  uncles  of  our  subject,  were  robbed  and  murdered 
by  the  famous  Lowrey  gang  of  Robeson  county.     Mr.  A.  II.  McNeill 


600  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

is  probably  more  intimately  acquainted  with  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
citizens  of  Moore  county  than  any  other  man.  His  close  connection 
with  the  business  interests  of  the  county  for  so  long  a  period  in  a 
high  official  position,  brought  him  into  the  closest  contact  with  the 
community,  and  the  fact  that  his  name  is  universally  honored  and 
esteemed  as  that  of  a  man  of  undoubted  ability,  and  the  most  rigid 
uprightness,  is  ample  proof  of  his  worth. 


.HON.  SYDENHAM  B.  ALEXANDER. 

Among  the  many  agriculturists  of  North  Carolina,  there  is  none 
more  distinguished  or  deservedly  popular  than  Hon.  Sydenham  B. 
Alexander.  He  is  a  resident  of  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  in  which 
he  was  born  December  8,  1840,  at  Rosedale  farm,  some  nine  miles 
north  of  Charlotte.  His  descent  is  from  a  distinguished  Scotch-Irish 
family  having  many  representatives  among  the  early  settlers  of  Meck- 
lenburg county.  The  progenitor  of  the  family  in  America  was  James 
Alexander  who  emigrated  from  Armaugh,  Ireland,  first  settling  in 
Chester,  Penn.,  and  later  in  Maryland,  where  he  died.  He  had 
twelve  children,  two  of  whom,  James  McKnitt  Alexander  and  Heze- 
kiah  Alexander  came  to  Mecklenburg  county,  as  early  as  1742.  The 
first  named  was  the  secretary  of  the  convention  which  first  passed  the 
Mecklenburg  declaration,  Maj'  20,  1775.  He  had  several  sons  and 
daughters.  Among  the  sons  was  Dr.  Joseph  McKnitt  Alexander,  for 
many  years  a  distinguished  physician  of  Mecklenburg.  He  married 
Miss  Dovey  Winslow,  and  b}'  her  had  an  only  son,  Dr.  Moses  Wins- 
low  Alexander.  He  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In 
his  early  days  he  was  a  practising  physiciah,  but  later  in  life  followed 
farming  and  was  a  man  of  distinction  and  wealth.  He  lived  and  died 
in  his  native  county.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Violet  Graham,  a 
daughter  of  Gen.  Joseph  Graham,  of  Revolutionar}'  fame  and  a  sis- 
ter of  Gov.  William  A.  Graham.  The  issue  of  this  marriage  was 
twelve  children,  of  whom,  Sydenham  B.  Alexander  was  the  youngest 
but  one.  He  was  reared  upon  a  farm  and  acquired  his  early  educa- 
tion under  the  instruction  of  Capt.  Silas  Lindsley,  at  Rock  River 
academy,  in  Cabarrus  county,  and  at  Wadesboro  institute.  In  July, 
1856  he  was  admitted  to  the  University  of  Chapel  Hill,  whence  he 
was  graduated  in  June,  i860.  In  April,  iS6r  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  the  Hornets'  Nest  military  company,  of  Charlotte,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing August  was  made  drill-master  as  an  aid  to  Col.  J.  H.  Lane, 
of  the  Twenty-eighth  regiment.  After  the  battle  of  Newbern  he  was 
made  first  lieutenant  of  Company  K,  Forty-second  regiment.  This 
was  in  March,  1862,  and  in  the  following  August  he  was  made  captain 
of  the  same  company.  In  the  latter  part  of  1S64,  he  was  detailed  as 
inspector-general  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Hoke  and  held  this  position 
till  1865.  A  while  before  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  the  cap- 
taincy of  his  company,  which  surrendered  with  Johnston's  army  at 
Greensboro. 


^k^^i^ 


^yLcyy^ 


XORTII  CAROLINA.  6oi 

Upon  the  close  of  the  war,  Capt.  Alexander  returned  to  his  native 
county,  and  adopting  farming  for  his  occupation,  has  ever  since 
continued  an  active  and  successful  prosecutor  of  that  vocation.  He 
was  master  of  the  state  grange  and  e.x-officio  member  of  the  board 
of  agriculture  from  1877  to  1879,  when  he  resigned.  In  politics, 
Capt.  Alexander  has  been  a  consistent  democrat,  and  in  1878  was 
elected  by  them  to  the  state  senate  from  Mecklenburg  county,  during 
his  term  in  the  senate  acting  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  agri- 
culture. He  was  also  instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  of  a  road 
law,  levying  a  tax  to  aid  in  supporting  and  improving  the  public 
roads.  The  law  proved  to  be  very  unpopular,  especially  with  his  con- 
stituency, and  in  1880  he  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  for  re-nomina- 
tion. His  opponent  was  nominated  and  elected,  and  secured  the 
repeal  of  tiie  obnoxious  law,  but  in  the  meantime  the  wisdom  of  the 
law  and  the  advantages  it  was  calculated  to  secure  had  been  made 
manifest,  and  there  was  a  direct  reversal  of  public  opinion  in  its 
favor.  That  it  might  be  re-enacted,  Capt.  Alexander  was  re-elected 
as  senator  in  18S2,  without  opposition.  He  secured  the  re-instate- 
ment  of  the  act,  and  as  a  token  of  approval  of  his  valuable  services 
he  was  re-elected  in  1884  and  1S86.  In  1888  his  party  tendered  him 
the  nomination  again,  but  he  declined.  The  same  year  he  was  unan- 
imously nominated  for  lieutenant  governor,  but  declined  also  this 
proffered  honor.  While  in  the  senate,  Mr.  Alexander  during  his  last 
three  years  was  chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  and  his  invalua- 
ble work  in  this  committee  earned  for  him  the  admiration  and 
applause  of  his  constituents,  as  well  as  of  the  people  at  large.  In  1884 
he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs. 

At  the  democratic  congressional  convention  of  the  sixth  district 
in  iSqg,  Capt.  Alexander  was  nominated  as  the  candidate  for  repre- 
sentation by  acclamation,  having  been  the  choice  of  all  the  delegates 
at  the  primary  caucuses.  The  democratic  party  in  the  district  being 
largely  in  the  ascendant,  he  was  elected  by  a  handsome  and  increased 
majority.  As  a  legislator  Capt.  .Alexander  is  ever  alive  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  state  and  the  people  he  represents.  He  is  sincere,  prudent 
and  conscientious,  and  is  regarded  as  a  safe  and  reliable  exponent  of 
the  wants  of  his  section.  He  is  not  a  demonstrative  man,  neither  is 
he  of  an  autocratic  or  dictatorial  disposition,  but  is  careful  and  con- 
siderate of  the  rights  of  others.  He  is  a  citizen  of  the  progressive 
stamp  and  is  a  warm  and  ardent  friend  and  advocate  of  the  church, 
of  education  and  the  public  advancement.  His  friendships  are  warm 
and  cordial,  devoid  of  selfishness  and  permeated  with  a  geniality 
which  makes  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  a  rare  beneficence.  He 
has  been  twice  happily  married,  but  unfortunately  has  lost  in  death 
both  of  his  successively  chosen  companions.  His  first  marriage  was 
in  1872,  to  Miss  Emma  P.  Nicholson,  of  Halifax.  They  had  six 
children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters.  In  1880  the  mother  died 
and  in  1885  Mr.  .Alexander  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss  Louise 
Perry,  of  P'ranklin,  who  died  in  June,  1890,  leaving  no  offspring. 
Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  a  noble  and  refined  gentleman  whose  quali- 


602  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ties  of  mind  and  heart  have  not  only  fitted  him  for  the  varied  and 
responsible  positions  he  has  been  called  upon  to  fill,  but  have 
endeared  him  to  a  large  and  respectable  circle  of  friends  who  hold 
him  in  the  highest  esteem. 

JAMES    TURNER 

was  a  native  of  Southampton  county,  \'a.,  and  was  born  December  20, 
1766.  When  he  was  quite  young  his  father  with  his  family  removed 
to  VVarren  (then  Bute)  county,  N.  C.  There  young  Turner  received 
the  best  education  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of  the  district. 
In  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  a  volunteer  in  a  company  under 
the  command  of  Col.  John  Macon.  His  public  career  had  its  begin- 
ning when  he  was  elected  to  the  North  Carolina  legislature  in  1798. 
He  was  twice  re-elected,  serving  in  the  sessions  of  1799  and  1800, 
then  elected  to  the  upper  house  in  the  sessions  of  1801  and  1802. 
Progressing  another  step  on  the  ladder  of  public  service,  he  was 
elected  governor  of  the  state,  administering  that  ol^ce  until  1805.  He 
was  then  chosen  United  States  senator,  which  office  he  held  for  two 
full  terms  of  six  years  each.  Failing  health  then  compelled  him  to 
withdraw  from  official  life.  His  death  took  place  at  Bloomsbury, 
Warren  county,  N.  C,  January  13,  1824. 

Mr.  Turner's  colleague  in  the  senate  was  Gov.  David  Stone,  and 
between  them  there  was  a  diversity  of  political  sentiment.  Mr.  Tur- 
ner was  a  democrat  of  the  old  school,  while  Gov.  Stone  opposed  some 
of  the  distinctive  measures  of  President  Madison's  administration, 
particularly  the  embargo  act,  while  Gov.  Turner  supported  the  most 
vigorous  measures  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  Great  Brit- 
ain. The  personal  characteristics  of  Mr.  Turner  were  of  a  highly  ex- 
emplary type.  He  was  a  sincere  and  firm  friend,  and  was  faithful  to 
every  public  and  private  obligation.  He  was  three  times  married. 
First  to  Mary  Anderson,  of  Warrington,  in  1793,  by  whom  he  had 
two  sons  and  two  daughters;  second  to  Mrs.  Anna  Cochran,  third  to 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Johnson,  by  whom  he  had  two  daughters.  One  son, 
Daniel,  by  his  first  wife,  graduated  from  West  Point  military  academy, 
in  1814,  and  entered  the  regular  army  as  second  lieutenant  of  artil- 
lery. He  served  in  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  as  acting  as- 
sistant engineer.  Later  he  resigned  his  military  commission.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  legislature  from  iSig  to  1S23, 
and  a  member  of  congress  from  1S27  to  1829. 

THOMAS  LODOWICK  VAIL 

was  born  in  Wayne  county,  N.  C,  September  29,  1827.  His  father 
was  Benners  W.  V^ail,  a  native  of  Washington  county,  N.  C,  and  his 
mother  before  marriage  was  Susan  M.  Alford,  a  daughter _  of 
Lodowick  Alford.  Mr.  Vail's  father  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Vail,  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  and  of  Irish  and  English  lineage.  Thomas 
Vail*came  from  his  native  state  to  Washington  county  at  an  early 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  603 

age.  Our  subject's  father  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  leaving 
Washington  county,  married  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Wayne  county, 
where  he  lived  and  died.  He  left  two  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  eldest,  and  two  daughters.  Thomas  L.  X'ail  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  when  his  father  died,  and  being  the  eldest  of  the  chil- 
dren, he  came  to  be  the  head  of  the  family,  to  whom  his  minor 
brother  and  sisters  looked  for  support.  The  responsibilities  thus  de- 
volved upon  him  took  him  out  of  school  before  he  had  completed  his 
education,  but  he  had  in  the  meantime  in  his  own  county  and  at 
Goldsboro  gained  a  fair  English  education,  principally  under  the 
instruction  of  Prof.  Cowan,  an  Irish  scholar  of  much  repute.  Thomas 
remained  with  the  family  on  the  farm  until  1S50.  When  the_  Mexican 
war  was  at  hand  he  volunteered  to  go  into  the  military  service  of  his 
country,  but  when  hostilities  actually  broke  out,  he  was  prevented  by 
the  entreaties  of  fiis  mother  from  going  to  the  seat  of  war.  Through 
the  intervention  of  friends,  a  "substitute"  was  prevailed  upon  to 
take  his  place,  and  young  Vail  was  thus  induced  to  stay  at  home  and 
still  look  after  home  interests. 

In  May,  1S50,  Mr.  Vail  was  married  to  Miss  Smitha  J.  Person,  of 
Greene  county,  and  he  then  removed  to  Columbus  county,  where  he 
embarked  in  the  turpentine  business,  in  which  he  was  very  successful. 
He  continued  his  residence  in  this  county  until  1S59,  when  hereturned 
to  Greene  county.  While  residing  in  Columbus  county  he  was  chosen 
clerk  of  the  superior  court,  holding  this  office  from  August,  1853,  to 
January,  1859.  His  removal  to  Greene  county  necessitated  the  resig- 
nation of  his  clerkship,  and  he  located  on  a  farm  in  that  county,  where 
he  continued  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  He  then  vol- 
unteered, and  was  made  first  lieutenant  of  Company  H,  First  North 
Carolina  cavalry.  He  was  in  active  service,  his  first  engagement 
being  at  the  battle  of  Dranesville.  Subsequently  he  participated  in 
the  fight  around  Richmond,  and  other  actions.  While  in  charge  of  a 
part  of  Gen.  Hampton's  brigade  at  Winchester,  \'a.,  he  was  relieved 
from  further  active  work  in  the  field  by  reason  of  ill  health.  Return- 
ing to  his  home  in  Greene  county,  he  made  a  visit  to  Mecklenburg 
county,  where,  in  Providence,  he  purchased  land,  and  in  January,  1863, 
removed  his  family  to  his  new  purchase.  .Soon  thereafter  he  was  de- 
tailed to  collect  and  supply  the  Confederate  soldiers  with  necessities, 
continuing  in  this  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  After  that 
period  Mr.  Vail  continued  on  his  farm  at  Providence  till  1S72,  in  which 
year  he  removed  to  Charlotte.  P'or  several  years  he  was  cashier  of 
the  Farmers'  Savings  bank  at  Charlotte.  This  bank  was  merged  into 
the  Traders'  National  bank,  but  Mr.  Vail  was  retained  as  its  cashier. 
The  bank  went  into  liquidation  in  1883,  and  was  discontinued.  With 
the  intermission  of  about  three  years,  Mr.  \'ail  has  been  continuously 
a  member  of  the  Mecklenburg  county  board  of  commissioners.  In 
1868  he  was  elected  and  commissioned  by  Canbya  military  command- 
ant, and  during  the  long  time  that  Mr.  \'ail  has  served  as  a  member 
of  the  board  he  has  been  its  chairman.  He  is  a  progressive  and 
representative  citizen,  a  practical  and  successful  farmer,  a  moral  and 


604  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

religious  man,  wliose  honesty  and  integrity  are  unimpeachable.  He 
has  been  for  many  years  an  active  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 
His  family,  consisting  of  himself,  his  wife,  one  son  and  four  daugh- 
ters, enjoy  a  high  social  standing  among  the  leading  society  people  of 
Charlotte. 

WILLIAM  M.  VANDEVER, 

a  farmer  by  occupation  and  a  resident  citizen  of  Charlotte,  is  a  native 
of  Wilmington,  Del.,  born  in  that  city  February  21,  1825.  His  father, 
John  Vandever,  was  a  native  of  the  same  city  and  was  the  son  of 
Peter  Vandever,  a  native  of  New  Castle  county,  Del.  The  family  is 
of  distinguished  lineage,  having  been  prominent  among  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Delaware.  The  progenitor  of  the  family  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica with  the  Swedes,  who,  at  an  early  day,  took  up  their  residence  in 
this  state.  The  family  became  wealthy  and  was  highly  respected, 
and  for  years  were  worshipers  in  the  Swedish  church  at  Wilmington. 
Their  ancestors  adopted  the  views  of  Martin  Luther,  and  tied  from 
persecution  in  the  Netherlands  to  the  American  wilderness  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  settling  in  Delaware  on  the  Brandywine,  christen- 
ing their  place  "  Vandever's  Island."  Such  is  the  paternal  lineage  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  mother  was  Sarah  Chambers,  who, 
though  a  native  of  Delaware,  was  of  English  descent.  Mr.  Vandever 
is  the  eldest  of  ten  children,  only  three  brothers  and  three  sisters 
arriving  at  maturity.  He  was  reared  in  Wilmington  and  there  re- 
ceived a  fair  English  education.  Early  in  life  he  learned  locomotive 
engineering,  and,  upon  reaching  his  majorit}^  left  the  parental  home 
and  began  railroad  engineering.  This  business  he  followed  through- 
out several  states,  including  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Tennessee, 
Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas.  While  running  an 
engine  on  the  Madison  &  Indianapolis  railroad,  he  enlisted  for  the 
Mexican  war,  but  did  not  reach  the  seat  of  actual  service  before 
peace  was  declared.  In  1S50  he  first  came  to  the  Carolinas,  the  occa- 
sion being  the  acceptance  of  a  position  as  engineer  on  the  Charlotte  & 
Columbia  railroad,  on  which  he  was  employed  until  1852.  In  1S51  he 
married  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  F.  Clifton.  She  died  in  the 
same  year,  and  in  1852  Mr.  Vandever  married  his  present  wife, 
Louise  A.  Cornwell,  daughter  of  Elijah  Cornwell,  a  prominent  and 
wealthy  farmer  of  Chester  county,  S.  C.  The  issue  of  this  marriage 
was  two  children,  both  of  whom  died  early  in  life. 

In  1858  Mr.  Vandever  settled  on  a  plantation  in  Chester  county, 
and  quitting  the  calling  of  an  engineer  took  up  the  occupation  of 
farming.  During  the  war  between  the  states,  he  served  the  Confed- 
eracy as  a  railroad  engineer,  operating,  among  other  roads,  upon  the 
North  Carolina  Central,  the  Western  North  Carolina,  and  the  Char- 
lotte &  Columbia.  While  on  the  North  Carolina  Central  railroad  he 
was  hauling  from  Charlotte  to  Raleigh  the  Thirteenth  South  Caro- 
lina regiment,  and  to  the  train  befell  the  uncontrollable  accident  of 
breaking  an  axle  of  one  of  the  cars.     Some  of  the  soldiers  became 


A.    B.    DAVIDSON,    Esq 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  605 

enraged  at  liim,  attributing  the  accident  to  carelessness  and  a  willful 
intention  to  wreck  the  train.  For  a  time  his  life  was  in  peril,  and  he 
was  threatened  with  death  by  shooting,  but  pulling  his  engine  loose 
from  the  train  he  hurried  to  Salisbury,  eleven  miles  in  advance,  and 
thus  escaped  harm.  When  the  war  closed  he  returned  to  his  planta- 
tion, which  his  faithful  wife  had  continued  to  operate,  keeping  the 
slaves  under  control.  Loaded  with  debt,  Mr.  V^andever  now  began 
active  and  zealous  work  at  farming,  w-hich  he  has  ever  since  contin- 
ued with  remarkable  and  gratifying  success.  He  resided  in  Chester 
county,  S.  C,  till  1874,  when  he  removed  into  Mecklenburg  county, 
N.  C,  where  he  has  from  that  time  remained.  Since  Januarj',  1890, 
he  has  resided  within  the  city  of  Charlotte,  where  he  and  his  wife 
have  a  nice  home  and  enjo}-  the  advantages  of  church  and  society'. 
He  is  of  the  Presbyterian  faith,  and  his  wife  of  the  Methodist.  Mr. 
Vandever  is  a  prosperous  and  practical  farmer  and  a  representative 
citizen. 

A.  B.  DAVIDSON 

is  one  of  the  oldest  descendants  of  a  signer  of  the  Mecklenburg  dec- 
laration of  independence,  now  living  in  Charlotte,  N.  C.  He  was 
born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  March  13,  1808,  and  is  now  just  eighty- 
three  years  of  age.  His  paternal  grandfatherwas  Maj.  John  Davidson, 
of  Highland  Scotch  birth,  and  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Subsequent 
to  the  Scotch  rebellion,  Mai.  Davidson  <tame  to  America  with  his 
mother,  then  a  widow,  and  settled  in  the  Cumberland  valley  of  Penn- 
sylvania. About  1735  he  removed  to  North  Carolina,  locating  a 
plantation  on  the  Catawba  river.  Here  our  subject  was  born,  reared, 
married  and  raised  his  large  family,  as  did  his  father.  Adam  Brevard 
Davidson  is  one  of  the  best  of  men,  a  faithful  Christian  and  a  true 
patriot.  He  is  a  plain  and  unassuming  man,  but  a  man  whose  sterling 
qualities  of  heart  had  elevated  to  a  high  plain  of  moral  excellence 
and  to  the  most  cordial  respect  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  their  "  name 
is  legion."  He  is  an  uneducated  man,  for  in  his  youth  his  father  was 
not  able  to  school  him.  However,  he  gained  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
rudiments  of  an  education  in  reading,  writing  and  perhaps  arithmetic. 
But  his  noble  disposition,  determined  mind  and  practical  qualities, 
have  made  him  well  fitted  for  his  labors.  He  chose  the  vocation  of 
a  planter  at  the  early  age  of  ten,  remaining  under  the  direction  of 
his  father.  April  20,  1836,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary 
Laura,  the  daughter  of  lion.  John  Springs,  of  ^'nrk  district,  S.  C. 
The  union  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  fifteen  children,  all  of  whom 
were  given  thorough  educations.  In  1876  Mr.  Davidson  married  for 
a  second  wife  Cornelia  C.  Elmore,  the  daughter  of  Hon.  Franklin 
Elmore  of  South  Carolina.  As  a  farmer,  Mr.  Davidson  was  remark- 
ably successful,  and  is  an  excellent  representative  of  the  noble  and 
honest  occupation.  Since  1872  he  has  continued  an  active  improve- 
ment of  his  real  estate  in  Charlotte,  for  which  he  has  done  much  to 
make  a  city.      He  was  president  of  the   Mecklenburg  agricultural 


6o6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

society  for  about  fifteen  jears,  until  that  society  was  broken  up  by  the 
Civil  war. 

In  September,  1S47,  Mr.  Davidson  was  elected  one  of  the 
twelve  of  the  first  board  of  directors  for  the  C.  C.  &  A.  railroad,  and 
has  since  continued  on  that  board  to  the  present  time.  For  many 
years  he  has  served  as  a  valuable  director  of  the  Granitesville  manu- 
facturing company,  of  South  Carolina.  He  has  also  served  as  a  di- 
rector in  the  Merchants  &  Farmers'  national  bank  of  Charlotte 
since  iSSo.  Mr.  Davidson  rendered  no  military  service  in  the  war 
between  the  states,  as  he  was  beyond  sixty  years  of  age  at  the  out- 
break of  hostilities.  He  furnished  three  sons  in  the  defense  of  their 
country,  named  John,  Robert  and  Richard.  Mr.  Davidson,  though 
not  in  favor  of  the  war,  was  a  great  loser  thereby,  having  at  one  time 
bought  Confederate  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $30,000  which  were  payable 
in  gold,  every  dollar  of  which  was  lost,  beside  a  loss  of  about  $70,000 
in  the  same  bonds  which  came  into  his  possession.  Mr.  Davidson 
has  been  an  active  life-long  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  For 
nearly  a  half  century  he  was  an  elder  in  the  Hopewell  Presbyterian 
church,  to  which  he  was  a  large  donator  when  it  was  organized  and 
constructed,  as  well  as  in  after  years.  In  1856  he  was  a  delegate  to 
the  old  school  general  assembly  which  convened  at  New  York  city. 
He  served  as  a  trustee  of  Davidson  college  for  over  twenty-five 
years  in  which  college  he  has  always  taken  special  pride,  it  having 
been  founded  by  his  ancestors  and  he  having  contributed  largely  to 
its  progress  and  improvement.  In  December,  1S35,  he  contracted 
with  Henr\-  C.  Owens,  for  the  college,  agreeing  to  furnish  150,000 
feet  of  lumber  for  the  college,  all  of  which  he  sawed  at  his  own  mills 
and  delivered  from  his  plantation  by  September,  1836.  He  has  been 
since  residing  in  Charlotte,  an  active  and  leading  member  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  of  Charlotte,  and  when  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian church  was  about  to  be  erected  he  gave  as  a  donation  to 
that  purpose  $500.  He  has  donated  several  thousand  dollars  to 
Davidson  college,  to  the  Theological  Seminary  of  Columbia,  S.  C  of 
which  he  was  trustee  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  the  Union  Semi- 
nary of  \'irginia,  and  to  other  religious  and  educational  institutions. 
He  has  lived  to  see  his  beneficiaries  fruitful  and  appreciated. 

WILLIAM   L.  KENNEDY. 

The  Kennedy  family  has  long  been  intimately  identified  with  the 
advancement  of  Lenoir  county,  N.  C.  William  L.  Kennedy  was 
born  near  Falling  Creek,  that  county,  March  iS,  1S45,  the  son  of 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  Martha  (Allen)  Kennedy.  The  family  is  of 
Irish  descent.  John  Kennedy,  the  great-grandfather  of  Mr,  William  L. 
Kenned}',  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionarj'  war.  He  was  the 
father  of  Jesse  Kennedy,  who  was  a  prominent  planter  and  slave 
owner  of  Lenoir  county.  He  reared  two  sons  and  four  daughters, 
all  now  deceased.  Sally,  the  eldest  child,  who  died  recently-,  was  the 
wife  of  Oliver  Parrott,  of  Darlington,  S.  C.     Thomas  J.   Kennedy 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  607 

was  born  in  Lenoir  county,  March  30,  181S,  ami  was  educated  in  the 
public  and  private  schools  of  his  native  county,  after  which  he  en- 
gaged in  planting,  and  continued  in  that  calling  the  remainder  of  his 
dajs,  having  met  with  much  success.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
stockholders  of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  R.  R.,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  a 
member  of  the  finance  committee  of  the  company.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  held  the  office  of  tax  assessor  for  the  Confederate  states,  and 
for  many  years  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  First  a  whig,  he 
left  the  party  at  the  organization  of  know-nothingism,  identifying 
himself  with  the  democratic  party,  and  became  a  leader  in  that  party. 
His  death  occurred  in  1S85,  and  his  wife's  in  1883.  Their  children 
are:  William  L.,  Alpheus  T.,  of  this  county;  Mrs.  Mary  Rayner,  of 
Kinston;  Mrs.  M.  H.  Wooten;  Jesse  C,  deceased,  was  born  in  Lenoir 
count}',  December  13,  1841,  was  educated  at  Bingham  institute,  and 
in  1861  entered  the  Confederate  service  as  a  member  of  Company  H, 
First  North  Carolina  regiment.  After  an  efficient  service  of  twelve 
months  he  was  honorably  discharged  owing  to  physical  disability. 
Subsequently  he  re-enlisted  in  Company  D,  Thirty-fifth  North  Caro- 
lina infantry,  and  fought  until  the  close  of  the  war  under  Gen. 
Robert  Ransom.  lie;  returned  home  and  became  a  leading  planter, 
and  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  a  director  in  the  A.  ik  N.  C.  R.  R. 
William  L.  Kennedy  was  reared  on  his  father's  plantation,  and 
completed  his  scholastic  training  at  Le.xington,  N.  C,  under  Prof. 
Smythc.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  enlisted  in  Company  I),  Thirty- 
fifth  North  Carolina  regiment,  and  was  attached  to  Gen.  Robert 
Ransom's  staff  during  the  entire  war.  After  the  close  of  hostilities 
Mr.  Kennedy  returned  home  and  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture, 
in  which  he  has  been  most  successfully  engaged  since,  owning  one  of 
the  largest  plantations  in  the  county.  He  has  held  the  office  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  many  years,  and  is  a  stanch  and  representative 
democrat.  In  September,  1890,  Gov.  b'owle  appointed  him  a  direc- 
tor of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  R.  R.  company,  which  he  now  holds.  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy was  happily  married,  in  1874,  to  Miss  Fmily  Hardee,  a  daughter 
of  Pinckney  I  lardee,  of  Kinston.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kennedy  are 
of  the  Baptist  church  faith.  He  is  largely  interested  in  different  in- 
dustrial enterprises,  being  a  stockholder  in  the  Orion  Knitting  mill 
company,  of  Kinston.  His  plantations  are  under  the  highest  culti- 
vation, and  produce  great  quantities  of  cotton  and  grain,  and  he  owns 
large  herds  of  fine  cattle,  his  Jersej'  herd  being  one  of  the  most  noted 
in  the  country,  and  in  the  breeding  of  Jersey  cattle  he  is  a  pioneer  in 
the  county. 

WILLIAM   DUNN 

was  born  in  Newbern,  N.  C,  September  7,  1847,  his  parents  being 
William  and  Margaret  (Oliver)  Dunn.  For  many  years  the  elder 
Dunn  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Newbern,  and  also 
owned  several  vessels  sailing  from  Newbern  to  the  West  Indies.  His 
father,  also  named  William,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  settled  in 


6o8     ,  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Newbern,  N.  C,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1790,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  merchandising.  William  Dunn,  Jr.,  father  of  our  subject, 
died  in  1856;  his  wife  and  three  children  still  survive  him.  The  names 
of  these  children  are  here  given:  William,  John  and  Mary.  \\  illiam 
Dunn,  our  subject,  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  secured  a  position  as 
clerk  on  a  steamship  running  into  New  York  city,  and  was  thus  em- 
ployed until  1S76,  when  he  became  superintendent  of  the  Atlantic  & 
North  Carolina  railroad,  holding  that  office  until  18SS.  In  the  latter 
year  Mr.  Dunn  embarked  in  agriculture  and  now  ships  large  quanti- 
ties of  vegetables  to  northern  markfets.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  eastern  North  Carolina  fair  association  in  1887,  and  was 
made  the  second  president  of  the  same,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
Under  his  management  the  association  has  grown  to  be  the  largest  and 
most  important  exhibit  in  the  state.  Mr.  Dunn  is  also  largely  interested 
in  real  estate,  owning  a  large  tract  of  land  adjacent  to  Newbern,  which 
he  is  laying  off  into  town  lots.  He  is  past  master  of  St.  John's  Lodge 
No.  3,  'a.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  a  stanch  democrat.  After  retiring 
from  the  superintendency  of  the  A.  &  N.  C.  railroad,  Mr.  Dunn 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  William  C.  Willett  and  purchased  a 
plantation  of  1,000  acres  and  established  the  first  stock  farm  in  the 
vicinity  of  Newbern.  Some  time  later  he  sold  his  interest  in  this  im- 
portant enterprise. 

THEOPHILUS  H.  HOLMES 

was  the  senior  officer  from  North  Carolina  in  the  war  between  the 
states.  He  was  sprung  from  a  family  that  had  for  generations  been 
esteemed  in  North  Carolina  for  virtue  and  excellence  of  character. 
His  father  was  Gov.  Gabriel  Holmes,  a  resident  of  Sampson  county, 
N.  C,  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  November  11,  1804. 
He  received  an  ordinary  education  in  the  local  schools,  and  in  1825 
entered  the  military  academy  at  West  Point,  where  he  graduated  in 
July,  1829,  and  served  in  the  army  with  acceptability.  He  attained 
the  rank  of  captain,  December,  183S.  His  army  life  was  largely  spent 
on  the  frontier.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the  Seminole  war.  In 
the  Mexican  war  he  won  encomiums  for  his  valor  and  for  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct  in  several  conflicts;  at  Monterey  he  was  breveted 
major.  In  his  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederacy,  Jefferson  Davis  re- 
fers to  his  conduct  on  that  occasion  in  the  following  words:  "  I,  who 
knew  him  from  his  school-boy  days,  who  served  with  him  in  garrison 
and  in  field,  and  with  pride  watched  him  as  he  gallantly  led  a  storm- 
ing party  up  a  rocky  height  at  Monterey,  and  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  his  whole  career  during  our  sectional  war,  bear  willing 
testimony  to  the  purity,  self-abnegation,  generosity,  fidelity  and  gal- 
lantry, which  characterized  him  as  a  man  and  a  soldier." 

For  many  years  Maj.  Holmes  served  in  Arkansas  and  across  the 
Mississippi,  but  in  i860  he  was  in  command  of  Governor's  Island,  in 
New  York  harbor.     On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  resigned  his 


VC^^I^  ^^*T^>^/^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  609 

commission  and  cast  his  lot  with  his  people.  President  Davis,  who  es- 
teemed him  most  highly  as  a  man  and  an  officer,  at  once  appointed 
him  a  brigadier-general  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  he  was  assigned 
to  duty  in  North  Carolina.  Here  Gen.  Holmes  rendered  most  effi- 
cient service  in  selecting  officers  for  North  Carolina  regiments,  and 
in  organizing  them.  It  was  largely  due  to  him  that  the  North  Caro- 
lina state  troops  were  so  finely- officered;  their  excellence  being  rarely 
equaled.  Soon  afterward  he  was  promoted  to  be  major-general, 
and  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  district  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.. 
and  he  was  in  command  of  the  forces  that  held  the  Potomac  during 
the  winter  of  1861-62.  In  1S62  he  was  transferred  to  the  district  of 
North  Carolina,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  was  tendered  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-general,  and  ordered  across  the  Mississippi,  where  it  was 
supposed  that  he  would  be  particularly  useful,  because  he  had  served 
so  long  in  that  region  and  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  people 
there  so  thoroughly'.  He  declined  the  promotion,  but  accepted  the 
duty.  The  condition  of  affairs  in  the  trans-Mississippi  department 
was  at  that  time  very  embarrassing,  and  Gen.  Holmes'  service  was 
very  acceptable.  He  was  again  tendered  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
general,  and  did  not  decline  it.  In  1864,  his  health  becoming  infirm, 
he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  reserves  of  North  Carolina,  which 
he  organized  and  put  on  an  effective  footing. 

At  the  end  of  the  war  Mr.  Holmes  returned  to  Fayetteville,  and 
resided  on  a  small  farm  near  that  place,  which  he  cultivated  with  his 
own  hands.  He  accepted  the  results  of  the  war  with  manly  fortitude. 
His  patriotic  heart  was  deeply  touched  for  the  sorrows  of  the  people, 
and  we  remember  to  have  heard  him  lament  that  a  particular  person, 
who  had  not  survived  the  war,  had  not  been  spared — "  because  he 
could  have  done  more  than  any  one  else  to  lead  the  people  to  accept 
their  changed  situation  without  undue  repining."  He  was  a  gentle, 
Christian  gentleman;  without  guile,  but  with  a  stern  Roman  virtue. 
No  finer  spectacle  has  been  presented  in  the  annals  of  the  world  than 
that  of  this  old  hero — without  a  murmur  of  discontent,  after  so  many 
years  of  distinguished  service,  enjoying  the  esteem  and  high  regard 
of  so  many  men  notable  in  the  history  of  his  country — retiring  to  a 
secluded  spot  and  plowing  his  own  fields  and  setting  an  example  of 
personal  labor  and  industry  and  frugality  to  his  unfortunate  country- 
men. He  survived  the  war  fifteen  years,  and  died  in  1880,  in  the 
seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  was  interred  at  MacPherson 
church,  near  Fayetteville,  N.  C.  In  1841,  Gen.  Holmes  married  Miss 
Laura  Wctmore,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  four  of  whom  still 
survive.     His  eldest  son,  Lieut.  T.  H.  Holmes,  fell  at  Malvern  Hill. 

RICHARD  BEVERLY  RANEY, 

the  well  known  and  successful  proprietor  of  the  Yarborough  House, 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  is  a  native  of  Granville  county,  being  born  at  "Re- 
treat," that  county,  February  7,  i860.  His  paternal  great-grandfather 
was  William  Raney,  a  native  of  Sussex  county,  Va.;  he  married  Cath- 
ie—39 


6lO  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

erine  Vaughan,  bj'  whom  he  had  several  children,  one  of  whom,  Hall 
Raney,  married  Mary  Hall,  and  became  the  father  of  Thomas  Hall 
Raney,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Thomas  Hall  Raney 
was  born  in  1S14,  and  in  1844  removed  to  North  Carolina,  settling  in 
Granville  county,  where  he  purchased  and  subsequently  cultivated  a 
large  estate.  In  1836  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Eliza  Par- 
tridge Baird,  daughter  of  Rev.  Charles  William  Baird,  of  Mecklen- 
burg county,  Va.  This  union  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  nine  chil- 
dren, namely:  Mary  Archer,  Charles  William,  Lucj'  Speed  (who 
died  in  187S,  aged  thirty-seven  years) ;  George  Hall  (who  died  in  1S61, 
of  fever  contracted  while  in  the  Confederate  army,  aged  eighteen 
3'ears)  ;  Elizabeth  Harriet,  Ann  Eliza,  Rose  Virginia,  Thomas  Han- 
serd,  Cora  Partridge  (who  died  July  19,  iSSo,  aged  twenty-three 
years),  and  Richard  Beverly.  August  7,  1872,  the  death  of  the  father 
of  these  children  occurred.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject was  Rev.  Charles  William  Baird,  a  native  of  Mecklenburg  county, 
Va.,  born  in  1790.  His  father  was  William  Baird,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, W'hence  he  came  to  this  country  at  an  early  age.  The  great- 
great-grandfather  of  the  mother  of  our  subject  was  James  Speed, 
who  w-as  a  descendant  of  John  Speed,  of  Cheshire,  England,  a  distin- 
guished historian  of  the  sixteenth  contury. 

Richard  Beverly  Raney  was  educated  at  Fetter  school,  in  Kittrell, 
Vance  county,  N.  C.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  left  school  and 
went  to  Norfolk,  Va.,  where  he  spent  a  year  in  the  employment  of 
Tredwell  &  Mallory,  cotton  factors.  In  March,  1878,  Mr.  Raney  re- 
moved to  Raleigh,  and  entered  the  Yarborough  house  as  clerk,  in 
which  capacity  he  acted  for  four  years,  then  going  to  Atlanta,  Ga., 
where  he  became  cashier  of  the  Kimball  house,  of  that  city.  His 
connection  with  this  house  was  severed  in  1883,  when. the  famous  old 
hostelry  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Returning  to  Raleigh  in  December, 
18S3,  ]\Ir.  Raney  leased  the  Yarborough  house,  since  which  time  he 
has  continued  its  proprietor.  In  1884  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Mr.  John  Gatling,  of  Raleigh,  and  Hon.  F.  M.  Simmons,  of  Newbern, 
and  the  firm  leased  the  Atlantic  hotel  at  Morehead  City,  N.  C.  In 
1885  Mr.  Gatling  retired  from  the  firm,  and  his  place  w^as  filled  by 
Mr.  J.  A.  Kennedy,  of  Norfolk,  Va.  One  year  later  this  partnership 
was  dissolved.  In  1889  Mr.  Raney  assumed  the  management  of  the 
Atlantic  hotel  for  the  present  owners.  Mr.  Raney  is  also  interested 
in  agriculture,  operating  a  farm  in  W^ake  count3%  and  has  recently 
purchased  a  plantation  in  Warren  county,  N.  C.  Desiring  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  Raleigh,  Mr.  Raney  became  a  subscriber  to  the 
stock  of  nearly  all  of  its  manufacturing  enterprises,  among  them  the 
North  Carolina  wagon  factory,  the  Raleigh  cotton  mills,  the  Cara- 
leigh  cotton  mills,  and  the  Caraleigh  phosphate  mills.  He  is  a  di- 
rector of  ,the  South  Piedmont  land  and  manufacturing  company,  of 
GreensboVo,  N.  C;  director  of  the  West  End  hotel  and  land  com- 
pany, of  Winston,  N.  C,  and  also  a  director  of  the  Commercial  & 
Farmers'  bank,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.  Mr.  Raney  is  a  progressive  and 
successful  business  man,  and  is  a  valued  citizen  of  the  town  of  his 
adoption. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  6ll 


HON.  JAMES  J.  McKAY. 

Among  the  distinguished  men  who  have  represented  North  Caro- 
lina with  high  credit  in  the  Federal  congress  was  James  J.  McKaj', 
of  Bladen  county.  He  was  born  in  Bladen  in  1793,  studied  law,  and  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-two  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  and  served 
almost  continuously  from  1S15  to  1S26.  He  w^as  appointed  district 
attorne}-  for  the  United  States  for  North  Carolina  and  shone  con- 
spicuously in  that  office.  In  1830  he  was  elected  a  member  of  con- 
gress and  served  for  nine  consecutive  terms  —  until  184Q.  His  long 
term  of  service,  united  with  his  hne  abilities  and  learning,  made  him 
a  leader  in  the  house,  and  he  served  for  several  years  with  great  ac- 
ceptability and  credit  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  ways  and 
means,  a  position  second  in  importance  only  to  that  of  speaker.  He 
was  an  ardent  democrat,  and  in  the  national  democratic  convention 
of  1 848  he  received  the  vote  of  his  state  for  vice-president.  "As  a 
statesman  he  was  of  unquestioned  abilitj-,  of  stern  integrity,  capable 
of  great  labor  and  patient  investigation."  He  died  suddenly  at 
Goldsboro,  N.  C,  in  1S53. 

P.  A.  FRERCKS. 

The  gentleman  to  whom  reference  is  made  has  certainly  had  a 
varied  business  career,  of  which  an  outline  may  be  of  more  than 
ordinary  interest.  Mr.  Frercks  is  a  native  of  Schleswig-Holstein, 
and  was  born  March  27,  1S25.  He  was  given  a  thorough  education 
in  his  native  town,  Heiligenstadten,  and  subsequently  completed  his 
course  at  the  Polj'technical  institute  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark.  He 
came  to  the  United  States  in  185 1,  landing  in  New  York  city,  where 
he  made  his  home  for  the  first  four  years,  his  employment  being  in 
a  tool  or  machine  shop.  Upon  leaving  New  York,  he  went  to 
Savannah,  Ga.,  and  for  two  years  did  locomotive  engineering  on  the 
Central  Georgia  railroad.  In  1856  he  returned  to  New  York,  and 
was  employed  as  marine  engineer  in  the  Novelty  3'ard  there.  In  1857 
he  located  in  .Salisbury,  N.  C,  where  he  accepted  a  position  with 
Bayden  &  Son,  who  were  carrying  on  a  machine  shop.  One  year 
later  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  William  Raeder  and  bought 
the  machine  shops  of  Baj'den  &  Son,  and  operated  the  same  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Raeder  absconded  and  fled  to  the  north 
in  1861,  leaving  Mr.  Frercks  to  pay  heavy  debts  contracted  by  the 
concern,  which  he  honestly  and  punctually  did.  In  1862  Mr.  P'rercks 
disposed  of  the  property  and  the  Confederate  government  rented  it, 
using  it  as  a  manufactory  of  shot,  shell,  percussion  caps,  etc.,  Mr. 
Frercks  being  retained  in  charge.  In  the  spring  of  iS63he  was  made 
chief  engineer  of  the  High  Shoal  Iron  works,  of  Gaston  county, 
N.  C,  owned  by  Bridges  &  Co.,  holding  that  position  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  Also  soon  after  was  made  master  machinist  of  the 
Western   North  Carolina  railroad,  then   running  to  Morganton.     In 


6l2  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

November,  1S63,  he  left  the  railroad  and  moved  to  Wilmington  to 
rebuild  a  large  steam  cotton  press  for  the  government  and  was  made 
the  superintendent  of  the  Hart  &  Bailey  Iron  works. 

When  the  Federal  forces  captured  VVilmington,  Mr.  Frercks  was 
offered  employment  under  their  direction  if  he  would  serve  them  as 
well  as  he  had  served  the  Confederacy,  and  so  remained  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  returning  to  Salisbury  in  September,  1S65.  He  was 
then  appointed  revenue  inspector  and  ganger,  and  subsequently  be- 
came connected  with  mining  operations,  putting  in  the  chlorination 
works  in  the  Reimer  and  Yadkin  mines.  In  the  meantime  he  opened  at 
Salisbury,  machine  shops  which  grew  in  importance  until  they  con- 
sumed most  of  his  time.  In  consequence  of  other  growing  business 
interests,  Mr.  Frercks  has  reduced  his  shops  almost  exclusively  to  a 
place  of  repair  work,  and  here  he  is  prepared  to  model  tools  and 
conveniences,  and  can  do  almost  any  form  of  work,  being  one  of  the 
most  skilled  of  mechanics,  and  having  a  varied  knowledge  of,  and  ex- 
perience in,  all  forms  of  mechanism,  physics,  geometry,  mathematics 
and  other  sciences.  In  1880,  Mr.  Frercks,  realizing  the  necessity  which 
existed  at  Salisbury  for  better  hotel  accommodations,  built  the 
"Mount  Vernon"  hotel,  one  of  the  best  equipped  and  kept  establish- 
ments in  the  state.  The  manner  in  which  it  is  kept  reflects  great 
credit  upon  its  proprietor  and  the  town,  and  guests  who  stop  beneath 
its  shelter  go  away  bearing  pleasant  impressions  with  them.  Mr. 
Frercks  is  not  only  a  man  of  varied  business  experiences,  but  has 
seen  and  traveled  much.  He  served  from  1848  to  1851  in  the  struggle 
of  the  Duches  against  Denmark.  He  volunteered  in  Gen.  Van  Der 
Tan's  Free  corps,  and  afterward  served  in  th.e  Ninth  battalion,  in 
Holstein.  On  the  close  of  his  service  he  came  to  America,  and  at 
New  York  city  declared  his  allegiance  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  by  taking  out  his  naturalization  papers  in  1853  and  1857.  He 
has  since  been  a  faithful  and  worthy  citizen  of  this  vast  country.  In 
1885  Mr.  Frercks  married  Miss  Fannie  E.  Kelly,  a  lady  of  excellent 
family  and  culture,  being  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  of  Scotch 
lineage.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Frercks  and  wife  has  been  blessed  by 
the  birth  of  a  son,  Francis.  The  parents  are  valued  communicants 
of  the  Episcopal  church.  In  1854  Mr.  Frercks  became  a  Master 
Mason,  and  in  i860  was  made  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  of  chapter  20,  of 
Salisbury. 

SAMUEL   JOHNSTON, 

early  a  leading  citizen  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Dundee,  Scot- 
land, in  1733.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Johnston,  his  mother's  maiden 
name  being  Helen  Scrymsour.  In  1736  John  Johnston  came  with  his 
family  to  North  Carolina.  A  brother,  Gabriel  Johnston,  had  pre- 
ceded John,  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Johnston  count}^  which  took 
its  name  from  him.  Samuel  Johnston  was  a  man  of  broad  and  lib- 
eral views  and  of  fine  education.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  rights  of 
the  people  against  the  encroachments  of  the  British   government, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  6l 


O 


and,  in  1775,  was  suspended  from  the  position  of  deputy  naval  officer 
at  Edenton,  X.  C,  on  account  of  his  political  sentiments.  In  reply 
to  the  notification  of  his  suspension,  he  wrote  a  manly  letter  to  Gov. 
Martin,  traversing  many  of  the  points  in  the  accusations  brought 
against  him,  but  in  no  way  receding  from  the  position  he  had  taken 
in  politics.  He  was  a  member  of  the  provincial  congress  in  1775,  to 
represent  the  Chowan  district,  and  was  chosen  presiding  officer  of 
that  body  to  succeed  John  Harvey,  who  died  while  holding  that  posi- 
tion. From  17S0  to  1782  Mr.  Johnston  was  a  member  of  the  continental 
congress,  and  was  chosen  president  of  that  body.  He  was,  however, 
obliged  to  forego  that  distinction  on  account  of  the  low  condition  of 
his  finances.  He  was  elected  governor  of  the  state  in  1787.  He  was 
a  firm  supporter  of  the  Federal  constitution,  and  was  president  of 
the  North  Carolina  state  convention  which  met,  in  178S,  to  consider 
and  ratify  that  instrument.  He  was  elected,  on  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution,  to  the  United  States  senate  in  the  first  congress,  Benja- 
min Hawkins  being  his  colleague  from  North  Carolina.  He  was  ap- 
pointed a  judge  of  the  superior  courts  of  law  and  equity  of  North 
Carolina  in  1800,  an  office  which  he  administered  with  great  abilitj', 
discretion  and  impartiality.  He  resigned  this  office  in  the  fall  of  1S03. 
Governor  Johnston  was  a  fine  type  of  a  man,  both  physically  and 
mentally.  He  had  a  stalwart  frame,  well  formed  and  imposing,  erect 
in  stature,  and  virile  in  all  his  movements.  He  possessed  a  severely 
disciplined  and  highly-  cultured  intellect.  He  had  a  will  which  was 
unbending,  but  he  was  always  open  to  the  voice  of  sound  reason  and 
true  philosophy.  Mr.  Johnston  was  a  Mason  of  high  degree,  and,  in 
1778,  was  grand  master  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state.  Mr.  Johnston 
died  in  1816.  He  married  Frances  Cathcart,  by  whom  he  had  several 
children.  One  of  his  sons,  James  C.  Johnston,  of  Edenton,  was  a 
prosperous  planter  and  accumulated  a  large  estate,  amounting  to  sev- 
eral millions  of  dollars.  He  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  secession  of 
the  states,  in  which  he  appeared  to  be  alone  among  his  relatives,  they 
being  advocates  of  that  measure.  For  this  reason  he  disinherited 
them  in  his  will,  bequeathing  his  large  property  to  his  personal 
friends.  He  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Henry  Clay,  generously  dis- 
charging the  debts  of  that  great  statesman,  without  his  knowledge 
and  as  a  gratuity.  At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  set  his  slaves 
free,  but  did  not  live  to  see  the  close  of  the  war  which  he  so  earnest- 
ly opposed.     He  died  in  1864. 

MICHAEL  CRONLY, 

senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Cronly  &  Morris,  real  estate  agents  of 
Wilmington,  was  born  in  New  York  city  in  1828,  the  son  of  James  and 
Sarah  L.  Cronly,  natives  of  New  York.  His  grandfather,  John 
Cronly,  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  17S0,  settling  in  New  York.  James  Cronly  was  for  many  j'ears  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  on  Park  Row,  New  York  citj-.  He  died 
and   left  but  one  heir,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who   was  brought 


6l4  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

by  his  mother  to  Wilmington,  N.  C,  when  he  was  an  infant.  He  spent 
his  early  life  with  Mr.  John  A.  Taylor,  his  mother's  brother,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  Donaldson  academy,  of  Fayetteville,  N .  C . 
Mr.  Cronly  entered  the  stock  brokerage  and  real  estate  business  when 
but  twenty-one  years  old,  in  connection  with  Messrs.  John  Walker 
and  Eli  W.  Hall,  under  the  firm  name  of  Cronly,  Walker  &  Hall,  the 
same  existing  about  two  years,  when  Mr.  Walker  removed  to  Cali- 
fornia and  Mr.  Hall  began  the  study  of  law  and  became  a  prominent 
attorney.  Mr.  Cronly  continued  the  business  until  1865,  when  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Wilkes  Morris,  which  still  exists.  The 
firm  disposed  of  all  brokeraged  goods,  sales  often  amounting  to  $1,000 
per  day.  Mr  Cronly  was  married,  in  1848,10  Miss  Margaret  McLau- 
rin,  of  Wilmington,  who  bore  him  four  sons  and  five  daughters.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  K.  T.  degree.  He  has  never 
taken  any  active  part  in  politics,  but  has  attended  strictly  to  his  busi- 
ness. He  is  regarded  as  a  man  of  intelligence,  good  judgment 
and    the  strictest  probity. 

TODD  R.  CALDWELL 

was  born  at  Morganton,  Burke  county,  N.  C,  February  19,  1818.  He 
was  of  Irish  descent,  his  father,  John  Caldwell,  having  emigrated 
from  Ireland  in  1800,  and  settled  in  Morganton,  where  he  carried  on 
an  extensive  mercantile  business.  Todd  R.  Caldwell  was  educated  at 
the  schools  in  the  neighborhood,  entered  North  Carolina  university, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1S40,  with  honor.  He  read  law  with 
Judge  David  Lowry  Swain,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  prac- 
tice, in  which  he  was  eminently  successful.  But  the  natural  tendency 
of  the  legal  profession  soon  drew  him  into  the  arena  of  politics,  whose 
ever  changing  fortunes  he  followed  through  life.  He  entered  upon 
this  course  when  his  party,  the  old  line  whig,  had  succeeded  to  power 
as  the  result  of  the  political  revolution  of  1840,  and  though  its  tenure 
at  that  time  was  brief,  owing  to  the  differences  which  sprung  up  be- 
tween its  principal  leaders  and  Mr.  Tyler,  who  had  succeeded  to  the 
presidency  by  the  untimely  death  of  Gen.  Harrison,  we  find  Mr.  Cald- 
well one  of  the  successful  presidential  electors  in  the  campaign  of 
1848.  His  vote  in  the  electoral  college  was  cast  for  Zachary  Taylor 
and  Millard  Fillmore,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have  figured  largely  as 
an  office  holder  till  later  in  life. 

In  the  great  civil  strife,  which  culminated  in  hostilities  in  1861, 
Mr;' Caldwell's  political  antecedents  prompted  him  to  take  the  side  of 
the  Unionists  in  strong  opposition  to  the  secession  movement.  W^hen 
the  catastrophe  of  the  war  was  concluded,  Mr.  Caldwell  was  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  which  immediately  followed  the 
close.  In  1868  he  was  elected  lieutenant  governor,  upon  the  ticket 
headed  b}'  Gov.  W.  W.  Holden,  whom  he  succeeded  as  governor,  when 
that  functionary  was  removed  by  impeachment  in  1871.  In  1872,  Mr. 
Caldwell  received  the  nomination  for  governor  in  opposition  to  Hon. 
Augustus  S.  Merriman.     The  contest  was  a  warm  one,  and  each  can- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  615 

didate,  in  his  own  behalf,  made  a  lively  canvass.  Mr.  Caldwell  was 
elected,  but  he  did  not  live  to  administer  his  full  term.  He  died  at 
Hillsboro,  Februar}-  ii,  1874.  He  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest 
criminal  lawyers  in  the  state,  and  was  a  public  speaker  of  much  force 
and  eloquence,  which  gave  him  great  advantage  in  his  political  cam- 
paigns. He  married  Miss  Cain,  daughter  of  William  Cain  and  a 
niece  of  Judge  Thomas  Ruftin. 


THOMAS  A.  ROBBINS, 

proprietor  of  Long's  hotel,  at  I^ockingham,  X.  C,  was  born  in 
Brunswick  county,  N.  C,  August  27,  1841,  the  son  of  Enoch  and 
Charlotte  G.  (Hankins)  Robbins,  both  North  Carolinians  by  birth. 
The  father  was  a  merchant  and  planter,  and  also  dealt  extensively  in 
turpentine.  He  was  a  successful  business  man,  and  esteemed  through- 
out the  community  as  one  of  rigid  uprightness  and  of  ability.  His 
death  occurred  January  6,  1S60,  when  he  was  but  fifty-seven  years  old; 
his  wife  survived  him  until  her  eightieth  year.  Both  parents  were 
active  and  earnest  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
brought  their  twelve  children  up  in  that  faith.  Five  of  these  off- 
spring are  living.  The  son,  Thomas  A.,  was  educated  in  the  acade- 
my' at  South  Port,  and  later  attended  Trinity  college,  where  he  re- 
mained three  years.  He  was  one  of  sixty  in  the  state  who  first  offered 
their  services  to  the  Confederacy,  this  force  having  taken  posses- 
sion of  Fort  Caswell,  at  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  river,  the  day  suc- 
ceeding the  one  the  Star  of  the  West  was  repulsed  in  her  attempt  to 
re-inforce  Major  Anderson  at  Fort  Sumter.  April  16,  1861,  the 
governor  of  the  state  called  for  volunteers  to  assist  in  capturing 
this  fort,  which  had  been  relinquished  on  the  request  of  the  governor 
that  he  might  keep  his  oath  of  office  and  not  allow  the  property'  of 
the  United  .States  to  be  destroyed  before  formal  action  had  been 
taken  by  the  southern  states.  Mr.  Robbins  enlisted  at  this  time  in 
the  Cape  Fear  artillery,  and  after  a  short  time  was  assigned  to  ord- 
nance duty.  He  surrendered  at  Greensboro,  N.  C,  with  Johnston, 
after  a  faithful  and  efficient  service  of  four  years  and  sixteen  days, 
having  served  longer  by  a  month  or  so  than  any  other  man  in  Rich- 
mond county.  After  the  declaration  of  peace  Mr.  Robbins  turned  his 
attention  to  planting,  and  after  several  years  purchased  a  steamboat, 
and  operated  that  in  connection  with  a  mercantile  business  until  1872, 
when  he  sold  out,  and  for  the  succeeding  seven  years  was  engaged  as 
a  traveling  agent  for  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  manufacturing  company. 
At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  removed  to  Rockingham  and  em- 
barked in  the  hotel  business,  in  which  he  has  since  continued  with  the 
most  happy  results.  December  29,  1876,  Mr.  Robbins  married  Miss 
M.  Long,  daughter  of  Hon.  R.  T.  Long,  late  of  Richmond  county, 
and  two  children,  Wm.  A.  and  Charlotte  G.,  have  been  born  to  them. 
Mrs.  Robbins  is  a  communicant  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  he  is 
a  member  of  the  K.  of  H. 


6l6  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


STUART  W.  CRAMER,  M.  E., 

is  the  assayer  in  charge  of  the  United  States  assay  office  at  Charlotte, 
N.C.  He  was  born  in  Thomasville,  Davidson  county,  N.  C,  March  31, 
1868,  the  son  of  John  T.  Cramer,  M.  E.,  president  of  the  Thomasville, 
Silver  Valley  &  Pee  Dee  railroad  company.  S.  W.  Cramer's  mother, 
before  marriage,  was  Jennie  Thomas,  whose  father  is  one  of  the 
wealthiest  and  most  prominent  men  in  Davidson  county.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  is  the  second  of  three  children  and  was  reared  in  his 
native  village,  where  he  received  his  early  education.  In  June,  1888, 
he  was  graduated  from  the  United  States  naval  academj-  at  Annap- 
olis, Md.  September  15,  18S8,  he  resigned  from  the  United  States  naval 
service  and  then  took  a  post-graduate  course  during  1888-9  in  the 
school  of  mines,  Columbia  college.  New  York  city.  June  24,  i88q,  he 
married  Miss  Bertha  Hobart  Berry,  an  accomplished  lady  of  Port- 
land, Me.  On  the  ist  of  July,  1889,  being  recommended  by  Mr. 
Windom,  the  late  secretary  of  the  United  States  treasury,  Mr.  Cramer 
was  appointed  assayer  in  charge  of  the  United  States  assay  office  at 
Charlotte,  which  position  he  has  since  filled.  During  the  year  i8go, 
while  taking  his  vacation,  he  compiled,  for  the  United  States  census 
bureau,  a  report  on  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  south.  Mr. 
Cramer  is  a  special  contributor,  for  the  south,  to  the  Engineering  and 
Mining  Journal  of  New  York,  and  an  enthusiastic  and  thorough  in- 
vestigator and  student  of  mining  engineering.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  3'ears  he  is  holding  one  of  the  most  important  positions  in  the 
United  States  mint  service.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  insti- 
tute of  mining  engineers,  also  of  the  United  States  naval  institute. 
Mr.  Cramer  is  a  highly  energetic  young  man,  possessing  a  strict  sense 
of  duty  and  a  special  ability  and  adaptation  for  the  performance  of 
his  official  functions.  He  is  one  of  the  brightest  and  best  qualified  of 
the  members  of  his  profession  —  that  of  a  mining  engineer. 

GEN.  JETHRO   SUMNER 

was  a  patriot  and  hero  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  His 
grandfather  was  William  Sumner,  who  emigrated  from  England  and 
settled,  in  i6go,  near  Suffolk,  Va.,  where  he  raised  five  sons,  namely: 
Jethro,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  John,  whose  daughter 
majried  Elisha  Battle,  who  removed  to  Edgecombe  county,  N.  C, 
and  from  whom  is  descended  the  distinguished  Battle  family  of 
North  Carolina;  James,  whose  sons,  Luke,  David  and  Thomas,  were 
prominent  in  civil  life;  Damsey,  the  ancestor  of  Col.  Thomas  Jethro 
Sumner,  of  Rowan  county,  and  another  son,  William.  Jethro,  the 
younger,  was  born  near  Suffolk,  in  1732.  During  the  French  and  In- 
dian wars  he  was  appointed  lieutenant,  and  then  captain,  in  the  Vir- 
ginia forces  and  served  under  Col.  George  Washington,  and  was  at 
the  taking  of  Fort  DuQuense.  After  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  he 
moved    to    North  Carolina,  settling  in    Bute  county,   now   Warren, 


XORTII  CAROLINA.  6lJ 

wherein  1772,  he  was  appointed  high  sheriff.  The  troubles  coming 
on  with  the  mother  countr}'  he  ardentlj'  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
colonies,  and  was  a  member  of  the  first  provincial  congress,  which 
met  in  August,  1774.  He  was  appointed  major  of  the  minute  men, 
of  Bute,  and  served  under  Gen.  Howe  in  the  winter  of  1775-6,  near 
Norfolk,  Va.  In  April.  1776,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Third 
regiment  of  North  Carolina  continentals,  and  with  his  command 
was  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Moultrie,  when  the  North  Carolina  troops 
won  such  high  praise  from  Gen.  Charles  Lee. 

Col.  Sumner  went  with  Gen.  Lee  in  July,  1776,  on  the  expedition 
against  Florida,  returning  to  Charleston  in  September.  The  North 
Carolina  troops  were  then  ordered  north,  and  the  six  regiments  of 
continentals  spent  the  month  of  November  in  camp  at  Wilmington, 
but  later  returned  to  Charleston.  On  March  9,  1777,  Gen.  Francis 
Nash  being  in  command,  the  entire  brigade  set  out  on  their  long 
march  to  the  north,  and  reached  Middlebrook,  N.  J.,  in  June,  but 
spent  the  dreadful  winter  at  Valley  Forge,  Penn.  Col.  Sumner  fought 
gallantly  at  Brandywine,  Germantown  and  Monmouth,  and  when,  in 
the  summer  of  1778,  the  six  regiments  were  compressed  into  three,  he 
was  retained  as  colonel  of  the  third  regiment,  and  on  January  9,  1779, 
he  was  promoted  to  be  brigadier-general,  and  ordered  to  the  south. 
He  was  with  Gen.  Lincoln  on  the  Savannah  river  with  700 North  Caro- 
lina continentals,  April  19,  1779,  and  at  the  battle  of  Stono,  June  i9,he 
commanded  a  North  Carolina  brigade  on  the  left  of  the  line.  A  few 
weeks  later,  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  to  recruit.  The  conti- 
nental troops  were  entirely  distinct  from  those  under  the  state  authori- 
ties, the  officers  being  commissioned  by  the  continental  congress  and 
the  troops  being  paid  by  congress.  Being  an  officer  in  the  continen- 
tal line,  after  the  fall  of  Charleston,  where  his  brigade  was  captured, 
he  himself  being  absent,  he  had  no  other  forces  and  remained  in 
North  Carolina. 

In  August,  when  Gates  and  Caswell  fled  from  Camden,  he  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  militia  from  the  counties  of  Guilford, 
Cornell  and  Orange  and  hastened  to  Salisbury,  and  on  toward  Char- 
lotte, where  he  and  Col.  Davidson  hedged  in  Cornwallis,  who  had 
taken  post  at  Charlotte.  Gen.  Sumner  was  at  Alexander's  Mills,  on 
Rocky  river,  on  October  9,  1780,  when  Cornwallis  retreated.  About 
that  time  the  legislature  appointed  Gen.  .Smallwood,  of  New  Jersey, 
to  the  command  of  the  North  Carolina  militia,  and  Gen.  Sumner 
withdrew.  On  December  3,  17S0,  however.  Gen.  Greene  arrived  at 
Charlotte  and  called  on  Gen.  Sumner  to  take  immediate  steps  to  re- 
organize the  continental  line,  and  to  this  Gen.. Sumner  was  addressing 
himself  when  the  battle  of  Cowpens  occurred  and  the  state  was  thrown 
into, great  perturbation  by  the  movements  of  Greene  and  Cornwallis. 
Greene,  on  February  10,  wrote  to  Sumner,  suggesting  that  he  should 
take  command  of  the  North  Carolina  troops  that  were  to  join  him, 
and  Sumner  offered  his  services  to  Gen.  Caswell,  who  had  charge  of 
the  military  affairs  of  the  state,  and  hoped  at  least  to  have  a  brigade 
of  militia,  but  was  repelled,  notwithstanding  Gov.  Nash   also  desired 


6lS  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

his  services.  After  tliat  he  continued  his  efforts  to  form  new  regi- 
ments for  tlie  continental  Hne.  The  process  was  very  slow,  notwith- 
standing the  militia  that  had  behaved  badly  at  Guilford  Court  House 
was  drafted  for  that  purpose.  He  established  military  camps  at  dif- 
ferent points  in  the  state  and  soon  had  his  otftcers  at  work  disciplin- 
ing the  recruits.  The  chief  camp  was  at  Salisbury,  where  Maj.  Blount 
was  in  charge,  and  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  were  organized  they 
were  sent  to  the  front.  Arms  were  verj?  scarce  and  it  was  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  that  a  supply  could  be  obtained  from  Virginia.  Eventually, 
however,  during  the  summer.  Gen.  Sumner  succeeded  in  getting  the 
last  detatchment  of  his  brigade  in  the  held  and  joined  Gen.  Greene 
with  a  well  drilled  corps,  who  behaved  with  a  steadiness  and  intre- 
pidity worthy  of  the  stanchest  veterans.  At  the  bloody  battle  of 
Eutaw  Springs  they  won  imperishable  laurels,  and  under  the  com- 
mand of  Sumner,  Ashe,  Armstrong  and  Blount  reflected  honor  upon 
the  military  fame  of  their  native  state. 

While  Greene  was  in  South  Carolina,  some  bold  royalists  cap- 
tured Col.  Burke,  the  governor  of  the  state,  at  Hillsboro,  and  hurried 
him  off  into  captivit3'.  The  loss  of  the  governor  disorganized  the 
government  and  disturbed  the  patriots  in  the  state  to  such  a  degree  that 
Gen.  Greene  sent  Sumner  back  to  North  Carolina  to  quiet  apprehen- 
sions and  restore  confidence.  Thus  the  last  months  of  the  war  found 
him  again  separated  from  his  command.  At  the  close  of  hostilities 
he  settled  on  his  plantation  in  Warren  county,  but  took  no  active 
part  in  political  life.  He  was  elected,  in  1784,  president  of  the  society 
of  Cincinnati  for  North  Carolina,  and  received  other  tokens  of  pub- 
lic approbation.  But  his  health  was  impaired,  and  in  March,  1785,  he 
died  at  his  residence  in  Warren,  where  his  remains  were  interred. 
A  century  later,  in  1891,  the  legislature  of  the  state  made  an  appro- 
priation to  remove  his  remains  to  the  Battle  Park,  the  scene  of  the 
battle  of  Guilford  Court  House,  and  a  monument  has  been  erected 
there  to  his  memory.  Gen.  Sumner  married  "the  widow  Heiss," 
a  lady  of  wealth,  a  resident  at  Newbern,  and  left  three  children,  two 
boys  who  died  unmarried,  and  a  daughter,  "Jocky  Sullivan,"  who 
married  Hon.  Thomas  Blount,  a  member  of  congress,  changing  her 
name  to  Mary  Sumner  Blount,  but  she  also  died  childless  in   1822. 

GEORGE  B.   HANNA, 

the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  born  in 
1835.  His  father,  A.  G.  Hanna,  carried  on  a  successful  business  in 
the  manufacture  of  shoes.  Mr.  Hanna  graduated  from  Brown  uni- 
versity. Providence,  R.  I.,  in  1865,  and  took  a  post-graduate  course  at 
ColumlDia  college,  New  York  city,  in  the  .School  of  Mines.  In  1869  he 
accepted  a  call  to  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  subsequently  assisted  Prof.  W.  C. 
Kerr,  in  making  a  geological  survey  of  North  Carolina,  taking  the 
position  of  chief  chemist.  In  1S70  Mr.  Hanna  was  appointed  assist- 
ant assayer  in  the  United  States  mint,  at  Charlotte.  N.  C.  Prof. 
Hanna  has  since  continued  in  the  assay  office,  his  position   from  time 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  619 

to  time  being  variously  designated  as  melter,  clerk,  etc.,  but  substan- 
tially continuing  as  assistant  assajer.  In  this  capacity  he  has  made 
to  the  I'nited  States  bureau  of  mints  numerous  mineralogical  reports 
of  the  Apalachian  gold  held.  He  has  investigated  the  geology  and 
mineralogy  of  North  Carolina,  and  published  several  monographs  on 
the  resources  of  the  state.  In  i8S8  he  took  up  the  unfinished  work 
of  Prof.  Kerr,  then  deceased,  and,  in  connection  with  Prof.  J.  A. 
Holmes,  compiled  the  last  geological  survey  of  North  Carolina  under 
the  title  of  "Ores  of  North  Carolina."  Perhaps  Prof.  Ilanna  has 
given  more  attention  to  the  investigation  of  the  mining  resources  of 
North  Carolina  than  any  other  mining  engineer.  In  connection  with 
his  official  work  he  has  found  it  necessarj'to  give  much  attention  to 
the  science  of  numismatics.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  notwithstand- 
ing political  influences  and  the  appointments  in  the  assay  office.  Prof. 
Hanna  has,  under  all  changes  in  the  administrations,  been  continu- 
ously retained,  and  has  been  relied  upon  as  a  skillful  and  well  quali- 
fied man  for  the  important  work  done  b}'  him  in  his  official  capacity. 
His  long  continuance  in  the  mint  office  is  high  complimentary  to  him. 
Besides  being  a  student  in  the  sciences.  Prof.  Hanna  is  a  lover  of 
history,  both  sacred  and  profane.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Mecklen- 
burg count}'  Bible  society  and  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Charlotte,  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  of  the  Charlotte  chamber  of  com- 
merce. In  1879,  Prof.  Hanna  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nina 
C.  Trotter,  of  Charlotte,  of  whom  he  was  bereft  in  October,  1891. 
She  was  a  devout  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  For  several 
years  Prof.  Hanna  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  In 
he  was  1876,  made  president  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  with  the  exception 
of  six  months'  relief  from  the  position,  he  has  continued  since  1876  up  to 
the  present  time  to  preside  over  that  body.  His  administration  of  its 
presidency  has  been  marked  by  its  rapid  progress  and  prosperity. 
He  has  done  much  profitable  and  important  work  for  this  association 
and  is  vice-chairman  of  the  state  committee  for  the  same.  The  pro- 
fessor is,  as  was  his  wife,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 


HON.  JOHN  STEELE  HENDERSON, 

of  Salisbury,  N.  C,  representative  in  the  forty-ninth,  fiftieth,  fifty- 
first  and  fifty-second  congresses,  was  born  in  Rowan  county,  N.  C, 
January  6,  1846;  and  is  distinguished  no  less  for  his  own  high  charac- 
ter and  shining  qualities  than  for  his  descent  from  a  host  of  patriotic 
forefathers,  eminent  in  their  generation,  and  who  contributed  largely 
to  the  formation  and  development  of  his  native  state.  Indeed  we 
hazard  but  little  in  saying  that  there  are  few  y\mericans,  themselves 
of  such  sterling  worth  as  l\Ir.  Henderson,  who  have  sprung  from  such 
an  illustrious  ancestry.  He  is  the  son  of  Archibald  and  Mary  Steele 
Ferrand  Henderson.  Archibald  Henderson  (1811-1880)  was,  for 
many  years,  a  member  of  the  council  of  state  of  North  Carolina.  A 
planter    with  an  amjjle  income,  endowed  with  unusual  native  ability. 


620  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

and  highly  cultured  and  refined,  he  exerted  great  influence  and  im- 
pressed himself  upon  his  generation.  His  knowledge  of  men  and  his 
political  acumen  were  wonderfully  accurate  and  discriminating.  He 
solved  as  if  by  intuition  the  most  difficult  political  problems,  and  came 
to  be  regarded  by  his  party  friends  as  a  democratic  oracle,  almost 
infallible  in  his  judgment.  He  was  the  son  of  Archibald  and  Sarah 
Alexander  -Henderson.  This  Archibald  Henderson  (1768-1822)  was 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  that  North  Carolina  has  ever 
produced,  and  his  characteristics  strikingly  re-appear  in  the  grand- 
son, the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  a  member  of  the  sixth  and 
seventh  congresses,  taking  a  prominent  part  on  the  floor,  and  particu- 
larly may  it  be  mentioned  that  he  made  an  exhaustive  and  memorable 
speech  on  the  subject  of  the  judiciary  bill.  The  father  of  this  gentle- 
man  was  Judge  Richard  Henderson  who  married  Elizabeth  Keeling. 

Judge  Henderson  (1734-1785),  resided  in  Granville  county,  and 
was  one  of  the  three  judges  in  colonial  times.  He  was  president  and 
founder  of  the  colony  of  Transylvania,  including  a  large  portion  of 
the  present  state  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  which  he  organized  in 
1775,  with  a  representative  government  and  on  the  basis  of  entire  re- 
ligious liberty.  He  and  his  legislature,  which  met  April  23,  1775, 
virtually  declared  their  independence  of  the  British  crown.  Lord 
Dunmore,  the  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  was  greatly  scandalized 
by  this  proceeding  and  denounced  the  Transylvania  proprietors  by 
proclamation,  as  "one  Richard  Henderson  and  other  disorderly  per- 
sons, his  associates."  Daniel  Boone  was  in  the  employment  of 
Judge  Henderson  and  made  trips  into  "  the  dark  and  bloody 
ground"  in  his  interests;  and  the  judge's  colored  servant  Dan,  who 
lived  until  about  1825,  used  to  boast  that  he  "  was  the  first  black  man 
who  ever  set  his  foot  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio."  One  of  the  sons 
of  Judge  Richard  Henderson  was  Chief-Justice  Leonard  Henderson 
(1772-1833).  His  younger  brother,  Maj.  Pleasant  Henderson  (1736- 
1842),  who  attained  a  great  age,  was  in  the  North  Carolina  military 
service  during  the  Revolution  (1775-1781),  and  was  major  in  Mal- 
medy's  mounted  corps  of  North  Carolina  state  troops.  His  cousin, 
Col.  John  P.  Williams,  was  colonel  of  the  Ninth  regiment  North 
Carolina  continental  troops,  and  his  wife's  uncle,  Col.  James  Williams, 
commanded  at  the  victory  of  Mulgrove's  ]\Iill,  and  fell  while  gal- 
lantly leading  his  column  at  King's  Mountain,  with  the  shouts  of  vic- 
tory ringing  in  his  ears. 

Judge  Henderson  was  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Williams 
Henderson,  who  thus  w-ere  the  great-great-grandparents  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Samuel  Henderson,  the  founder  of  the  Hender- 
son family  in  North  Carolina,  removed  from  Hanover  count3^  Va.,  to 
Granville  county,  N.  C,  in  1745,  bringing  with  him  his  two  sons. 
Judge  Richard  and  Maj.  Pleasant.  He  was  greatly  esteemed  and 
wielded  a  strong  influence,  not  only  among  the  people,  but  with  the 
colonial  government,  holding  by  appointment  the  commission  of  high 
sheriff  of  his  count}^  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  son, 
Richard,  and  his   connection,  Judge  John  Williams,  both   upon   the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  621 

bench,  which  in  after  3'ears  was  so  highly  adorned  by  his  grandson, 
Chief-Justice  Leonard  Henderson. 

As  distinguished  by  eminent  worth  and  high  station  as  have  been 
Hon.  John  S.  Henderson's  ancestors  in  the  paternal  line,  on  the  ma- 
ternal side  are  to  be  found  memoirs  and  traditions  equally  patriotic 
and  inspiring  to  one  who  aims  to  do  his  whole  duty  to  the  people  of 
his  native  state.  He  is  a  great-grandson  of  IMoses  Alexander,  whose 
son,  Nathaniel  Alexander  (1756-1808),  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  a  member  of  congress  and  governor  of  the  state;  is  a 
great-grandson  of  William  Ferrand,  and  Marj'  Williams,  a  sister  of 
Hon.  Benjamin  Williams,  who  was  a  captain  in  the  .Second  regiment 
of  Xorth  Carolina  continentals;  member  of  the  second  congress,  and 
after  having  served  three  terms  as  governor  of  the  state,  he  was 
again  elected  governor  on  the  expiration  of  the  constitutional 
inhibition. 

Mr.  Henderson  is  also  a  great-grandson  of  John  and  Mary  Nes- 
field  Steele.  Gen.  John  Steele  (1764-1815)  was  member  of  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1788,  and  was  a  member  of  the  first  and  sec- 
ond congresses.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Washington  and  Jeffer- 
son, and  was  greatly  honored  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  is  likewise  the  great-great-grandson  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
Maxwell  Steele-  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Steele  resided  at  Salisbury,  and  in 
February,  1781,  she  gave  needed  aid  to  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene,  then  in 
command  of  the  patriot  army,  and  hard  pressed  for  necessaries,  by 
presenting  to  him  two  bags  of  specie,  all  of  the  money  she  had  saved. 
"  Never, "  declares  Greene's  biographer,  "  did  relief  come  at  a  more  op- 
portune moment."  And  he  is  a  grandson  of  Dr.  Stephen  Lee  and 
Margaret  Steele  Ferrand. 

Sprung  from  a  lineage  so  devoted  to  patriotic  purposes  and  so 
associated  with  the  great  events  in  the  history  of  his  native  state, 
Mr.  Henderson  inherited  noble  impulses  and  patriotic  resolves;  nor 
has  the  example  of  gallant  and  enterprising  spirits  of  earlier  gener- 
ations been  without  legitimate  influence.  Mr.  Hendrson's  brother, 
Leonard  Alexander  Henderson,  was  captain  of  company  F",  Eighth 
regiment.  North  Carolina  troops,  in  the  Confederate  service,  and 
when  in  his  twenty-third  year,  was  killed  June  i,  1864,  at  Cold  Harbor, 
while  leading  with  splendid  dash  and  elan  his  regiment  in  a  desperate 
charge.  Another  brother,  Richard  1  lenderson,  is  now  a  lieutenant  in 
the  United  States  navy,  and  is  esteemed  as  a  very  efficient  officer  of 
distinguished  promise.  He  was  present  at  the  bombardment  of  Alex- 
andria, Egypt,  and  has  seen  much  service  abroad. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  prepared  for  college  at  Dr.  Alexander  Wilson's 
celebrated  school  in  Alamance  county,  and  entered  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  in  January,  1862,  remaining  there  until  November, 
1864,  when,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  entered  the  army  as  a  private 
in  Company  B,  Tenth  regiment  North  Carolina  troops,  and  served 
until  the  war  ended  at  Appomatox.  He  then  read  law  with  Chief- 
Justice  Pearson,  and  obtained  his  first  license  in  June,  1866,  ami  his 
superior  court  license  in  June,  1867,     He  applied  himself  zealously  to 


62  2  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  soon  gained  an  eminent  position 
at  tlie  bar.  But  few  men  in  the  state  have  as  fine  a  reputation  as  a 
thorough  lawyer  as  Mr.  Henderson.  In  addition  to  his  diHgence  and 
laborious  study,  he  is  gifted  with  an  acute  intellect,  and  a  clearness 
of  view  that  distinguish  him  from  many  others  of  the  profession. 
Besides,  he  is  a  man  of  unspotted  character.  A  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  he  is  esteemed  as  one  of  the  most  ster- 
ling laymen  of  that  communion  in  the  state,  and  his  views  exert 
great  weight  in  their  councils.  In  1S74  Mr.  Henderson  was  happily 
married  to  Miss  Bessie  B.  Cain,  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  and  in  his  home 
domestic  life  exemplifies  the  many  charms  of  culture  and  refinement. 
Mr.  Henderson,  in  his  earlier  days,  did  not  desire  political  prefer- 
ment, but  addressed  himself  to  the  more  exacting  duties  of  his  labor- 
ious profession.  However,  in  1871,  he  was  brought  out  as  a  candidate 
for  the  proposed  constitutional  convention,  and  led  his  distinguished 
competitor.  Dr.  James  G.  Ramsay,  497  votes,  indeed  running  102  votes 
ahead  of  the  general  democratic  ticket.  The  next  year  he  declined 
the  nomination  for  the  legislature,  but  when  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion of  1875  was  called,  his  friends  in  Rowan  county  again  desired  to 
avail  themselves  of  his  legal  ability  in  that  body,  and  elected  him  a 
member.  He  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  useful  members,  and  was 
a  recognized  leader,  drafting  many  of  the  most  important  amend- 
ments and  in  a  large  measure  giving  direction  to  the  work.  The 
next  year  Rowan  county  sent  him  to  the  house,  where  he  was  again 
a  leading  and  valuable  member,  being  the  author  and  draughtsman 
of  many  of  the  most  important  statutes  passed  at  that  session.  His 
popularity  and  the  hold  he  had  on  the  confidence  of  the  people  may 
be  estimated  when  it  is  stated  that  though  Gov.  Vance's  majority  in 
Rowan  county  was  862,  and  Tilden's  868,  his  was  1,066.  At  the  next 
session  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  running  475  votes  ahead 
of  his  ticket;  and  again  did  he  display  that  fine  legal  acumen  which 
which  gave  him  a  title  to  leadership,  and  his  services  were  recognized 
as  most  valuable  to  the  state.  Two  years  later,  along  with  Hon.  W.  P. 
Dortch  and  Hon.  John  Manning,  he  was  appointed  to  codify  the  laws, 
a  position  won  by  his  conspicuous  merit  and  painstaking  exactness. 
His  discharge  of  this  important  duty  enhanced  his  reputation,  which 
now  extended  all  over  the  state. 

On  September  q,  1884,  he  was  nominated  for  congress  in  the  Rowan 
district,  and  was  again  opposed  by  his  former  competitor.  Dr.  J.  G. 
Ramsay,  one  of  the  shrewdest  and  best  posted  politicans  of  the  state, 
and  whose  standing  was  high,  since  he  had  never  been  connected 
with  the  unpopular  proceedings  of  the  republican  party,  of  which  he 
was  a  member.  Mr.  Henderson  madeastrongandablecanvassand  was 
triumphantly  elected  byamajority  of  3,411.  He  was  re-elected  in  1886, 
virtually  without  opposition,  his  plurality  being  about  10,000;  and 
elected  a  third  time  in  1888;  and  in  1890,  notwithstanding  he  boldly 
took  ground  against  the  sub-treasury  bill,  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
alliance  organization,  he  was  successful  by  4,166  majoritj'.  Indeed, 
it  may  be  said  that  much  of  the  personal  strength  of   Mr.  Henderson 


'^^f^-T^t.^i^T. 


-r 


f^W^,   ^^^,     ^  vT^^V. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  623 

before  the  people  is  found  in  his  open  candor.  He  never  evades 
an  issue.  He  has  the  manhood  to  express  his  convictions,  and  the 
ability  to  so  present  his  views  that  those  who  disagree  with  him,  yet 
recognize  the  honesty  of  his  purpose  and  the  sinceritj^  of  principles. 
He  commands  respect  even  where  he  may  not  receive  support.  In 
congress  he  has  made  for  himself  an  enviable  reputation.  He  is  an 
indefatigable  worker,  and  has  labored  both  in  the  committee  rooms 
and  on  the  floor  of  the  house  to  advance  the  measures  he  has 
advocated.  Many  of  his  speeches  have  attracted  much  attention,  es- 
pecially one  in  favor  of  seating  Hon.  Frank  Hurd,  and  others  made  in 
support  of  tariff  reform  and  on  the  subject  of  the  internal  revenue  sys- 
tem. He  has  been  a  member  of  the  judiciary  and  other  important 
committees,  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  committee  on  postoffices 
and  postroads.  While  he  is  a  statesman,  and  considers  public  meas- 
ures in  a  broad  and  liberal  spirit,  his  genius  is  particularly  evinced  in 
the  excellence  of  his  work  as  a  draughtsman  of  laws.  In  this  respect 
he  ranks  verj'  high  among  his  associates  in  congress.  Indeed,  it  is 
conceded  that  he  is  the  ablest  and  most  useful  representative  that 
North  Carolina  has  sent  to  congress  since  the  war. 


GEN.  RUFUS  BARRINGER. 

This  distinguished  soldier,  whose  valor,  intrepidity  and  skill  have 
won  for  him  the  admiration  of  his  fellow-citizens,  is  a  resident  of 
Charlotte,  Mecklenburg  county,  N.  C,  but  is  a  native  of  the  adjoin- 
ing county  of  Cabarrus,  where  the  Barringer  famil}'  has  long  been 
settled.  His  grandfather,  John  Paul  Barringer,  was  born  in  Wurtem- 
burg,  Germany,  in  1721.  Coming  to  America,  he  first  settled  in 
Pennsj-lvania,  but  soon  afterward  removed  to  North  Carolina.  He 
v/as  an  ardent  whig  during  the  Revolution,  and  having  been  captured 
by  the  tories,  suffered  a  long  and  tedious  confinement.  He  died  at 
the  homestead,  in  Cabarrus  county,  January  i,  1807.  One  of  his 
sons.  Gen.  Paul  Barringer  (born  1778,  died  1844),  was  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  a  man  of  influence  in  his  section, 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  ten  times  consecutively  from  Cabarrus 
county,  and  was  greatly  esteemed  for  his  high  character  and  abilities. 
He  married  Klizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Matthew  Brandon,  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  whose  family  were  distinguished  for  their  love  of 
liberty.  His  eldest  son  was  Hon.  Daniel  Moreau  Barringer,  who  was 
born  in  1806,  and  after  graduating  at  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, studied  law  under  Chief-Justice  Ruffin.  He  served  several  years 
in  the  legislature,  and  was  a  representative  in  congress  continuously 
from  1843  to  1S49,  when  President  Taylor  appointed  him  minister  to 
Spain,  and  on  his  return  to  North  Carolina  he  was  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  a  conspicuous  and  highly  esteemed  citizen. 

Gen.  Rufus  Barringer  was  a  younger  son.  I  le  was  born  in  Cabar- 
rus county,  December  2,  182 1.  Having  received  a  preparatory  edu- 
cation at  Sugar  Creek  academy,  Mecklenburg  county,  he  entered  the 


624  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

university  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  graduated  in  1S42.  He 
studied  law  with  his  brother,  Hon.  D.  M.  Barringer,  at  Concord,  and 
finished  his  legal  training  under  Hon.  Richmond  Pearson,  the  dis- 
tinguished chief-justice  of  the  state.  Opening  a  law  office  at  Con- 
cord, he  soon  gained  a  lucrative  practice  and  won  a  high  place  at  the 
bar.  He  was  a  whig  in  politics,  and  in  1S4S  was  elected  to  the  house 
of  commons,  where  he  urged  with  intelligent  discrimination  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  from  Charlotte  to  Danville,  and  otherwise 
advocated  a  progressive  system  of  internal  improvements,  including 
the  North  Carolina  railroad.  The  following  session  he  represented 
his  district  in  the  state  senate,  and  displayed  unusual  ability  in  that 
body.  His  growing  practice  claimed  his  entire  attention  until  the 
great  questions  involved  in  the  political  campaign  of  1S60  drew  him 
again  into  active  politics.  He  was  in  that  j^ear  a  whig  elector  and 
made  an  earnest  canvass  in  behalf  of  Bell  and  Everett.  Momentous 
events  then  crowded  fast  upon  each  other,  and  the  question  of  seces- 
sion soon  became  a  living  issue.  A  whig  from  early  life,  ardently 
attached  to  the  Union  and  full  of  devotion  to  the  constitution  of  his 
country.  Mr.  Barringer  was  no  indifferent  spectator  to  passing  events. 
With  rare  discernment  he  foresaw  the  consequences  of  the  move- 
ment in  which  the  more  southern  states  were  engaged,  and  he  took  a 
strong  stand  against  secession,  urging  that  secession  would  be  accom- 
panied by  war,  and  if  war  came  it  would  prove  the  fiercest  and 
bloodiest  of  modern  times,  and  would  involve  not  only  the  continu- 
ance of  slavery  but  the  entire  structure  of  southern  society  itself. 
These  sentiments  were  so  unpopular  that,  for  boldly  urging  them,  he 
was  once  caricatured  in  the  streets  of  Charlotte.  But  even  before 
the  final  step  was  taken  by  North  Carolina  and  before  the  ordinance 
of  secession  was  passed,  he  sought  "  to  pluck  the  flower  safety  from 
the  nettle  danger,"  and  advocated  immediate  preparation  for  the  war 
that  he  saw  was  inevitable.  He  urged  the  legislature  then  in  session 
to  arm  the  state  and  warned  the  people  that  now  they  must  prepare 
to  fight.  He  awaited  no  overt  acts  of  war  to  decide  his  course,  nor 
did  he  beguile  his  people  with  hopes  of  peaceable  secession  or  of 
compromise.  He  believed  that  the  only  hope  of  success  lay  in 
aggressive  action,  and  that  delay  meant  destruction. 

When  the  first  gun  was  fired  on  Fort  Sumter,  he  knew  it  was  the 
signal  to  arms,  and  he  was  among  the  first  to  volunteer  for  the  serv- 
ice. He  at  once  raised  a  company  of  cavalry  in  his  native  count}', 
which  was  afterwards  assigned,  as  Company  F,  to  the  First  North 
Carolina  cavalry,  his  commission  as  captain  bearing  date  May  16, 
1861.  Of  this  regiment  Robert  Ransom  became  the  first  colonel, 
and  he  so  drilled  and  disciplined  the  fine  material  of  which  it  was 
composed  that  it  became  widely  known  as  the  best  cavalry  regiment 
in  the  Confederate  service.  Assigned  in  Virginia,  first  to  Gen. 
Hampton's  brigade,  and  afterward  to  the  North  Carolina  cavalry 
brigade  in  Hampton's  division,  its  history  was  glorious  in  every  cam- 
paign until  the  chapter  of  war  was  fully  closed.  Throughout  its 
whole  career  Gen.  Barringer  was  associated  with  it.     On  August  26, 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  625 

1863,  he  became  major  of  the  regiment,  and  three  months  later  he 
was  again  promoted  to  be  its  lieutenant-colonel.  On  the  death  of 
Gen.  J.  B.  Gordon,  in  June,  1S64,  he  was  commissioned  brigadier- 
general,  and  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  North  Carolina 
brigade  of  cavalry,  consisting  of  the  First,  Second,  Third  and  Fifth 
regiments.  This  brigade  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  cavalry  corps 
in  the  arm}*.  Its-  record  is  a  succession  of  splendid  achievements. 
It  was  often  complimented,  and  especiallj'  by  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  at  Ream's  Station,  but  its  most 
heroic  achievement  was  at  Chamberlain  Run,  INIarch  31,  1865,  where 
it  forded  a  stream  a  hundred  yards  wide,  and  saddle-girth  deep, 
under  a  galling  fire,  and  attacked  a  division  of'Federal  cavalry, 
driving  them  from  behind  their  breastworks.  This  was  the  last 
decisive  Confederate  victory  of  the  war,  and  was  attended  with  a 
loss  of  over  two  hundred  officers  and  men. 

General  Barringer  was  in  seventy-si.x;  actions,  received  three 
wounds  and  had  two  horses  struck  under  him.  He  was  conspicuous 
in  the  battles  at  Willis  Church,  at  Brandy  station,  where  he  was 
severely  wounded;  Auburn  Mills  and  Buckland  Races,  where  he  led 
the  charge;  Davis  Farm,  where  he  was  sole  commander;  and  he  was 
in  command  of  the  division  at  Reams  Station.  He  was  an  able  and 
enterprising  officer,  efficient  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  hav- 
ing both  the  confidence  of  his  superiors  and  the  esteem  and  affection 
of  his  soldiers.  His  courage,  his  gallantry  and  military  services  es- 
tablish his  fame  and  place  him  alongside  of  the  renowned  cavalry 
leaders  of  the  Confederate  cause.  He  was  a  fine  disciplinarian,  but 
was  so  careful  of  his  men  that  they  were  attached  to  him,  and  he,  in 
like  manner,  was  attached  to  his  command.  In  1862  Gen.  Jackson 
proposed  to  organize  some  columns  of  light  troops  for  offensive  ac- 
tion and  offered  him  the  position  of  quarter-master  general,  on  his 
staff,  but  he  preferred  to  remain  with  his  men  and  declined.  On 
April  3,  1865,  while  making  an  effort  to  extricate  one  of  his  regiments 
from  a  perilous  position  at  Namozine  Church,  \'a.,  he  was  captured 
and  taken  to  City  Point,  of  which  port  Gen.  Collis  was  in  command. 
Gen.  Ewell  and  Gen.  Custis  Lee  had  also  been  taken,  and  along  with 
Gen.  Barringer  (to  use  the  language  of  Gen.  Collis),  "  became  his 
guests." 

President  Lincoln  was  then  at  City  Point,  and  requested  that  Gen. 
Barringer  be  presented  to  him  at  the  tent  of  Col.  Bowers  (Gen. 
Grant's  adjutant),  jocosely  adding,  "Do  you  know  I  have  never  seen 
alive  rebel  general  in  uniform?"  Gen.  Barringer  was  thereupon 
formall}^  presented  to  him,  and  the  president  shook  hands  with  him 
warmly  and  became  much  interested  when,  on  inquiry,  he  elicited 
the  fact  that  Gen.  Barringer  was  the  brother  of  Hon.  D.  M.  Bar- 
ringer, who,  he  said,  had  served  with  him  in  congress  and  had  been  a 
warm  friend.  The  president,  with  his  accustomed  good  nature  and 
sympathy,  expressed  himself  as  desiring  to  render  some  friendly  serv- 
ice to  the  general,  and  on  his  rising  to  depart,  asked,  "  Do  you  think 
I  can  be  of  any  service  to  you?"  To  which  Gen.  Barringer  promptlj' 
B— 40 


626  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

replied,  "  If  any  one  can  be  of  service  to  a  fellow  in  my  situation,  I 
suppose  you  are  the  man." 

Expecting  to  be  detained  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  desiring  to  be 
confined  in  some  prison  where  he  could  communicate  readily  with 
northern  friends,  he  so  expressed  himself  to  the  president,  who,  tak- 
ing a  card  from  his  pocket,  wrote  a  note  on  it  to  Secretary  Stanton. 
Gen.  Barringer  was  at  first  confined  at  the  old  capitol  prison,  Wash- 
ington City,  but  finding  the  quarters  inconvenient  and  uncomfortable, 
he  forwarded  the  note  the  president  had  given  him  to  the  secretary 
of  war,  who  transferred  him  at  once  to  Fort  Delaware,  where  he  re- 
mainecl  until  August,  1S65.  While  there  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
ascertaining  the  current  of  public  sentiment  among  the  northern 
people  in  regard  to  the  results  of  the  war,  and  he  foresaw  that  negro 
suffrage  was  one  of  the  requirements  of  northern  opinion. 

On  his  return  home  he  urged  that  the  white  men  of  the  south  should 
voluntarily  concede  it  and  he  warmly  urged  the  measure.  He  also 
regarded  it  as  indispensably  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  people 
that  the  states  of  the  south  should  be  speedily  re-habilitated  in  the  union ; 
and  when  some  spoke  of  expatriation,  he  denounced  the  idea  as  base 
ingratitude  to  the  masses  of  the  people.  Because  of  his  position  on 
these  political  matters,  he  was  by  some  stigmatized  as  a  traitor  to  his 
race  and  section,  but  such  charges  fell  harmless  at  his  feet.  He  ac- 
cepted the  reconstruction  acts  of  1867  and  stood  forth  as  a  bold  and 
able  champion  of  the  measures  and  principles  of  the  republican  lead- 
ers in  congress.  Since  the  settlement  of  those  questions  he  has 
mainly  co-operated  with  the  national  republican  part3^  whose  policy 
and  principles  he  believed  were  best  suited  to  the  country  in  its  new 
and  changed  condition.  But  during  the  most  violent  and  bitter 
struggles  in  the  state,  political  differences  detracted  nothing,  in  the 
public  estimation,  from  the  substantial  worth  of  his  personal  character, 
and  when,  in  1875,  the  state  convention  was  held  to  amend  the  con- 
stitution, he  was  elected  as  a  republican  from  the  democratic  county 
of  Mecklenburg.  He  has  not  however  sought  political  preferment, 
although,  in  1S80,  he  accepted  the  republican  nomination  for  lieuten- 
ant-governor and  by  his  strong  canvass  in  his  section,  made  great 
gains  for  his  party.  Gen.  Barringer  is  a  man  of  culture  and  is  fond 
of  literature  and  history.  He  takes  a  pride  in  the  heroism  displayed 
by  the  southern  soldiers  during  the  war,  and  has  ably  written  for  the 
press,  perpetuating  accounts  of  their  noble  deeds  and  maintaining 
the  propriety  of  their  action.  He  has  also  been  liberal  and  generous 
to  the  war-worn  veterans. 

A  student  by  long  habit,  he  has  in  recent  years  devoted  much  at- 
tention to  political  economy.  He  believes  in  the  largest  individual 
liberty,  properly  regulated  and  restrained  by  church,  state  and  family. 
He  has  ardently  advocated  temperance  reform  and  industrial  educa- 
tion, and  has  been  a  trustee  in  the  North  Carolina  college  of  agricul- 
ture and  mechanics.  He  has  also  been  influential  in  establishing  an 
industrial  school  at  Charlotte,  and  also  the  literary  and  historical 
library  in  that  city,  to  which  he  has  made  valuable  donations.     He 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  627 

removed  to  Charlotte  in  iS66,  and  practiced  his  profession  there  un- 
til 18S4,  when  he  retired  and  devoted  himself  to  farming,  in  which  he 
has  been  largely  interested.  He  has  long  been  an  active  member  of 
and  liberal  contributor  to  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Charlotte.  He 
has  traveled  much,  and  his  ripe  judgment  and  progressive  ideas  have 
been  turned  to  the  advantage  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
No  citizen  has  done  more  for  the  material  improvement  of  Charlotte 
than  Gen.  Barringer.  In  his  domestic  life  Gen.  Barringer  is  esteemed 
and  admired.  He  has  been  thrice  happily  married,  and  is  the  father 
of  three  sons  who  worthily  bear  his  name. 

WALTER  CLARK. 

Judge  Walter  Clark  is  a  native  of  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  being 
born  in  that  county  on  the  19th  day  of  August,  1846.  He  was  a  stu- 
dent at  Col.  Tew's  military  academj',  at  Hillsboro,  when  the  Civil 
war  came  on,  and  as  early  as  in  the  spring  of  1861,  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years,  he  entered  the  Confederate  army  as  drill  master  in  Gen. 
Pettigrew's  regiment,  the  Twenty-second  North  Carolina,  and  which 
proceeded  to  Richmond  and  to  Evansport,  on  the  Potomac.  The 
next  year  he  was  made  adjutant  of  the  Thirty-fifth  North  Carolina, 
un'der  the  command  of  Col.  M.  W.  Ransom.  With  this  regiment, 
and  in  this  rank,  he  participated  with  gallantry  in  the  first  campaign 
of  Maryland;  in  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  the  battle  of  Sharps- 
burg  (Antietam)  and  Fredericksburg.  At  the  last  two  named  bat- 
tles he  was  especially  complimented  for  gallantry.  In  the  spring  his 
brigade  returned  to  North  Carolina  for  recruits;  he  resigned  and 
entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  July  of  1S63,  joining  the 
senior  class.  In  the  camp  he  had  kept  up  his  studies,  carrjdng  his 
Flomer  and  \'irgil,  which,  too,  received  study.  He  graduated  from 
the  university  with  first  honor,  on  June  2,  1864;  and  the  next  day 
again  entered  the  army,  being  made  major  of  the  Sixth  battalion  of 
junior  reserves,  and  a  few  days  later  (then  but  seventeen  years  of 
age)  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Sixty-ninth  North 
Carolina  regiment,  which  was  attached  to  Hoke's  division.  After 
participating  in  the  battle  of  Southwest  Creek  (near  Kinston)  and  at 
Bentonsville,  he  surrendered,  and  was  paroled  with  the  army  of 
Johnston  at  High  Point,  N.  C,  May  2,  1865.  After  the  close  of  hos- 
tilities, he  studied  law  under  Judge  Battle,  at  a  law  office  in  Wall 
street,  New  York,  and  at  Columbia  law  college,  Washington,  D.  C, 
obtaining  license  to  practice  in  January,  iS68.  He  located  first  at 
Scotland  Neck,  N.  C.,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Halifax,  N.  C, 
where  he  entered  into  a  co-partnership  with  Hon.  J.  M.  Mullen,  un- 
der the  law  firm  of  Clark  &  Mullen.  While  practicing  in  Halifax, 
he  was  twice  a  candidate  for  the  legislature,  and  though  the  usual 
republican  majority  in  Halifa.x  county  was  over  2,500,  he  was  defeat- 
ed by  small  majorities. 

In  January  of  1874,  he  married  the  only  daughter  of  Hon.  Wil- 
iani  A.  Graham,  and  removed  to  Raleigh,  in  which  citj'  he  has  since 


62S  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

continued.  He  was  sent  as  a  lay  delegate  for  North  Carolina  to  the 
Methodist  Ecumenical  council  in  London,  in  1881,  and  profited  bj^  the 
occasion  to  travel  extensivel}'  in  Europe.  In  April  of  1S85,  Gov. 
Scales  appointed  him  judge  of  the  superior  court,  and  in  August  of 
1886,  he  was  renominated  by  acclamation  by  the  convention  at  Smith- 
field,  and  at  the  November  election  was  elected,  leading  the  rest  of 
the  superior  court  ticket.  When  Associate  Judge  Merrimon,  of  the 
supreme  court,  was  elevated  to  chief-justiceof  the  tribunal,  the  gover- 
nor of  the  state  appointed  Judge  Clark  to  hll  the  vacancy  occasioned 
by  the  promotion  of  Chief-Justice  Merrimon,  and  at  the  regular  fall 
election  of  1888,  the  people  elected  him  to  succeed  himself  on  the 
supreme  bench.  Judge  Clark  has  done  much  to  instill  into  the  courts 
business  principles,  and  is  deservedly  popular.  He  is  an  able  judge,  a 
man  of  profound  learning,  and  a  diligent  student,  and  a  zealous  and 
active  worker.  He  is  author  of  "Overruled  Cases,"  of  "  Laws  for 
Business  Men"  and  of  "  Clark's  Annotated  Code  of  Civil  Procedure." 
In  187 1,  while  on  a  tour  to  California  and  the  west,  he  wrote  a  series 
of  articles,  "  From  Ocean  to  Ocean,"  which  attracted  favorable  at- 
tention from  the  press  and  public. 

JOSEPH  B.  BATCHELOR 

was  born  in  Halifax  county,  N.  C,  February  5,  1S25,  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  afterward 
attended  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  from  which  he  graduated 
with  first  honors  in  1845,  '^•''d  delivered  the  valedictory.  Leaving 
college,  our  subject  commenced  to  read  law  at  home,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1846,  and  opened  a  law  office  in  Heathsville,  N.  C,  where 
he  practiced  until  1S50.  Then  he  went  to  Halifax,  N.  C,  where  his 
superior  abilities  were  at  once  recognized,  and  where  he  was  elected 
county  attorne}',  and  served  four  years.  In  1854,  in  the  fall,  he  moved 
to  Warrenton,  N.  C,  where  he  quickly  became  popular,  was  elected 
county  attorney,  and  in  1855  was  appointed  attorney-general  by  Gov. 
Thomas  Bragg,  and  served  two  years.  He  was  re-elected  county 
attorney  of  Warren  county  during  the  war,  and  served  several  years. 
In  1866  he  removed  to  Raleigh,  N.  C,  where  he  opened  a  law  office, 
and  here  he  has  conducted  a  successful  practice  ever  since.  In  1870 
he  was  appointed  by  the  legislature  one  of  three  commissioners — ■ 
Gen.  William  M.  Shipp  and  Gen.  James  G.  Martin  being  the  other 
two  —  to  investigate  alleged  corruption  in  the  conduct  of  the  affairs 
of  the  state.  Our  subject  is  a  democrat,  and  while  not  an  office 
seeker,  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  party, 
and  has  cheerfully  served  it  when  called  upon.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  served  as  senior  grand  warden  and 
deputy  grand  master,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Batchelor  was  married,  in  1S50,  to  Mary  C.  Plummer,  the  accomp- 
lished daughter  of  William  Plummer,  of  Warren  county,  N.  C,  and 
to  them  have  been  born  thirteen  children,  of  whom  six  still  survive,  as 
follows:    William  P.  Batchelor,  Wake  county,  N.  C;  Joseph  B.  Batch- 


HON.    ZEBtlLON     VANCE. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  629 

elor,  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  regular  army,  and  located  at  Ft. 
Leavenworth:  Stark  S.  Batchelor,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C;  Eliza  A.,  wife 
of  Harry  Loeb,  of  Waynianville,  Ga.;  Dr.  Kemp  B.  Batchelor,  of 
Baltimore,  Md.,  and  Frank  H.  Batchelor,  of  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

James  \V.  Batchelor,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Hali- 
fax county,  N.  C,  April  7,  1793,  and  received  a  common  school  edu- 
cation in  his  native  county.  He  was  a  farmer  and  merchant  all  his 
life,  and  died  in  1S50.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  his  count}-,  held 
several  county  offices,  and  served  as  county  treasurer  for  twenty 
3-ears,  without  making  a  mistake  in  his  accounts.  He  was  married 
October  26,  1S16,  to  ^lary  Shelton,  daughter  of  Burwell  Shelton  of 
Halifax  county,  N.  C,  and  on  her  mother's  side  was  a  descendant  of 
the  Lane  family.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Batchelor  were  born  five  chil- 
dren, named  as  follows:  William  B.,  who  died  in  infancy;  Little- 
burg  \V.,  whose  death  took  place  in  1886;  Joseph  B.,  now  residing  in 
Raleigh,  \.  C;  Martha,  widow  of  Dr.  Thomas  Davis,  of  Franklin, 
N.  C,  and  Mary  F".,  who  died  in  1842,  aged  twelve  years.  Mrs.  Mary 
(Shelton)  Batchelor  died  in  1S52,  sincerely  mourned  by  her  sur- 
viving children  and  friends.  William  Batchelor,  grandfather  of  the 
subject  proper  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Xorth  Carolina  about  1750, 
and  was  in  the  Continental  army.  He  died  about  1S20.  Our  sub- 
ject's paternal  grandmother's  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Bradford, 
of  the  inlluential  family  of  Bradford,  in  Halifax  county,  X.  C.  The 
social  standing  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  B.  Batchelor  is  of  the  highest, 
while  in  his  profession  Mr.  Batchelor  stands  in  the  front  rank,  and 
no  stigma  has  ever  been  attached  to  his  honorable  name. 


ZEBULON   B.   VANCE, 

present  United  States  senator  from  North  Carolina,  and  the  colleague 
of  Hon.  Matt.  W.  Ransom,  and  who  also  served  his  native  state  three 
times  as  its  governor,  was  born  in  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  May  13, 
1S30,  and  probably  no  native  of  the  state  has  had  a  more  eventful 
and  brilliant  career  as  a  statesman  and  soldier  than  he.  Descended 
from  revolutionary  ancestry,  and  born  in  the  mountain  district  of  his 
section,  he  carries  the  best  blood  of  the  countrj'  in  his  veins,  and  is 
charged  with  animal  magnetism.  His  father  was  David  Vance,  a  son 
of  Col.  David  Vance,  who  was  wounded  at  King's  Mountain,  and  his 
maternal  grandfather  was  Zebulon  Baird,  of  Buncombe,  after  whom 
he  was  named.  Our  subject  received  his  first  lesson  in  law  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  in  which  he  passed  the  year  1851,  and 
soon  afterward  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Being  possessed  of  a  tena- 
cious or  retentive  memory,  and  a  mind  of  comprehensive  receptivity, 
he  met  with  phenomenal  success  in  the  practice  at  Asheville;  but  he 
was  a  natural  born  statesman,  and  political  ambition  imbued  his  whole 
nature.  In  1854  he  was  elected  by  a  handsome  majority  to  the  state 
legislature  on  the  whig  ticket,  and  from  that  time  on  his  political 
career  has  been  a  series  of  brilliant  triumjjhs.     In  1856  he  canvassed 


630  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  mountain  district  against  Col.  David  Coleman  for  the  state  sen- 
ate, but  met  with  defeat. 

In  1858,  Gen.  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  then  a  democrat  and  holding 
a  seat  in  the  United  States  house  of  representatives,  was  appointed 
by  Gov.  Bragg  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  United  States  senate,  caused 
by  the  resignation  of  Hon.  Asa  Biggs.  Col.  Coleman  and  W.  W. 
Avery,  of  Burke,  both  democrats,  entered  the  field  as  candidates  for 
Clingman's  late  position,  and  both  (were  strong  men.  Just  then 
young  Vance,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  sprang  into  the  arena, 
when  Col.  Coleman  withdrew,  leaving  the  struggle  to  Avery  and 
Vance,  the  latter  gallantly  carrying  oft  the  trophy  by  overcoming  a 
democratic,  majority  of  over  2,000,  although  prior  to  that  time  the 
democratic  majority  in  the  district  had  been  2,500.  In  1859  Mr. 
Vance  was  re-elected  to  the  house,  defeating  his  old  opponent.  Col. 
Coleman,  and  served  until  March,  1861.  In  congress  Mr.  Vance 
pursued  a  conservative  course,  and  was  strongly  opposed  to  secession, 
but,  true  to  his  state,  he  hastened  to  her  aid  when  he  saw  that  she 
Avould  pass  an  ordinance  of  withdrawal  from  the  union,  and  on  the 
ver}'  day  that  ordinance  was  passed,  in  Ma}',  1861,  he  was  Capt.  Vance 
and  had  his  company  of  North  Carolina  troops  in  camp  at  Raleigh. 
His  company  was  attached  to  the  Fourteenth  regiment,  with  which 
he  served  in  Virginia  until  August,  1861,  when  he  was  elected  colonel 
of  the  Twenty-sixth  regiment,  which  he  led  at  the  battle  of  Newbern 
and  in  the  fights  around  Richmond.  His  gallantry  and  faithfulness 
won  for  him  the  admiration  of  soldiers  and  civilians,  and  the  voices 
of  both  classes  went  up  in  a  demand  that  he  become  the  governor  of 
the  state,  and  in  August,  1862,  he  was  elected  to  that  high  office  by  an 
overwhelming  majority,  and  was  inaugurated  in  September;  in  1S64 
he  was  re-elected  governor  and  was  inaugurated  January  i,  1S65. 
This  was  indeed  a  stormy  period,  and  the  Old  North  state  was  a 
veritable  ship  of  war,  but  she  had  at  her  helm  the  steady  hand  of 
Zeb.  Vance.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  governor  to  secure  and  maintain 
the  military  contingent  of  the  state  in  aid  of  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment, and  this  he  did  with  a  masterly  hand,  but  ever  subordinated 
the  military  to  the  civil  power,  and  never  did  he  permit  throughout 
the  desperate  struggle,  the  suppression  of  the  precious  writ  of  habeas 
corpus. 

In  April,  1865,  Gov.  Vance  left  Raleigh  with  Gen.  Joseph  E.  John- 
ston's army  for  Greensboro,  and  thence  went  to  Charlotte,  where  he 
joined  President  Davis;  thence  he  went  to  Statesville,  Iredell  county, 
where  he  had  placed  his  family  for  safety.  There,  in  May,  1865,  he 
was  arrested  and  taken  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  for  many  months 
was  confined  in  the  old  capitol  prison.  At  the  close  of  the  year  the 
governor  returned  to  Charlotte  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. During  the  period  of  reconstruction,  however,  he  took  an 
active  part  in  upholding  the  rights  of  his  people  and  of  the  state,  and, 
although  his  political  disabilities  had  not  been  removed  his  voice  was 
everywhere  heard  in  support  of  right  and  justice.  When  political 
rights  had   been   partially  restored   to  the   citizens  of  the  state,  Mr. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  63 1 

Vance  was  elected,  in  1870,  to  the  United  States  senate,  but,  as  he  had 
not  been  fully  purged  of  his  disabilities,  he  was  denied  his  seat.  In 
1S72  he  was  the  nominee  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  legislature 
for  the  same  high  office,  but  by  a  coalition  was  defeated.  In  1876  he 
was  nominated  by  the  democrats  for  governor  and  was  elected  by  a 
large  majorit)-  over  Judge  Settle.  January  i,  1877,  Mr.  Vance  for  the 
third  time  took  the  oath  of  office  as  governor,  and  resumed  the  seat 
from  which  he  had  been  ejected  by  Federal  ba^^onets  to  make  room 
for  W.  W.  Holden.  In  1878  Mr.  Vance  was  again  the  nominee  of  the 
democrats  of  the  legislature  for  the  office  of  United  States  senator, 
and,  his  disabilities  having  been  fully  removed,  he  was  allowed  to  take 
the  seat,  which,  by  repeated  re-elections,  he  still  holds,  his  last  term 
expiring  March  3,  1891. 

In  August,  1863,  Zebulon  B.  Vance  married  Miss  Harriet  Newell 
Espy,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Espy,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
of  Allegheny  county,  Penn.,  who  came  to  South  Carolina  in  182S,  and 
married  Miss  Louisa  Tate,  of  Burke  county,  and  died  in  1830.  To 
the  felicitous  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs  Vance,  have  been  born  four  sons. 
To  speak  of  the  social  standing  of  Mr.  Vance  and  his  fanily  would 
be  a  work  of  supererogation.  We  have  given  but  a  brief  sketch  of 
this  gentleman's  political  career,  which  has  not  been  that  of  an 
ephemeral  meteor,  lighting  for  a  brief  moment  the  horizon  of  poli- 
tics, but  that  of  an  effulgent  sun,  whose  fervid  rays  still  brighten  and 
ripen  the  liclds  of  statesmanship.  His  name  stands  as  one  graven 
on  a  monument  of  brass,  which  shall  endure  as  long  as  his  native 
state  of  North  Carolina  shall  bear  a  history. 

L.  BANKS  HOLT, 

one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Graham,  Alamance  county,  is  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  born  in  the  above  named  county  January  28, 
1842.  His  parents  are  Edwin  L.  and  Emily  (Earish)  Holt,  both  na- 
tives of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Holt  attended  school  in  x^lamance 
county,  under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  Wilson,  an  educator  of  distinction. 
He  entered  the  military  academy  at  Hillsboro  in  1859,  and  enlisted 
from  this  institution  in  1861,  tendering  his  services  to  the  governor  of 
the  state.  They  were  accepted,  and  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the 
Orange  guard.  This  company  at  once  entered  the  service  and  cap- 
tured Fort  Macon,  N.  C.  Later  Mr.  Holt  joined  Col.  Fisher's  regi- 
ment of  infantry,  as  drill  master,  and  served  in  this  position  until  after 
the  battle  of  Manassas,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Eighth  North 
Carolina  infantry,  and  remained  with  this  regiment  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  In  the  early  part  of  the  struggle  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  first  lieutenant,  which  he  held  until  the  close  of  hostilities. 
He  participated  in  some  of  the  most  hotly  contested  conflicts  of  the 
war,  and  was  severely  wounded  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Fort  Harrison,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner.  After  spending  four 
months  in  the  hospital  he  was  confined  in  Fort  Delaware  until  1S65. 
Returning  home,  he  engaged  in  farming  and  cotton  manufacturing. 


632  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

He  worked  in  the  Alamance  cotton  mill  for  a  time,  which  was  owned 
by  his  father.  In  1868  the  Carolina  cotton  factory,  in  which  Mr.  Holt 
holds  a  large  interest,  was  erected.  He  and  his  brother,  Lawrence 
Holt,  built,  in  1S80,  the  celebrated  Bellemont  cotton  mills,  which  they 
still  own.  He  is  also  a  partner  in  the  E.  M.  Holt  plaid  mills,  located 
at  Burlington,  N.  C,  and  is  sole  proprietor  of  the  Oneida  mills,  lo- 
cated at  Graham,  N.  C,  in  which  he  employs  nearly  200  operators. 
Mr.  Holt  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Atamahaw  cotton  mills,  and  owns 
stock  in  the  Commercial  National  bank  and  of  the  Merchants  & 
Farmers'  National  bank  of  Charlotte.  His  varied  and  extensive  ex- 
perience in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  fabrics,  together  with  his  native 
skill  and  industry,  have  elevated  him  to  the  top  round  of  excellence 
and  prosperity  in  his  products  and  patronage.  Enterprising  and 
public-spirited,  courteous  and  honorable  in  all  his  dealings,  an  ex- 
emplary in  Christian  morals,  just  and  humane  to  his  employes,  he  is 
esteemed  by  all  who  know  him. 

Mr.  Holt  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  successful  farmers  in 
the  state,  his  Oak  Grove  stock  farm  consisting  of  1,400  acres  of  land, 
being  one  of  the  best  cultivated  farms  in  the  south.  On  this  farm  he 
keeps  a  herd  of  pure-bred  and  registered  Devon  cattle  numbering 
one  hundred  head,  and  aside  from  this  he  raises  pure-bred  Shrop- 
shire sheep  and  Poland  China  swine.  The  records  of  state  fairs 
show  that  he  has  been  foremost  in  winning  premiums  on  field  crops 
and  cattle  for  several  years.  Mr.  Holt  was  married  in  October,  1865, 
to  Miss  Mary  C,  the  daughter  of  Hon.  Giles  and  Mary  C.  Mebane, 
of  Caswell  county;  N.  C.  They  have  seven  children,  namely:  Mary 
v.,  wife  of  Dr.  Geo.  A.  Mevine;  Kate  M.,  Fanny  Y.,  Carrie  B.,  Cora 
A.,  Emily  L.  and  Mattie.  Mr.  Holt  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  for  many  years  has  been  deacon  in  the  same.  The 
amount  of  good  done  by  the  Holts  can  be  scarcely  estimated 
in  this  life.  There  is  no  miserly  spirit  about  any  of  them.  They 
have,  through  their  superior  business  abilities,  industry  and  economy, 
accumulated  considerable  wealth,  but  they  have  not  hoarded.  On 
the  contrary,  they  invested  their  means  with  an  eye  single  to  evolv- 
ing the  greatest  and  most  permanent  amount  of  good  to  humanity. 
Hundreds  of  families  to-day  are  living  in  comfort  and  happiness 
through  their  philanthropic  hospitality.  Their  employes  are  comfort- 
ably provided  for  in  cheerful  homes,  near  neat  and  commodious 
churches  and  well  furnished  school  houses.  Such  men  are  a  great 
blessing  to  any  community.  Mr.  Holt  took  part  in  the  battles  of 
Manassas,  Roanoke  Island,  was  at  Charleston  during  the  siege  of 
Charleston;  at  the  battle  of  Drury's  Bluff,  Cold  Harbor,  around 
Petersburg,  and  many  other  sharply  contested  and  dangerous  engage- 
ments. At  Petersburg,  Mr.  Holt  received  a  flesh  wound  in  his  face, 
the  scar  of  which  he  will  carry  to  the  grave.  He  was  furloughed  in 
consequence  of  it.  His  second  wound  was  received  at  Fort  Harrison, 
where  he  was  shot  through  the  thigh  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  He  was  carried  to  Fortress  Monroe  and  was  placed  in  the 
Chesapeake  hospital,  where  he  remained   for   four  months.     He  was 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  6 


00 


then  sent  to  Fort  Delaware,  from  which  place  he  was  released  June 
i6,  1865. 

HON.  JOHN  McCLINTOCK  DICK. 

Hon.  John  .McClintock  Dick  was  born  in  Guilford  county,  N.  C, 
on  the  6th  of  Januarj',  ijgo.  He  was  descended  from  Scotch-Irish 
stock.  His  classical  education  was  acquired  in  the  celebrated  school 
of  Rev.  Daniel  Caldwell,  D.  D.,  a  distinguished  patriot  of  the  Revo- 
lution, an  eminent  scholar  and  a  pious  and  eloquent  preacher.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1816,  and  settled  in  Greensboro,  where  he 
always  had  his  home.  He  was  successful  in  the  practice  of  the  law, 
and  acquired  considerable  propertj'.  In  1S21  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Parthenia  P.  Williamson,  of  the  county  of  Person,  N.  C.,  and  had  by 
her  ten  children.  He  was  twice  elected  a  senator  of  the  state  for  his 
native  county,  and  his  services  received  the  approval  of  his  constitu- 
ents. In  1835  lie  was  elected,  by  the  legislature,  a  superior  court 
judge,  and  held  this  office  until  the  time  of  his  death,  on  the  15th  of 
October,  1S61.  He  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  qualities  and  vir- 
tues that  adorn  and  benefit  individual,  domestic  and  social  live.  In 
public  life  he  gained  and  always  retained  the  sincere  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  As  a  judge,  he  was  honest,  patient 
and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  official  duties.  His  highly  respect- 
able knowledge  of  the  law;  his  wisdom  matured  by  long  experience 
and  careful  reflection;  and  his  purity  of  character  and  conscientious 
regard  for  the  rights  of  all  men,  enabled  him  to  administer  justice 
with  intelligence  and  impartiality,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  good 
citizens.  His  example  exerted  a  beneficial  influence  upon  the  society 
in  which  he  mingled,  and  his  advice  and  efforts  contributed  to  the 
moral,  educational  and  material  progress  of  the  state.  He  was  a 
good  man  and  his  memory  is  honored  and  cherished  by  his  loving 
and  numerous  friends. 

ROBERT  PAINE  DICK,  LL.  D., 

judge  of  the  United  States  district  court,  is  the  son  of  John  McClin- 
tock  Dick,  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina  for 
twenty  years.  The  maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Parthenia  P. 
Williamson,  of  Person  county.  Robert,  who  is  the  second  of  ten 
children,  was  born  October  5,  1823.  He  was  pTepared  for  college  at 
the  Caldwell  institute,  in  Greensboro,  under  that  eminent  educator, 
Rev.  Dr.  Alexander.  He  made  such  proficiency  at  this  institute  that 
he  was  enabled  to  enter  the  sophomore  class  of  the  North  Carolina 
university,  from  which  he  graduated  with  distinction  in  1S43.  He 
was  a  faithful  student  and  was  celebrated  in  his  class  for  being  an 
elegant  Avriter  and  a  fine  speaker.  To  prosecute  his  studies  with 
greater  facility,  he  often  retired  to  the  university  forest,  where 
he  erected  a  rustic  seat,  and  there,  by  a  lovely  spring  in 
the  grateful    shade,     on     pleasant   days,    he     was    accustomed     to 


634  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

peruse  his  text  books  and  occasionally  to  make  the  forest  ring 
with  his  declamations.  He  was  a  member  of  the  dialectic  society,  and 
was  one  of  its  most  diligent  members.  He  was  an  honor  graduate 
and  therefore  entitled  to  be  among  the  orators  of  the  graduating 
class.  He  chose  for  his  theme,  "The  Resources  of  North  Carolina," 
and  his  treatment  of  the  subject  showed  that  he  began  life  with  the 
enthusiastic  love  of  his  native  state  which  he  still  possesses.  Mr. 
Dick  chose  law  as  his  profession,  preparing  with  ardor  under  his 
father  and  Mr.  George  C.  Mendenhall,  a  noted  practitioner  of  that 
day.  He  obtained  his  law  license  in  1845,  and  began  the  practice  at 
the  county  seat  of  Rockingham,  called  Wentworth.  He  attended,  as 
his  regular  circuit,  that  county,  with  Guilford  and  Randolph,  and  af- 
terward for  several  years,  Surry,  Stokes,  Forsyth,  Alamance  and  Cas- 
well. There  were  many  lawyers  of  uncommon  strength  with  whom 
young  Dick  had  to  cope,  but  by  faithfulness  to  the  interests  of  his 
clients,  by  thorough  preparation  of  his  cases,  and  zealous  and  intelli- 
gent handling  of  them  in  court,  he  soon  received  a  fair  share  of 
business. 

In  184S  he  married  Mary  E.  Adams,  of  Pittsylvania  county,  Va., 
and  soon  afterward  removed  to  Greensboro,  Guilford  county,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  They  have  five  children.  Mr.  Dick,  like  nearly 
all  ambitious  young  lawyers,  soon  entered  political  life  as  a  member 
of  the  democratic  party.  He  did  not  run  for  an}'  office,  but  made 
many  political  speeches  on  the  tariff,  internal  improvements  and  state 
rights,  always  opposing  secession.  His  party  friends  sent  him  to  the 
democratic  national  convention  at  Baltimore  in  1S52,  at  which  Pierce 
and  King  were  nominated.  Mr.  Dick  did  effective  service  in  the 
campaign,  and  President  Pierce,  recognizing  his  intelligent  labors  for 
his  party,  conferred  on  him  the  office  of  United  States  district  attor- 
ney. In  this  office  he  was  exceedingly  zealous  and  no  professional 
trick  was  ever  imputed  to  him.  He  held  the  office  until  February, 
1S61,  when  he  sent  in  his  resignation.  Although  a  tirm  believer  in 
the  old  democracy',  Mr.  Dick  attached  himself  to  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
and  in  the  Charleston  democratic  convention  struggled  for  the  nom- 
ination of  that  gentleman.  When  the  adjourned  convention  met  at 
Baltimore  he  had  the  moral  courage  to  refuse  to  join  all  the  other 
members  of  the  North  Carolina  delegation  in  their  secession  and 
nomination  of  Breckinridge  at  Richmond,  and  so  heated  was  the 
feeling  that  all  who  declined  to  sanction  the  action  of  the  Richmond 
convention  were  freely  denounced  as  traitors  to  the  cause  of  the  south. 

When  the  war  began  and  the  Union  men  were  forced  to  decide 
between  fighting  for  the  southern  states  or  against  them,  Mr.  Dick 
followed  his  party.  He  accepted  a  seat  in  the  convention  of  1S61,  to 
which  he  was  elected  without  opposition.  He  was  a  worth}'  member 
of  this  body  and  acted  with  the  party  headed  by  Graham  and  Badger. 
He  voted  for  Badger's  declaration  of  independence,  but  when  this 
failed  to  pass,  he,  in  common  with  all  the  other  members  of  the  con- 
vention, gave  his  voice  for  secession.  Until  1864  he  acted  with  the 
conservative  party  of  which  Gov.  Vance  was  the  leader.     His  prom- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  033 

inence  during  those  tr^'ing  times  led  to  the  request  of  President 
Johnson  that  he  with  others  should  proceed  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment and  advise  with  him  as  to  the  best  mode  of  restoring  the  state 
government.  Mr.  Dick  earnestly  advised  the  restoration  of  the  state 
under  its  old  constitution  and  form  of  government,  with  some  neces- 
sary amendments,  and  he  also  urged  a  general  amnesty.  The  sub- 
stance of  this  plan  had  been  approved  by  President  Lincoln  and 
granted  by  Gen.  Sherman  in  the  articles  of  capitulation  of  Gen. 
Johnston's  army,  but  President  Johnson,  after  Lincoln's  assassina- 
tion, declined  to  ratify  it.  He,  however,  tendered  to  Mr.  Dick  the 
office  of  United  States  district  judge,  which  he  accepted,  but  resigned 
when  he  found  that  he  could  not  retain  it  without  taking  the  test 
oath.  He  returned  to  the  practice  of  law  and  soon  gained  a  large 
business.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1S65-66  called  by 
President  Johnson. 

Being  convinced  that  the  restoration  of  the  state  to  its  normal  re- 
lations with  the  Federal  government  belonged  to  the  legislative  and 
not  the  executive  branch  of  the  government,  Mr.  Dick  advocated 
with  zeal  and  ability  the  acceptance  of  the  "  Howard  amendment" 
as  containing  the  best  terms  of  re-construction  which  congress  was 
likely  to  grant.  Judge  Dick  was  elected  in  April,  1S68,  a  justice  of 
the  supreme  court.  "This  position  he  held  until  1872,  when  he  re- 
signed in  order  to  accept  the  judgeship  of  the  United  States  district 
court  for  the  western  district  of  North  Carolina,  tendered  him  by 
President  Grant.  .A.s  a  member  of  the  supreme  court,  Judge  Dick 
■\vas  called  to  aid  in  deciding  many  delicate  and  difficult  questions 
growing  out  of  conflicting  legislation,  the  constitution  of  186S  and  the 
code  of  civil  procedure.  As  judge  of  the  district  court  he  has  been 
distinguished  for  his  kindly  temper  in  administering  the  internal  rev- 
enue laws  of  the  United  States.  He  presides  with  impartial  courtesy 
and  patience,  and  studies  the  cases  before  him  with  the  utmost  care. 
His  rulings  have  been  generally  sustained  by  the  appellate  courts. 
Judge  Dick  has  not  only  devoted  attention  to  the  law  and  history,  but 
he  has  specially  studied  Biblical  literature.  In  Sunday  afternoon  lec- 
tures to  his  law  classes  he  has  treated  with  singular  beauty  of  language 
and  wealth  of  illustration,  "The  Influences  of  Poetry  and  the  Bible  of 
Modern  Civilization;"  "The  Education,  Character  and  Laws  of  the 
Hebrews;"  "The  Style  of  Hebrew  Poetry;"  "  Messianic  Hopes;"  "The 
Age  of  David  and  Solomon;"  "The  Prophets,"  and  "  The  Jews  in  His- 
tory and  Their  Return  to  the  Promised  Land."  These  topics,  with  oth- 
ers, are  discussed  in  sixteen  lectures,  making  a  volume  of  over  200 
pages,  written  in  a  most  loving  and  reverent  spirit,  and  in  beautiful, 
often  exceedingly  eloquent  language.  Judge  Dick's  powers  as  a  writer 
and  orator  are  frequently  called  upon,  and  he  has  delivered  literary  ad- 
dresses at  the  state  university,  at  Davidson  college,  and  many  acade- 
mies and  schools.  He  has  been  for  years  an  ardent  advocate  of 
temperance  reform,  and  has  delivered  strong  addresses  for  its 
furtherance.     Judge   Dick  is  an   active  and  useful  member  of   the 


636  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Presbyterian  church,  beuig  one  of  the  congregational  officers — ruling 
elder.  He  takes  much  interest  in  Sunday-school  instruction,  being 
superintendent  of  that  connected  with  his  church. 

if 
DR.  GEORGE  W.  PUREFOY, 

a  proiiiinent  and  popular  young  physician  of  Asheville,  N.  C,  was 
born  at  Chapel  Hill,  Orange  county,  N.  C,  January  31,  1851,  and  is 
the  son  of  Rev.  George  W.  Purefoy,  D.  D.,  a  prominent  Baptist 
divine  who  died  in  18S0.  Rev.  George  W.  Purefoy  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  John  Purefo3^  also  a  Baptist  minister,  and  who,  besides  the 
Rev.  George  W.  Purefoy,  had  two  other  sons  in  the  Baptist  min- 
istry. Rev.  John  Purefoy  was  a  native  North  Carolinian,  and  the 
grandson  of  a  French  Huguenot  who  came  to  America  from  France 
at  the  time  of  the  revocation  of  the. edict  of  Nantes.  The  mother  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Lucy  C,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Will- 
iam H.  Merritt,  a  Baptist  minister.  She  was  born  in  North  Carolina, 
and  is  still  living.  Dr.  George  W.  Purefoy  was  reared  on  a  farm  ad- 
joining Chapel  Hill.  He  was  prepared  for  colle,Q:e  by  Prof.  M.  Fetter, 
a  well-known  educator  of  that  day,  and  after  spending  one  year  in 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  he,  in  1870,  on  account  of  the  sus- 
pension of  that  institution,  entered  Wake  Forest  college,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1S74  as  a  bachelor  of  science.  He  at  once  en- 
tered upon  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  the  fall  of  1874  entered  the 
Jefferson  medical  college  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1876.  He  began  his  professional  career  at  once  in  his  old  home. 
Chapel  Hill,  and  soon  secured  the  confidence  of  the  communit}-,  and 
won  a  lucrative  practice  there,  to  which  he  devoted  himself  until 
1S85.  In  that  year.  Dr.  Purefoy,  desiring  a  broader  field  of  labor, 
removed  to  Asheville,  where  he  has  successfully  and  actively  prac- 
ticed his  profession  ever  since,  and  of  which  city  he  is  a  prominent 
physician.  In  order  to  better  equip  himself  for  his  profession,  Dr. 
Purefoy  has  frequently  taken  post-graduate  courses.  In  May,  i8go, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  state  board  of 
medical  examiners  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  department  of 
obstetrics  and  gynecology.  He  is  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
state  medical  society  and  of  the  Buncombe  county  medical  society. 
Dr.  Purefoy  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  in  politics  he  is  a 
democrat,  but  takes  no  active  part  in  partisan  contests.  He  was 
married  in  1880,  at  which  time  Miss  Lizzie,  the  daughter  of  John 
Watson,  a  wealthy  planter  of  Warren  county,  N.  C,  became  his  wife. 
They  are  the  parents  of  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 
The  doctor  is  universally  recognized  as  a  man  of  great  force  of  char- 
acter, intrinsic  worth  and  strong  moral  tendencies.  He  is  studious, 
well-read  and  fluent  in  speech,  and  accurate  in  composition,  as  well 
as  a  close  investigator  of  science.  Having  ever  been  conscientious  in 
the  performance  of  his  professional  duties,  he  has  reached  the  front 
rank  as  a  physician,  and  his  social  standing  is  co-equal  with  his  pro- 
fessional position. 


C^  C-y^-L. 


//^^^ 


/ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  637 


HON.  JAMES  A.  LOCKHART 

is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  having  been  born  in  Anson  count)', 
that  state,  June  2,  1850.  His  father,  Adam  Lockhart,  was  born  in 
North  Carolina,  and  in  early  life  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture, 
in  which  he  has  been  most  successful.  He  married  Miss  Ann 
McDiermid,  a  daughter  of  Martin  and  Mar}*  McDiermid.  .She  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years,  in  185S,  and  was  a  woman  of  culture 
and  exemplary  life.  Martin  and  Mar)'  McDiermid  came  to  this 
country  from  Scotland  in  1820,  and  settled  in  the  Cape  Fear  section, 
subsequentl)^  removing  to  Anson  county.  The  latter's  mother  was 
descended  from  the  Ferguson  family,  of  which  the  famous  Col.  Fer- 
guson was  a  member.  Col.  Ferguson  commanded  the  British  forces 
at  King's  Mountain.  James  A.  Lockhart  was  the  eldest  of  four 
children  born  to  his  parents.  In  June,  1873,  he  was  graduated  from 
Trinity  college,  and  immediately  thereafter  began  the  study  of  law 
under  the  direction  of  Col.  Clement  Dawd,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  and 
in  June,  1874,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Having  received  his 
license  to  practice,  Mr.  Lockhart  decided  to  take  up  his  resi- 
dence at  \Vadesboro,  and  he  has  since  been  most  happily  situated 
there,  having  succeeded  in  building  up  an  extended  practice. 
Soon  after  his  removal  to  Wadesboro  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
mayor  of  the  cit)',  and  served  one  term.  In  1878  he  was  chosen  to 
represent  the  county  in  the  house  of  representatives  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  iSSo  was  elected  to  the  state  senate.  While  a  member 
of  the  legislature  he  was  appointed  to  some  of  the  most  important 
committees  of  that  body,  and  his  course  was  both  dignified  and  able. 
He  was  married  on  the  6th  of  February,  187S,  to  Miss  Caroline,  the 
youngest  daughter  of  Judge  Thomas  S.  Ashe,  of  the  state  supreme 
bench.  That  gentleman  was  a  member  of  the  Confederate  house  of 
representatives,  and  later  was  a  senator  under  the  Confederate  gov- 
ernment. After  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  he  represented  his  district 
in  the  United  States  congress  for  several  years,  and  was  twice  elected 
to  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina.  He  died  in  February,  1S87, 
during  his  last  term  as  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court.  He  married  a 
Miss  Burgwyn,  of  North  Carolina,  who  still  survives  him.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lockhart  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  named  Margie  A., 
George  B.,  James  A.,  Sebor  S.,  and  Ashe. 

HON.  JOHN  L.  CURRIE, 

sheriff  of  Moore  county,  N.  C,  w^as  born  in  Moore  count)',  Novem- 
ber 4,  1861,  and  is  a  son  of  N.  R.  and  Jcnnette  (Leach)  Currie.  Both 
parents  were  born  in  North  Carolina,  where  for  many  years  the  father 
was  extensively  engaged  in  agriculture.  He  served  as  captain  of  a 
home  company  during  the  Civil  war,  and  was  a  man  of  inHuence  in 
the  community.  P'or  many  years  he  was  an  active  and  valued  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  was  his  wife.     Seven  children  were 


6-?S  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


-■J 


born  to  them,  viz.:  Angus  M.,  who  is  engaged  in  railroading  in 
Texas;  Sarah  and  Mary;  Murd,  who  married  Miss  Robinson,  a  sister 
of  Dr.  Robinson,  of  Guilford  college;  Maggie,  wife  of  C.  Cole  (their 
two  children  are  Nettie  and  John  W.  Cole) ;  William  A.  and  John  L. 
The  latter  was  prepared  for  college  at  Union  Home  school,  then 
under  the  management  of  Prof.  John  E.  Kelley.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  in  1884,  Mr.  Currie  was  elected  surveyor  of  the 
count}',  and  two  years  later  was  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  sheriff, 
but  was  defeated  by  a  small  majorit}'.  His  opponent  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  men  in  the  county.  Mr.  Currie  was  again  nominated 
for  that  office  in  18S8,  being  pitted  against  the  same  candidate  as 
before,  and  this  time  was  elected  by  a  handsome  majority,  and  in 
iSqo  was  re-elected  without  opposition.  Mr.  Currie  is  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  is  also  prominently  connegted 
with  the  farmers'  alliance.  It  is  seldom  that  one  so  young  as  he, 
when  first  placed  in  public  ot^ce,  is  brought  before  the  people  in  an 
official  capacity.  It  is  a  proof  of  unusual  ability  that  he  has  not  only 
been  successful  in  running  for  office,  but  that  his  administration  of 
the  affairs  of  his  important  trust  has  been  so  satisfactory  to  the  peo- 
ple, and  so  free  from  unhappy  occurrences.  It  is  safe  to  say  that, 
should  life  and  health  be  spared  him,  a  bright  and  useful  career 
awaits  him. 

JOHN  SHAW,  M.  D. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  physicians  and  citizens  of  Moore 
county,  N.  C,  is  John  Shaw,  M.  D.,  who  was  born  in  Moore  county, 
the  son  of  Charles  C.  and  Mary  (Ray)  Shaw,  October  10,  1824.  The 
parents  were  natives  of  Cumberland  county,  N.  C,  and  both  were  of 
Scotch  parentage.  Charles  Shaw  was  an  intelligent  planter,  and 
served  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  181 2.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  his  wife  also  being  a  devout  member  of  that  denom- 
ination. John  Shaw  was  the  second  of  the  ten  children  born  to  these 
parents,  of  whom  seven  still  survive.  He  was  graduated  from  the 
medical  college  of  Philadelphia,  after  having  obtained  a  thorough 
scholastic  training,  and  in  1S48  began  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Carthage,  where  he  has  since  continued.  For  twenty  years 
the  firm  of  Shaw  &  Turner  was  in  existence,  and  after  the  dissolution 
of  that  connection  the  senior  partner  continued  alone  for  seven  or 
eight  years;  at  the  expiration  of  that  time.  Dr.  G.  McLeod  became 
associated  with  him,  this  partnership  still  being  in  force.  In  1858  Dr. 
Shaw  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  and  in  1872  was  again  the 
successful  democratic  candidate  for  that  position.  At  the  present 
time  he  is  serving  as  chairman  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners 
of  Moore  county,  he  having  held  that  office  once  before,  when  ap- 
pointed by  Gov.  Vance  to  fill  an  unexpired  term.  Before  the  Civil 
war  Dr.  Shaw  was  for  many  years  an  efficient  member  of  the  county 
court.  One  of  the  happiest  events  of  his  life  was  his  marriage,  in 
1S52,  to  Miss  Catherine  J.  Jackson,  daughter  of  William  Jackson,  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  639 

Moore  county,  jnd  their  children  are:  Charles  J.,  proprietor  of  the 
Central  hotel  at  Carthage;  John  B..  secretarj'  and  treasurer  of  the 
Carthage  carriage  manufactory;  Mary  J.,  wife  of  Jesse  J.  Wicker; 
Florence,  who  married  Rev.  W.  F.  Watson;  Maggie,  deceased,  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  years,  and  Hattie,  wife  of  Rev.  M.  G.  Shields.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Shaw  are  earnest  and  leading  members  of  the  Presbj-terian 
church,  and  he  is  a  ruling  elder  in  the  same.  Dr.  Shaw  stands  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  medical  profession  in  the  state. 

H.   TURNER,   M.   D. 

The  oldest  physician  of  Moore  county,  X.  C,  is  the  Hon.  H.  Tur- 
ner, M.  D.,  who  is  a  native  of  the  Highlands,  Scotland,  where  he  was 
born  in  1S20.  His  parents,  Malcomb  and  Isabella  (Currie)  Turner, 
came  to  America  one  year  after  the  birth  of  their  son,  in  1821,  and 
settled  in  Moore  county  on  a  plantation,  where  they  continued  to  reside 
until  called  to  their  tinal  rest,  the  father  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine,  in  1853, 
and  the  mother  in  1852,  when  she  was  in  her  sixty-fifth  year.  Both 
were  devout  members  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  church,  and  were 
most  worthy  and  respected  people.  Their  children  were  Daniel,  who 
married  Lydia  Blue,  and  died  in  1853,  aged  thirty-five  years,  and  H., 
our  subject,  and  Alexander  Turner.  Alexander  resides  on  a  planta- 
tion in  Alabama,  and  is  a  prominent  physician,  being  a  graduate  of 
the  Charleston  medical  college;  he  married  Miss  Lottie  Carlton,  who 
was  a  native  of  X^ermont.  Dr.  H.Turner  received  the  greater  part 
of  his  literary  training  in  the  Fayetteville  high  school,  and  in  1847 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  New  York.  After  practicing 
for  a  short  time  alone,  he  became  associated  with  Dr.  John  Shaw,  this 
connection  being  sustained  for  nearly  twenty  years.  During  the  Civil 
war  Dr.  Turner  served  as  surgeon  of  the  Twenty-seventh  North  Car- 
olina regiment,  and  also  as  a  brigade  surgeon.  'Remaining  in  the 
army  until  the  last  surrender,  he  then  returned  home  and  resumed 
his  practice  at  Carthage,  at  the  same  time  turning  his  attention  to 
agriculture.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Cameron.  In  18S1  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature,  and  again,  in  1883,  was  returned  to 
that  assembly.  He  was  a  member  of  the  state  secession  convention 
in  1861,  and  cast  his  vote  in  favor  of  that  measure.  In  1866  Dr.  Tur- 
ner was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Kate  (Ferguson)  Leach,  a 
daughter  of  Norman  Ferguson,  who  was  a  native  of  Scotland.  Two 
children  have  blessed  this  happy  union,  viz.:  Alexander,  who  was  ed- 
ucated at  the  Bingham  military  academy,  now  operating  a  drug  busi- 
ness for  his  father,  and  Lulu,  who  is  a  leading  teacher  of  the  county, 
having  graduated  from  Peace  institute,  at  Raleigh,  and  from  the 
Salem  female  academy.  The  family  are  communicants  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  are  held  in  the  highest  esteem  throughout  the 
community.  Dr.  Turner  is  one  of  the  ablest  physicians  in  that  por- 
tion of  the  state,  and  his  name  is  beloved  as  that  of  a  man  of  unbend- 
ing integrity  and  of  charitable  heart. 


640  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


MATT.  W.  RANSOM, 

the  colleague  of  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  as  United  States  senator  from 
North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  N.  C,  1826.  He  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill,  in 
1847,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  five  years  later,  in  recognition  of 
his  erudition  and  practical  business  ability,  was  elected  attorney- 
general  of  the  state,  which  office  he  resigned  in  1855,  resuming  his 
law  practice.  In  1858,  however,  he  re-appeared  in  politics,  and  was 
elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the  state  legislature,  and  was  re- 
elected and  served  in  the  same  body  during  the  sessions  of  1859  and 
i860.  In  1861  he  was  sent  as  a  peace  commissioner  from  the  state  of 
North  Carolina  to  the  congress  of  southern  states  at  Montgomery, 
Ala.  At  the  opening  of  the  late  Civil  war  he  took  up  arms  for  the 
Confederate  cause  and  was  advanced  in  rank  to  lieutenant-colonel, 
colonel,  brigadier-general  and  major-general,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  surrendering  with  General  Lee  at  Appomatox.  At 
the  close  of  hostilities  he  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  at  the 
same  time  engaged  extensively  in  planting,  pursuing  these  peaceful 
occupations  until  1872,  when  he  again  entered  public  life,  and  in  Janu- 
ary of  that  year  was  elected  as  United  States  senator  by  the  demo- 
crats of  the  state  legislature,  and  took  his  seat  April  24;  three  times 
since  then,  he  has  been  re-elected  to  the  same  high  office,  viz.:  In 
1876,  1883  and  i88g,  and  will  hold  until  March  3,  1895  —  a-  continuous 
period  of  twenty-four  years,  a  record  of  which  he  may  well  feel  proud. 
Senator  Ransom  is  not  aggressive  and  seldom  indulges  in  set 
speeches,  but  he  has  a  keen  insight  into  everything  that  comes  before 
the  august  body  in  which  he  serves,  and  his  vote  is  cast  without  hesi- 
tation either  for  or  against  any  measure  that  his  judgment  approves 
or  disapproves.  Although  somewhat  reticent  while  in  Washington, 
Mr.  Ransom  is  an  eloquent  speaker  at  the  hustings  and  is  a  power 
in  his  state.  He  has  a  clear,  resonant,  far-reaching  voice  and  his 
gestures  are  exceptionally  graceful.  His  language  is  chaste  and 
forcible,  and  his  style,  while  not  ornate,  is  filled  with  apt  illustrations. 
He  is  tall  in  stature,  is  erect,  and  he  has  a  large,  well-shaped  head. 
His  eyes  are  black  and  piercing,  but  usually  assume  a  mild  and 
kindly  expression.  Mr.  Ransom  is  personally  as  well  known  as  any 
inhabitant  of  the  state,  and  his  popularity  is  co-extensive  with  its 
boundaries,  while  his  national  fame  is  as  enviable  as  his  local  repu- 
tation. 

REV.  BAYLUS  CADE, 

a  prominent  citizen  of  Raleigh,  was  born  in  Barker's  settlement,  Va. 
(now  West  Virginia),  September  3,  1S44.  His  father  was  John  Cade, 
who  was  a  grandson  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier  who  came  to  this 
country  with  Gen.  LaFayette.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Mar- 
garet Wright,  granddaughter  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  whose  parents 


O^L.^1^^ 


} 


-0-t^t.-T^ 


Iv^ 


^Ctn-^i^ 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  64 1 

came  from  England,  in  1767.  Baylus  Cade  was  taught  the  primary 
branches  of  education  by  eleven  months' of  "  old  field  "  schooling. 
In  the  spring  of  1862  he  joined  Company  G,  of  the  Eleventh  Virginia 
cavalry,  and  surrendered  with  Lee,  in  1863.  His  early  education  was 
supplemented  at  Richmond  (Va.)  college,  by  his  entering  that  insti- 
tution in  October,  1866,  and  leaving  it  July  i,  i86g.  He  had  pre- 
viously, in  March,  186S,  been  ordained  to  the  Baptist  ministry. 
January  19,  1870,  Mr.  Cade  was  united  in  marriage  with  Nannie, 
daughter  of  William  A.  and  Elizabeth  J.  Love.  He  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  ministration  of  the-  gospel,  and  in  teaching  at  intervals, 
for  twenty-four  years.  The  field  of  his  labor  has  been  in  the  states 
of  Virginia,  Ohio,  West  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  in  every 
instance  he  proved  himself  to  be  an  efficient  instructor.  Rev.  Cade 
is,  at  this  time,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Lewisburg,  N.  C,,and 
editor  of  the  Progressive  Farmer,  published  at  Raleigh.  This  paper 
is  the  organ  of  the  state  alliance  of  North  Carolina,  has  an  extensive 
circulation  and  wields  a  powerful  inlkience  over  the  politics  of  the 
state.  The  editorials  are  able  and  pungent  and  it  has  an  adver- 
tising patronage  commensurate  with  its  circulation. 

COL.  WILLIAM  JOHNSTON 

was  born  in  Gaston  (formerly  Lincoln)  county,  N.  C,  near  Cowan's 
ford,  on  the  Catawba  river,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Reid) 
Johnston  —  the  latter  a  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Reid,  an  officer  of  the 
Revolution.  Henry  Johnston,  the  father  of  Robert,  was  of  Scotch 
extraction,  and  settled  in  North  Carolina  about  the  year  1740,  and 
also  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  Both 
grandfathers  served  in  the  upper  house  of  the  state  legislature,  and 
were  equally  renowned  as  statesmen  as  well  as  warriors.  To  Robert 
and  Mary  (Reid)  Johnston  were  born  twelve  children  —  seven  sons 
and  five  daughters — and  of  these  there  still  survive:  William,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Davidson  and  Mrs.  Martha  AL 
Rankin. 

After  William  Johnston  had  acquired  a  sufficient  preliminary  edu- 
cation, he  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  was  later 
prepared  for  the  bar  by  Hon.  Richmond  M.  Pearson,  late  chief-justice, 
and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at 
Charlotte,  in  1842,  and  here  he  has  ever  since  made  his  residence. 
He  continued  in  practice  until  1856,  when  he  assumed  the  presidency 
of  the  Charlotte  &  South  Carolina  railroad  company,  and  rescued 
the  road  from  a  state  of  dilapidation  to  a  prosperous  condition.  This 
road  proved  to  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  Confederate  government 
during  the  Civil  war  until  its  destruction  by  .Sherman,  in  I'ebruary, 
1865.  In  185c)  Mr.  Joiinston  inaugurated  the  .Vtlantic,  Tennessee  & 
Ohio  railroad,  and  completed  forty-six  miles  of  construction,  when 
the  oncoming  of  the  war  of  course  led  to  its  abandonment. 

Mr.  Johnston  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  southern  cause,  and 
heartily  endorsed  the  scheme  of  secession,  and  was  sent  by  the  people 
B — 41 


642  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

of  Mecklenburg  to  the  convention  called  by  the  legislature,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1 86 1,  to  consider  Federal  relations.  His  response  to  a  letter 
which  had  been  submitted  by  the  county  convention  to  a  committee 
of  citizens  will  fully  disclose  Mr.  Johnston's  position  on  this  momen- 
tous question: 

CoLUMlilA,  February  7,  1861. 

Oentlemf.n  —  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  4lh  inst.,  propounding  tlie  following  interrogations: 

*' Are  you  in  favor  of  withdrawing  the  state  of  North  Carolina  from  the  present  confederation,  on  the 
assembling  of  the  state  convention?  Are  you  in  favor  of  a  southern  confederacy,  and  tliat  North  Carolina 
take  jirompt  stejis  to  form  one  of  its  members." 

VVithout  hesitation  I  reply  in  the  affirmative  to  both  of  the  foregoing  queries.  It  is  my  deliberate  con- 
viction that  the  true  policy  of  North  Carolina  is  to  sunder  connection  with  the  Federal  government  as 
early  as  practicable.  In  the  present  juncture  of  affairs  this  course  appears  to  be  dictated  by  the  highest 
considerations  of  peace,  security  and  honor.  Having  taken  this  step,  I  believe  that  it  will  be  her  interest 
and  fluty  to  unite  as  speedily  as  possible  in  a  southern  confederacy. 

'riiese,  gentlemen,  are  brielly  my  views,  given  in  the  ntidst  of  other  engagements.  I  have  no  reserve 
on  the  momentous  issues  now  convulsing  the  country.  For  five  years  I  have  taken  no  part  in  politics, 
and  am  frank  in  stating  that  I  desire  none.  It  is  admitted  that  there  may  be  times  in  the  affairs  of  state 
when  no  man  should  feel  at  liberty  to  withhold  his  services  from  the  country.  But  when  it  is  recollected 
that  Mecklenburg  is  not  without  her  "jewels,"  and  that  "  Sparta  hath  many  a  worthier  son  than  he  "  who 
addresses  you,  you  will  admit  the  propriety  of  my  course. 

With  acknowledgement  for  the  kind  motive  which  prompted  your  letter,  and  with  every  feeling  to  sup- 
port cordially  the  nominees  for  your  convention,  I  remain  very  truly, 

Vour  friend  and  fellow  citizen, 

WjLi.iAM  Johnston. 

In  this  convention  Mr.  Johnston  strongly  advocated  the  propriety 
of  North  Carolina's  standing  by  her  sister  states  of  the  south.  A 
second  convention  was  called  for  May  20,  iS6i,and  Mr.  Johnston  was 
again  elected  a  delegate,  receiving  every  vote  cast  in  Mecklenburg. 
He  again  was  fervent  in  his  advocacy  of  secession,  and  the  ordinance 
was  passed  the  first  day  of  the  meeting.  He  was  then  induced  by 
Governor  Ellis  to  accept  the  position  of  commissary-general,  which 
position,  indeed,  had  been  previously  tendered  him,  laut  which  he  had 
declined,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  but  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the 
office  until  the  following  September  only,  when  he  was  compelled  to  re- 
sign to  give  personal  supervision  to  his  railroad  companies.  Later, 
President  Davis  offered  him  a  similar  position  under  the  Confederate 
government,  but  his  transportation  duties  he  thought  to  be  of  more 
value  to  the  country.  In  March,  1862,  Mr.  Johnston  was  called  upon 
to  run  for  the  office  of  governor  of  the  state,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
people,  without  regard  to  party,  was  put  forward  as  a  candidate 
through  the  following  resolutions: 

Whkreas,  Tlie  people  of  North  Carolina  will  be  called  upon  in  August  next  to  make  choice  of  a 
suitable  man  to  fill  the  office  of  governor,  and  believing  that  the  only  motive  which  should  influence  us  in 
making  that  selection  is  a  desire  to  secure  the  services  of  one  who  possesses  capability,  integrity  and  in- 
dustry. 

Resolved^  That  we  pledge  ourselves  to  eschew  old  party  preferences,  and  to  support  any  man  wdio  we 
have  reason  to  believe  will  faithfully  and  fearlessly  discliarge  his  duties  and  favor  a  vigorous  prosecution 
of  the  war  until  our  complete  independence  is  fully  acknowledged. 

Resolved,  That  we  have  seen  the  name  of  our  fellow  citizen,  William  Johnston,  F.sq.,  mentioned  in 
several  of  the  public  prints  of  the  state  as  a  suitable  person  for  the  office  of  governor,  and  that  we  heartily 
join  in  the  recommendation,  and  suggest  him  as  acanilidate  who  will  bring  to  his  aid,  in  discharging  the 
duties  of  governor,  a  varied  experience,  great  industry  and  unimpeachable  integrity. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  are  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  independence  —  for  our  existence  as  a  free  people 
— we  think  that  a  canvass  of  the  state  by  candidates  would  prove  injurious  to  our  cause,  and,  therefore,  ex- 
press the  hope  that  if  there  is  more  than  one  candidate  for  the  office  of  governor  they  will  remain  at  home 
and  allow  the  voters  of  the  state  to  decide  matter  in  a  quiet  way. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  "  643 

But  Mr.  Johnston  had  for  an  opponent  a  most  powerful  rival  in 
the  person  of  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  then  a  colonel  in  the  Confederate 
army,  whose  speeches  in  the  field,  among  the  soldiers,  carried  the  day 
for  him.  The  greatest  service  that  any  one  man  could  render  the  Con- 
federacy throughout  the  war,  however,  was  that  rendered  by  Mr. 
Johnston  in  the  transportation  of  men  and  munitions  of  war,  for  with- 
out this  aid  the  government  would  have  been  powerless.  Before  the 
close  of  the  war,  Col.  Johnston  made  an  effort  to  extend  his  line  from 
Columbia  to  xAugusta,  but  no  great  progress  had  been  made  in  this 
enterprise  before  hostilities  ceased;  after  the  close  of  the  war,  how- 
ever, the  road  was  pushed  through  by  Col.  Johnston,  regardless  of 
great  opposition  from  rival  corporations,  and  a  "plentiful  lack"  of 
capital.  In  1873  the  colonel  retired  from  active  business,  and  has 
since  devoted  his  time  solely  to  his  private  affairs. 

Just  after  peace  had  been  declared.  President  Davis  arrived  in 
Charlotte,  April  iS,  1865,  and  was  there  met  by  Col.  Johnston.  As 
there  has  been  a  statement  made  by  one  Bates  that  Mr.  Davis  spoke 
exidtingl}-  on  hearing  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  it 
may  be  well  here  to  contradict  that  slander,  and  give  the  facts  in 
the  case:  A  small  crowd  had  gathered  on  the  streets  of  Charlotte, 
on  the  day  mentioned  above,  to  greet  Mr.  Davis,  and  while  that  gen- 
tleman was  engaged  in  making  a  brief  address  a  telegram  was  passed 
to  him;  having  read  it,  his  face  assumed  a  serious  expression,  and, 
passing  the  dispatch  to  Col.  Johnston,  Mr.  Davis  immediately  retired 
to  privacy.  Subsequently  Col.  Johnston  volunteered,  when  President 
Davis  was  under  arraignment  by  the  United  States  government,  to 
go  to  New  York  and  furnish  the  facts  to  Charles  O'Conor,  counsel 
for  1  )avis,  as  evidence. 

Colonel  Johnston  was  married,  in  1846,  to  Miss  Ann  Eliza  Graham, 
daughter  of  Dr.  George  "F.  Graham,  the  brother  of  William  A. 
Graham,  and  to  this  union  were  born  four  children,  viz.:  Julia  M., 
wife  of  A.  B.  Andrews,  of  Raleigh;  Frank  G.,  of  Mecklenburg; 
Cora  J.,  wife  of  T.  R.  Robertson,  of  Charlotte,  and  William  R.,  of 
Richmond.     Mrs.  VA'xza.  Johnston  departed  this  life  in  1881. 

HON.  HAMILTON  GLOVER  EWART 

was  born  in  Columbia,  S.  C,  on  the  23rd  day  of  October,  in  the  year 
1849.  His  father  was  James  B.  Ewart,  who  was  born  in  Kershaw 
county,  S.  C,  the  son  of  James,  who  was  the  son  of  James  Beckett 
Ewart,  a  native  of  Ireland.  The  latter  immigrated  to  America  and 
first  located  in  New  York,  but  subsequently  came  to  South  Carolina 
and  for  many  years  was  a  leading  merchant  of  Columbia,  lie  was 
an  extensive  land  owner,  and  in  his  day  was  prominently  identified 
with  the  development  of  his  adopted  state.  James  B.  Ewart,  the 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical  mention,  was  a  lawyer,  and 
although  he  died  before  reaching  iiis  thirtieth  year,  he  came  to  be 
one  of  the  leading  jurists  of  the  state.  He  married  Miss  Mary  A. 
McMahon,  whose  family  for  several  generations  had  been  active  in 


644  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  onward  career  of  South  Carolhia.  Hamilton  G.  Ewart  attended 
the  schools  of  Columbia  during  his  boyhood,  and  after  due  prepara- 
tion, entered  the  University  of  South  Carolina  and  soon  evinced  the 
same  energy  and  brilliancy  that  have  characterized  his  whole  life.  As 
a  student  he  excelled,  having  carried  the  double  courses  of  law  and 
the  regular  classical  studies  at  the  same  time.  In  1872  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class,  having  been  valedictorian, 
and  was  also  given  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  laws.  In  1872  Mr. 
Ewart  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at  Hendersonville, 
N.  C.  We  first  find  him  in  public  life  as  the  register  in  the  office  of 
Chief-Justice  Waite  in  1874.  He  ably  discharged  the  duties  of  this 
important  trust  until  the  abolishment  of  the  office  in  1880.  During 
the  years  of  1873-74  he  was  honored  by  his  townsmen  by  being 
chosen  as  their  mayor,  and  the  fact  of  his  having  served  two  terms 
makes  it  probable  that  he  administered  the  affairs  of  that  position  as 
honorably  and  satisfactorily  as  he  has  since  discharged  other  and 
greater  trusts  to  which  he  has  been  elected  by  the  people.  Mr. 
Ewart  was  reared  among  a  people  who  are  almost  universally  demo- 
crats. He  was  brought  up  in  the  beliefs  of  that  party,  but  his  inde- 
pendent character  asserted  itself  in  1876,  when  he  utterly  refused  to 
vote  for  Horace  Greeley  as  president  of  the  United  .States.  He 
rather  preferred  to  cast  his  vote  for  a  soldier  who  had  at  all  times 
shown  himself  honorable,  therefore  his  vote  was  cast  for  Ulysses  S. 
Grant. 

In  1876  Mr.  Ewart  was  an  elector  on  the  Hayes  and  Wheeler 
ticket.  In  the  year  1884  he  was  nominated  for  congress,  but  was  de- 
feated by  Thomas  D.  Johnson.  In  1886  he  was  chosen  representative 
in  the  state  legislature,  and  during  his  term  of  service  in  that  body 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  corporations,  and  also  a  member 
of  the  committee  on  judiciary.  He  was  the  successful  candidate  for 
congress  in  1888,  and  in  the  fifty-first  congress  Mr.  Ewart  has  made  a 
record  for  himself,  and  brought  honor  on  the  constituency  that  sup- 
ported him.  Asa  member  of  the  committee  on  claims  he  has  shown 
himself  worthy  to  deal  with  great  subjects.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  committees  on  the  merchant  marine  and  private  land  claims. 
The  crowning  act  of  his  public  career  was  his  prominent  relation  to 
the  investigation  of  the  civil  service  commission.  He  drafted  and 
introduced  the  resolution  which  led  to  the  memorable  investigation 
of  that  department  of  the  government  service,  and  handled  the  sub- 
ject with  such  skill  as  to  win  for  him  notice  from  the  entire  newspaper 
press  of  the  country.  The  friends  and  foes  of  the  measure  alike  re- 
spected the  ability  and  seeming  sincerity  of  the  author  of  the  resolu- 
tion. Although  at  all  times  a  loyal  and  earnest  champion  of  the 
republican  party,  Mr.  Ewart  made  a  telling  speech  against  the  pass- 
age of  the  famous  Federal  election  bill,  taking  the  ground  that  the 
bill  would  unneccessarily  engender  renewed  animosity  between  the 
north  and  south.  He  made  an  eloquent  appeal  for  the  passage  of 
educational  laws  suitable  to  reach  the  ignorant  and  degraded  of  the 
south  of  both  colors,  and  also  urged  the  repealing  of  internal  revenue 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  645 

laws,  as  by  these  measures  the  north  would  show  to  the  south  that 
she  was  sincere  in  her  expressions  of  good-will. 

May  6th,  1874,  Mr.  Ewart  was  so  fortunate  as  to  form  a  marriao^e 
alliance  with  Miss  Sarah  C.  Ripley,  the  daughter  of  Col.  Valentine 
Ripley,  a  prominent  merchant  and  planter  of  North  Carolina.  Seven 
children  have  been  born  of  this  union,  named:  Mary  D.,  Eliza 
Adger,  Hamilton  Gustavus,  Sarah  Cordelia,  Valentine,  James  Beckett 
ancl  Matthew  Quay  Ewart.  Mr.  Ewart  is  considerably  interested  in 
agriculture  and  owns  and  operates  a  fine  plantation  a  few  miles  from 
Hendersonville.  He  is  a  member  of  the  farmers'  alliance,  and  has 
alwaj-s  shown  himself  the  friend  of  the  people.  Although  still  a 
young  man,  Mr.  Ewart  has  accomplished  much  more  than  ordinarily 
falls  to  the  lot  of  man.  He  brought  to  his  life  work  a  mind  of  keen, 
receptive  qualities,  and  as  a  lawyer  e.xcels.  He  has  never  sought 
political  office.  Honor  has  sought  him.  His  record  in  both  public 
and  private  life  is  above  reproach,  although  at  times  he  has  done 
things  which  he  knew  would  not  add  to  his  own  aggrandizement. 
His  life  has  been  measured  up  to  a  high  standard,  and  the  outcome 
thus  far  proves  how  well  he  has  succeeded  in  following  the  dictates 
of  his  conscience. 

DR.  WILLIAM  R.  WOOD, 

superintendent  of  the  state  insane  asylum  at  Raleigh,  was  born  near 
Plymouth,  Washington  county,  N.  C,  xXovember  23,  1834.  His  father, 
Richard  Wood,  also  a  native  of  the  state,  was  born  September  25, 
1807,  and,  January  26,  1832,  married  Miss  Emily  Bozeman,  and  to  this 
happy  union  were  born  six  children,  of  whom  three  survive,  viz.: 
William  R.,  Mirabeau  L.  (a  member  of  the  legislature  from  Bertie 
county)  and  Josephine,  widow  of  J.  N.  Gammon,  of  Durham,  N.  C. 
Early  in  his  business  life  Richard  Wood  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  but  in  1836  he  relinquished  merchandising  and  moved  to 
Tennessee,  where  he  remained  for  several  years,  engaged  in  farming 
and  dealing  in  real  estate.  In  1848,  however,  he  returned  to  North 
Carolina,  and  settled  in  Halifax  county,  where  he  passed  away  in 
1865.  Mrs.  Emily  (Bozeman)  Wood  was  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Levin 
Bozeman,  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  and  a  wealthy 
planter  and  ship  owner,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
legislature. 

William  R.  Wood  was  educated  at  an  academy  until  seventeen 
years  old,  when  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr. 
Warren  W.  Ward,  of  Plymouth,  and  subsequently  attended  the 
university  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  graduated 
with  distinction  before  he  had  reached  his  twenty-first  year,  in  1855. 
Soon  after  graduation,  the  young  physician  was  united  in  wedlock 
with  Miss  Mary  E.  Daughtry,  of  Gates  county,  N.  C.,  but  this  lady 
died  a  short  time  after  the  marriage  ceremony,  leaving  no  children. 
The  second  marriage  of  the  doctor  was  in  1862,  to  Miss  Henrietta 
Anthony,  daughter  of  Col.  Whitmil  H.  Anthony,  of  Scotland  Neck, 


646  NORTH  CAROLINA.  " 

and  of  the  family  born  to  this  felicitous  union  there  lives  only  one 
son,  Capt.  John  W.  Wood,  assistant  adjutant-general  of  the  state 
guard,  and  a  lawyer  of  prominence  in  Bertie  county. 

In  185S  Dr.  Wood  located  in  Halifax  county  and  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  profession.  His  success  was  com- 
plete, and  in  it  he  was  kept  busy  until  the  breaking  out  of^  the  Civil 
war,  when  he  entered  the  Confederate  service,  and  during  the  first 
year  served  on  picket  duty  along  the  Potomac,  between  Centerville 
and  Fairfax  C.  H.,  under  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  In  1S62  he  fought 
gallantly  at  Newbern,  and  in  defense  of  Richmond  under  Gen. 
Robert  E.  Lee,  and  at  the  advance  on  Gettysburg  was  severely 
wounded,  which  wound  caused  his  resignation  as  captain  and  his 
temporary  retirement  from  the  service.  In  1S64  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  major  of  the  First  cavalry,  but,  on  account  of  his  old 
wound,  was  again  compelled  to  resign.  He  then  resumed  his  private 
practice,  in  which  he  continued  until  appointed  to  his  present  office 
of  superintendent  of  the  North  Carolina  insane  asylum,  a  position 
for  which  he  is  peculiarly  well  fitted.  F"or  many  years  the  doctor 
has  been  an  active  and  prominent  member  of  the  state  medical  so- 
ciety, and  in  1884  was  elected  president  of  the  state  board  of  medical 
examiners  for  six  years  —  a  position  he  filled  with  dignity  and  great 
ability.  A  descendant  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  the  state,  he 
naturally  takes  great  interest  in  her  progress,  and  none  better  than 
he  is  aware  of  the  immense  wealth  hidden  within  her  bosom,  or  takes 
a  greater  pride  in  its  development.  The  social  standing  of  the  doctor 
is  one  of  undisputed  prominence  and  the  efiiciency  with  which  he 
discharges  his  official  duties  is  the  admiration,  not  only  of  his  innum- 
erable personal  friends,  but  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  at  large. 

JAMES  DODGE  GLENN 

was  born  October  20,  1852,  in  Rockingham  county,  N.  C.  and  is  the 
son  of  Chalmers  Glenn,  who  was  related  to  Thomas  Chalmers,  the 
great  Scotch  divine.  Chalmers  Glenn  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in 
1830.  Graduating  from  Judge  Pearson's  law  school  in  Vaclkin 
county,  N.  C.,  he  then  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession, 
and  rose  to  eminence.  He  was  a  whig,  and  strongly  opposed  to  the 
disruption  of  the  Union  in  i860,  but  when  the  south  seceded  as  a 
body  he  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  new  government,  and  in  April, 
1861,  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Thirteenth  North  Carolina  regiment 
volunteer  infantry,  and  was  elected  first  lieutenant,  subsequently  be- 
ing promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
South  Mountain,  September  14,  1S62.  None  fought  better,  and  had 
he  lived  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  he  would  have  risen  to  still 
greater  rank  in  the  army.  In  December,  1851,  Captain  Glenn  mar- 
ried Miss  Anna  Dodge,  a  daughter  of  Col.  James  R.  Dodge,  of  Yad- 
kin county,  N.  C,  and  to  them  were  born  five  children  of  whom  three 
are  now  living,  viz.:  James  Dodge  Glenn,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C; 
Robert  B.  Glenn,  of  Winston,  N.  C,  and  Edward  Travis  B.  Glenn,  of 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  647 

Macon,  Ga.  Chalmers  Glenn  was  brought  up  in  the  family  of  Dr. 
E.  T.  Brodnax,  of  Rockingham  county,  N.  C.,  as  his  mother  died  in 
giving  him  birth.  He  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  his  integrity 
was  unimpeachable.  His  father  was  John  W.  Glenn,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  whose  death  occurred  in  1S50.  John  W.  Glenn  was 
the  son  of  James  Anderson  Glenn,  who  was  a  native  of  Scotland, 
whence  he  came  to  America  in  his  early  manhood.  He  settled  in 
Pittsylvania  county,  Va.,  and  there  married  Miss  Wilson,  a  descendant 
of  a  prominent  old  \'irginia  connection.  James  D.  Glenn  is  descended 
from  a  family  of  noble  heritage  on  the  maternal  as  well  as  the  pater- 
nal side.  His  mother,  Anna  Dodge  Glenn,  was  a  granddaughter  of 
Gen.  Richard  Dodge,  of  New  York,  who  was  a  brigadier-general  in 
the  United  States  army,  and  was  in  command  of  Sackett's  Harbor 
during  the  war  of  181 2.  He  married  Miss  Ann  S.  Irving,  who  was  a 
sister  of  Washington  Irving.  James  R.  Dodge,  the  father  of  Anna 
Dodge  Glenn,  was  born  in  New  York,  and  left  his  native  state  to  set- 
tle in  the  western  portion  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  married  a 
Miss  Williams,  daughter  of  Col.  Joseph  Williams,  of  Surrey  county, 
N.  C,  and  a  niece  of  Nicholas  Williams.  She  is  a  sister  of  Richard 
Irving  Dodge,  a  colonel  in  the  United  States  army. 

After  the  death  of  his  father,  James  D.  was  adopted  by  his  uncle. 
Dr.  E.  T.  Brodnax,  of  Rockingham  county,  and  attended  the  Vir- 
ginia militarj'  institute  at  Lexington,  Va.,  and  graduated  with  distinc- 
tion in  1S71.  Upon  leaving  school  he  adopted  the  profession  of  civil 
engineering,  and  followed  the  same  for  two  years.  Owing  to  the 
declining  health  of  his  uncle,  Dr-  Brodnax,  he  gave  up  civil  engineer- 
ing, and  took  charge  of  his  uncle's  farm  in  Rockingham  county, 
which  he  successfully  managed  from  1S73  until  1885.  In  18S0  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature,  as  a  representative  from  Rockinghan\ 
county,  making  one  of  the  most  dignified  and  brilliant  canvasses  in 
the  history  of  that  county.  His  course  in  the  legislature  was  so 
entirely  in  consonance  with  the  best  interests  of  the  people,  so  able, 
conscientious  and  faithful,  that  he  was  re-elected  in  18S2  and  in  1884, 
serving  in  that  honorable  position  three  terms,  or  six  years.  In  1881 
he  was  elected  as  captain  of  Company  H,  Third  regiment  North 
Carolina  state  guard.  In  1882  he  was  elected  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Third  regiment,  and  in  1884  elected  colonel.  He  was  re-elected 
in  1886  and  1888,  and  appointed  adjutant-gcmeral  by  Gov.  Fowle 
in  1889.  In  commenting  upon  the  appointment  of  Gen.  Glenn,  the 
Slate  Chronicle  very  justly  remarks:  "Gov.  Fowle  could  not  have 
made  a  wiser  selection  of  an  adjutant-general  than  he  made  in  the 
appointment  of  Col.  James  D.  Glenn.  His  appointment  has  been 
received  with  pleasure  and  satisfaction  throughout  the  state."  And 
Gen.  Glenn,  by  his  courteous,  soldierly  bearing,  his  skill  as  a  military 
leader,  and  his  devotion  to  the  highest  interests  of  the  state,  has 
abundantly  proven  the  wisdom  of  Gov.  Fowle's  selection.  Endowed 
with  brilliant  intellectual  powers,  and  actuated  by  a  noble  aml)ition 
to  be  useful  in  the  accomplishment  of  good  in  his  day  and  generation, 
a  bright  future  is  opening  before  him. 


648  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

General  Glenn  was  married  in  June,  1S77,  to  Miss  Mary,  the  ac- 
complished daughter  of  Dr.  John  G.  Brodnax.  Four  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  but  only  the  younger  two  are  now  living. 
Gen.  Glenn  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason,  and  has  been  honored  with 
the  highest  local  offices  of  that  ancient  and  honorable  fraternity, 
being  a  past  master  of  the  lodge  and  eminent  past  commander  of  the 
commandery  of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  is  also  a  consistent  and 
active  member  of  the  Prc;testant  Episcopal  church.  For  four  years 
Gen.  James  D.  Glenn  was  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  agriculture 
from  the  fifth  congressional  district,  and  only  resigned  that  office  to 
accept  a  position  in  the  United  States  marshal's  office,  at  Greensboro, 
N.  C.,  having  been  appoinced  thereto  by  Gov.  Vance. 

WILLIAM  H.  HARRELL,  M.  D., 

is  descended  from  an  old  and  honorable  connection.  He  is  a  son  of 
William  H.  and  Annie  (Long)  Harrell,  both  parents  having  been 
born  in  Martin  county.  William  H.  Harrell,  Sr.,  was  a  man  of  ability 
and  standing  in  the  community.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  having 
completed  a  thorough  academic  training,  he  was  made  a  deputy 
sheriff  of  the  county,  and  subsequently  was  elected  sheriff,  having 
filled  that  ofifice  for  many  years.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1867, 
he  was  clerk  of  the  superior  court.  His  wife  survived  him  until  1S90, 
when  she,  too,  went  to  rest.  The  son  and  namesake  was  born  in 
Martin  county,  on  the  family  estate,  on  the  23rd  of  September,  1864. 
His  literary  training  was  obtained  in  the  Williamston  academy,  and 
after  completing  the  course  there  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
with  Dr.  T.  .S.  Burbank,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  was  graduated 
from  the  medical  college  of  Virginia,  at  Richmond,  with  the  class 
of  1885,  and  in  the  same  year  received  a  diploma  from  the  New  York 
Polyclinical  institute.  At  this  time  Dr.  Harrell  opened  an  office  at 
Williamston,  and  he  is  now  the  oldest  practitioner  of  the  town.  He 
is  a  prominent  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  and  is  chairman 
of  one  branch  of  that  organization,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Martin  county  medical  society,  at  the  present  time  holding  the  ofifice 
of  county  superintendent  of  health.  As  a  Mason  he  is  active  and  es- 
teemed, being  master  of  the  Williamston  lodge,  Canaba  chapter,  and 
he  is  also  a  member  of  Hassell  encampment  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Dr. 
Harrell  is  an  original  stockholder  in  the  Williamston  furniture  fac- 
tory, and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  every  movement  calculated  to 
increase  the  prosperity  of  the  town.  He  is  active  in  local  politics,  and 
is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  democratic  party. 

EDWARD  CHANCEY  REGISTER,  M.  D. 

The  subject  whose  name  heads  this  sketch  is  one  of  the  most  skill- 
ful and  successful  physicians  now  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  North 
Carolina,  of  which  state  he  is  a  native,  having  been  born  in  Duplin 
county,  October  20,  i860.     His  parents  are  Dixon  Sloan  Register  and 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  649 

Sarah  (Wilkins)  Register.  The  father  is  also  a  native  of  Duplin 
county,  of  which  county  he  has  long  been  an  e.vtensive  and  wealthy 
planter  of  prominence.  He  is  of  English  ancestors,  who,  in  an  early 
day,  settled  in  Duplin  county,  and  all  of  whom  were  farmers  by  voca- 
tion. Sarah,  the  mother  of  our  subject,  was  also  born  in  Duplin  county, 
unto  English  parentage.  To  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Register  were 
born  four  children,  a  daughter  and  three  sons. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  upon  a  plantation,  but  early 
in  his  youth  was  sent  from  home  and  placed  in  school — first  in  a 
private  school  at  Warsaw,  N.  C,  and  two  years  later  was  admitted  to 
the  university  at  Chapel  Hill,  where  he  completed  a  two  years' 
course  in  the  classics.  Then,  desiring  to  take  up  the  study  of  medicine, 
he  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  university  under  the  in- 
struction of  T.  \V.  Harris,  Al.  D.,  graduating  from  the  department  in 
June,  1S83.  During  the  winters  of  1883-4  and  1884-5  he  spent  sixteen 
months  in  medicine  at  the  university  of  New  York  city,  receiving  the 
degree  of  M.  D.,  in  March  of  1S85.  He  had  begun  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  1SS3,  after  his  graduation  in  medicine  at  Chapel  Hill,  but 
suspended  it  to  attend  the  university  at  New  York  city,  and  after  his 
graduation  there  he  located  at  Enochville,  N.  C,  and  began  practic- 
ing in  his  chosen  profession,  continuing  till  December,  18S7,  when  he 
located  in  Charlotte,  where  from  the  first  he  has  conducted  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice.  He  has  rapidly  risen  in  the  profession,  and 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty  years  ranks  among  the  foremost  physicians 
of  his  state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  association  and  is 
a  leading  member  of  the  Charlotte  academy  of  medicine.  He  main- 
tains a  general  practice  and  is  a  thoroughly  posted  man  in  every 
branch  of  his  profession.  He  is  a  close  attendant  to  his  work,  and  is 
thorough  and  cautious  in  diagnosis;  and  is  of  a  kind  and  tender  dis- 
position; free  of  all  bigotry,  and  in  bearing  manifests  refinement  and 
culture.  He  is  of  tall  and  striking  physique,  neat  and  attractive  in  ap- 
pearance. He  is  progressive  as  a  citizen,  respected  and  honored  as 
a  moral  and  religious  man.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  l^pisco- 
pal  church,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  fraternity  of  I'^ree  Masons. 
In  1887  he  was  wedded  to  Miss  Lavenia  C.  Montgomery,  an  accom- 
plished lady  of  Concord,  N.  C. 

ALBERT  D.  PARROTT 

was  born  in  Lenoir  county,  N.  C,  on  the  24th  day  of  January,  1S53, 
the  son  of  James  M.  and  Elizabeth  (Waters)  Parrott.  The  great- 
grandfather of  our  subject  was  .Simon  Parrott,  who  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. In  his  early  manhood  he  settled  in  Virginia,  and  there  died. 
His  son,  Jacob,  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1793,  and  came  to  North 
Carolina  in  1810.  He  married  Miss  Percy  Arendelj,  a  highly  edu- 
cated and  refined  woman,  who  gave  him  an  education.  She  was  a 
great-granddaughter  of  the  Earl  of  Arendell,  of  Scotland.  Jacob  be- 
gan life  as  a  day  laborer,  and  saved  sufficient  money  to  purchase  a 
small  plantation,  and  finally  became  a  very  wealthy  man,  and  an  e.\- 


650  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

tensive  land  owner.  He  reared  a  family  of  four  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters. James  M.  was  the  youngest  son.  His  birth  occurred  in  Lenoir 
county  in  1824,  on  the  homestead  which  had  been  patented  by 
William  Arendeil,  and  since  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Parrott 
family.  He  became  a  planter;  served  as  a  captain  in  the  state 
militia,  and  was  one  of  the  first  and  largest  stockholders  in  the 
A.  &  N.  C.  railroad  company,  and  was  a  director  in  that  organization 
vmtil  his  death.  For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
internal  improvements,  and  was  one  of  Gov.  Worth's  council,  and  a 
director  in  the  State  bank,  at  Newbern.  Prominent  in  church  work, 
he  was  for  many  years  identified  with  the  Disciples  church;  was  a 
leading  Mason  and  a  stanch  friend  to  public  education.  He  died  in  1878, 
his  wife  still  surviving  him.  Albert  D.,  George  F.,  James  M.,  Susan  M., 
and  Thomas  W.  are  the  children  born  to  them.  Albert  D.  Parrott 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  became  a  civil 
engineer,  and  was  the  youngest  man  to  graduate  from  that  institu- 
tion with  the  degree  of  C.  E.,  he  being  Taut  eighteen  years  of  age. 
After  completing  the  course  there  Mr.  Parrott  was  employed  in  the' 
government  survey  of  West  Virginia  for  six  months,  and  then  re- 
turned home  and  turned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  being  a  part 
owner  in  the  homestead  plantation  of  1,000  acres.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  A.  &  N.  C.  railroad;  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fratern- 
ity; a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  president  of  the  graded 
schools  of  Kingston;  has  served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  many 
years,  and  also  as  a  member  of  the  special  court  of  the  county.  In 
1876  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  M.  Karnegy,  daughter  of 
John  M.  Karnegy,  and  their  children  are:  John  L.,  Robert  D.,  and 
Charlotte  M.  Mr.  Parrott  is  a  prominent  and  influential  member  of 
the  Episcopal  church. 

DR.  GEORGE  G.  THOMAS, 

one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  Wilmington,  was  born  in  Edgecomb, 
in  1S48,  and  is  the  son  of  Dr.  William  G.  Thomas,  who  died  on  the 
i8th  of  February,  1890.  Dr.  George  G.  Thomas  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Wilmington  when  he  was  but  three  years  old.  He  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  schools  of  this  city,  and,  in  1864,  en- 
tered the  University  of  North  Carolina,  remaining  there  until  he  en- 
tered the  sophomore  class,  when  he  began  a  course  of  study  at  the 
University  of  Virginia.  He  studied  there  for  three  years,  but  was 
compelled  to  abandon  it  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  afterward  com- 
pleted a  medical  course  in  the  University  of  Marjdand,  at  Baltimore, 
graduating  from  the  institution  in  187 1.  He  began  the  duties  of  his 
profession  the  following  year  at  Wilmington,  and  has  remained  here 
since  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  successful  and  lucrative  practice.  At  first 
he  was  in  partnership  with  his  father,  a  renowned  physician  of  the 
south,  and  at  the  death  of  that  gentleman  remained  alone  in  the 
practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society,  of  which  he 
has  served  as  president,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  board  of  medi- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  65 1 

cal  examiners.  Dr.  Thomas  was  married,  in  1873,10  Miss  James,  a 
native  of  Orange  county  and  the  daughter  of  Dr.  P.  James.  The 
union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  two  sons.  Dr.  Thomas  is  as- 
sociate editor  of  the  North  Carolina  Medical  yournal,  and  during 
the  sickness  of  Dr.  Wood,  in  1SS6,  he  acted  as  its  editor.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  England  and  fraternally  belongs  to  the 
K.  of  P.  lodge. 

DENNIS  SIMMONS. 

One  of  the  e.xtensive  lumber  manufacturers  of  the  state  of  North 
Carolina  is  Dennis  Simmons,  a  resident  of  Williamston,  N.  C.  Mr. 
Simmons  was  born  in  Carrituck  county,  N.  C,  on  the  27th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1S26,  his  parents  being  Thomas  and  Martha  (Duncan)  .Simmons, 
natives  of  the  same  county.  These  parents  died  before  the  son  had 
reached  the  years  of  manhood.  Ashel  Simmons,  the  paternal  grand- 
father, was  a  major  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  a  man  of  much 
prominence.  Mr.  Dennis  Simmons  was  engaged  until  his  nineteenth 
year  in  gaining  an  education.  At  the  latter  year  he  embarked  in  the 
lumber  business,  and  in  1857  settled  in  Martin  county.  In  1865  he 
removed  to  Williamston,  and  has  since  resided  there.  At  the  time 
of  his  settlement  in  Martin  county,  in  1857,  Mr.  Simmons  began  the 
manufacture  of  shingles,  and  in  1877  he  erected  a  large  mill  on 
Roanoke  river,  near  Astoria,  for  the  manufacture  of  shingles  and 
lumber.  This  property  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1884,  and  was  re- 
built in  1887  on  a  much  larger  scale.  Since  that  time  another  exten- 
sive plant  has  been  erected  on  the  Tar  river,  and  with  the  combined 
capacity  of  these  plants  Mr.  Simmons  has  built  up  one  of  the  most 
im]>ortant  industries  in  the  state.  Within  the  past  few  years  Mr.  D.  1). 
Simmons  and  Mr.  D.  W.  Tillman  have  been  associated  with  him  in 
business,  and  now  have  the  management.  At  one  time  Mr.  Simmons 
was  an  extensive  stockholder  in  the  Roanoke,  Norfolk  &  Haltimore 
steamboat  company,  serving  as  president  of  that  corporation  for  some 
time.  From  1870  to  1884  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  John  D.  Biggs 
&  Co.,  the  leading  merchants  of  Williamston,  and  at  the  present  time 
he  is  one  of  the  large  and  successful  planters  of  the  county.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  he  was  tax  assessor  of  Martin  county  and  Williams- 
ton, and  has  rendered  efficient  service  as  a  democrat.  His  marriage 
was  solemnized  with  Miss  Martha  Alexander,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Alexander,  of  Tyrell  county,  N.  C,  in  1857.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Simmons  are  earnest  members  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  church,  and 
lie  is  superintendcmt  of  the  .Sunday-school  of  the  socit^ty  ol  Williams- 
ton. He  is  a  man  of  much  inlUience,  and  is  known  with  great  favor 
throughout  the  county  and  state. 

HON.  CALEB  B.  GREEN, 

one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Durham  county  and  clerk  of  the 
superior  court,  was  born  in  Person  county,  in  1848.     His  parents  were 


652  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Mager  and  Anna  (Brooks)  Green,  both  natives  of  North  Carolina. 
The  father  was  a  farmer  and  took  but  little  interest  in  politics,  though 
he  served  a  term  in  the  legislature.  He  was  a  quiet,  unassuming 
man,  and  took  his  greatest  pleasure  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  yet 
he  was  quite  well  known  in  his  county  and  was  highly  respected  as 
an  honest,  square  business  man.  He  and  his  wife  were  devout  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  They  went  from  labor  to  reward,  the 
father  in  1878,  aged  seventy-two;  the  mother  in  1867,  aged  fifty-nine. 
These  parents  had  eight  children,  our  subject  being  the  only  one 
now  living;  all  the  other  members  of  the  family  died  with  the  con- 
sumption except  the  father.  Our  subject  began  for  himself  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  years,  and  learned  the  printing  business,  which  he 
followed  about  sixteen  years.  He  established  the  Durham  Tobacco 
Plant  in  January,  1872,  and  this  was  the  first  paper  ever  published  in 
Durham.  He  edited  and  owned  this  paper  until  September,  1886, 
when  he  sold  it.  After  this,  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Globe.  In 
1874  he  was  elected  county  commissioner  of  Orange  county,  and 
served  two  years.  In  iSSo  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
from  Orange  county,  and  in  that  election  he  defeated  Hon.  Josiah 
Turner,  a  man  of  state  reputation.  The  session  of  1881  he  introduced 
and  secured  the  passage  of  the  bill  making  Durham  a  county.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  hotly  contested  measures  that  were  ever  enacted 
by  a  legislative  body  in  North  Carolina.  In  18S3,  he  was  elected  a 
count)^  commissioner  of  Durham  county,  resigning  in  the  fall  of  1884 
to  accept  a  seat  in  the  state  legislature  from  Durham  county.  In 
November,  i8go,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  superior  court  of  Dur- 
ham county,  the  office  holding  for  four  years.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  he  has  been  ardent,  honorable,  prudent  and  persevering  in  tak- 
ing care  of  the  interests  of  those  who  intrusted  their  rights  in  his 
keeping.  He  generally  takes  part  in  all  such  measures  as  look  to 
the  advancement  of  the  general  welfare  of  the  community,  county 
and  state.  In  1S87  and  18S9  he  was  county  proxy  for  the  county  of 
Durham,  representing  $100,000  worth  of  stock  in  the  Lynchburg  & 
Durham  railroad.  Mr.  Green  was  married  in  1870  to  Miss  Kate, 
daughter  Robert  F.  and  Caroline  Morris,  of  Durham  county.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Green  were  the  first  couple  ever  married  in  a  church  in  the 
town  of  Durham.  Three  children  have  blessed  this  union,  viz.: 
Freddie  A.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  Durham  high  school,  Oak  Ridge 
institute,  and  who  attended  the  University  of  North  Carolina  for  two 
years.  He  is  now  deputy  clerk  in  his  father's  office.  Ernest  J.  and 
Rosa  E.  are  the  names  of  the  other  two.  All  the  family,  save  one, 
are  members  of  the  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Our  sub- 
ject is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  a  worthy  citizen. 

HON.   T.   D.    McCAULEY. 

Among  the  most  prominent  and  influential  families  of  Union 
county,  N.  C,  we  find  the  name  of  McCauley.  The  Hon.  Thomas  D. 
McCauley,  a  leading  attorney,  and  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  653 

tion  in  Union  county,  was  born  January  22,  1846,  in  that  county,  his 
parents  beinjr  the  Hon.  C.  I\I.  T.  and  Henrietta  (Dillon)  McCauley, 
both  natives  of  North  Carolina,  and  both  descended  from  honorable 
connections.  Hon.  C.  M.  T.  McCauley  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  ablest 
attorneys  at  the  Union  county  bar,  and  for  many  years  has  been  a  re- 
spected citizen  of  Monroe.  For  many  years  prior  to  the  Civil  war  he 
held  the  offices  of  clerk  and  master  in  equity  of  the  county;  and  dur- 
ing the  war  served  the  Confederate  government  as  captain  of  Com- 
pany C,  Tenth  regiment  North  Carolina  volunteer  artillery,  his  service 
extending  over  the  greater  part  of  the  war.  After  the  close  of  hos- 
tilities he  was  several  times  elected  to  both  branches  of  the  state  leg- 
islature, in  which  he  conducted  himself  with  ability  and  dignity.  Six 
children  have  been  born  to  his  marriage  with  Miss  Henrietta  Dillon, 
named,  in  the  order  of  their  birth:  Thomas  D.,  Anna,  wife  of  G.  W. 
Redfearn;  William,  who  served  for  several  terms  as  county  sur- 
veyor—  now  a  planter;  Emma,  wife  of  W  F.  Askew;  Maurice  E.,  a 
druggist,  and  Matthew  McCauley,  a  physician.  Thomas  D.  Mc- 
Cauley was  given  exceptional  educational  advantages,  having  com- 
pleted the  full  course  in  that  noted  institution  of  learning  known  as 
Horner's  academy,  at  Oxford,  N.  C.  After  leaving  the  academy  he 
entered  his  father's  law  office  as  a  student,  and  in  1S70  successfully 
stood  an  examination  for  admission  to  the  bar.  Six  years  later  he 
was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Monroe,  and  in  July,  iSgo,  he  was 
called  to  his  present  responsible  office  as  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction for  the  county  of  Union.  Mr.  McCauley  is  a  communicant 
of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  having  served  as  W.  M.  of  lodge  244,  at  Monroe,  and  before 
that  as  S.  W .  of  the  same  lodge.  He  holds  the  office  of  adjutant  of 
the  Union  County  Confederate  veterans'  association,  an  organization 
that  embraces  all  the  living  ex-Confederate  soldiers  of  the  county. 
Mr.  McCauley  enlisted  in  December,  1863,  in  the  Confederate  army, 
and  supported  his  people's  cause  until  Johnston's  surrender  in  1865. 
He  fought  at  Averysboro,  Bentonsville,  and  in  several  dangerous 
skirmishes,  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  was  on  detached  duty 
as  a  clerk  to  the  adjutant-general. 

ERNEST  S.  FOSTER,  M.  D., 

one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  Franklin  county,  N.  C,  was  born  in 
that  county  and  state  on  the  loth  of  November,  1846.  He  received 
his  early  schooling  at  the  academy  in  Louisbut'g,  N.  C.  In  May, 
1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  First  North  Carolina  regiment  of 
junior  reserves,  acted  as  brigade  ordnance  officer  for  that  brigade 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  in  the  battles  of  Kinston  and  Ben- 
tonville.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Franklin  county,  and  for  two 
years  following  was  engaged  in  teaching  school,  meanwhile  applying 
himself  to  the  study  of  medicine.  Subsequently  he  entered  Wash- 
ington university  at  Baltimore,  from  which  he  was  graduated  March 
1,  1869.     Until  January,   1S79,  he  practiced  in  his  native  place,  but  at 


654  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  latter  date  removed  to  Louisburg,  N.  C,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  He  is  the  superintendent  of  the  board  of  health  of  Franklin 
county,  and,  since  1S7S,  has  been  a  member  of  the  medical  society  of 
North  Carolina.  Miss  Mary  Cooke,  daughter  of  Thomas  B.  Cooke, 
of  Franklin  county,  became  his  wife  in  1872,  and  to  their  union  have 
been  born  three  children,  named  as  follows:  Lucy  K.,  Matilda  K. 
and  Virginia  C.  Dr.  Foster  is  the  son  of  Peter  S.  Foster,  who  was 
also  born  in  Franklin  county,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  1823.  He 
was  an  eminent  physician,  and  practiced  in  his  native  county  during 
his  active  professional  career.  In  1844  he  married  Miss  Matilda  K. 
Williams,  daughter  of  Joseph  J.  Williams,  of  Warren  county,  N.  C, 
and  a  large  family  of  thirteen  children  were  born  to  them.  The  six 
who  survive  are:  Ernest  S.,  Peter,  Edward,  Junius,  Martiia,  wife  of 
Rev.  Paul  J.  Caroway,  and  Matilda,  wife  of  George  W.  Brown,  of 
Louisburg,  N.  C.  The  mother  died  in  1868.  Peter  Foster,  Sr.,  the 
grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Matthews  county,  Va.,  in  1797, 
and  came  to  North  Carolina  after  reaching  the  years  of  manhood. 
He  settled  in  Franklin  county,  where,  for  many  years,  he  was  an  ex- 
tensive farmer  and  merchant.  For  a  number  of  years  he  held  the 
office  of  magistrate.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  war  of  181 2,  and  died 
in  1844,  full  of  years.  His  father  was  also  named  Peter,  and  he  was 
a  Virginian.  Ernest  S.  Foster  is  of  English  descent  on  the  pa- 
ternal side,  and  of  Welsh-Irish  parentage  on  the  maternal  side. 
The  Foster  family  has  been  held  in  high  esteem  in  Virginia  for  many 
years,  and  the  North  Carolina  branch  is  equally  honored  in  this  state. 

J.  B.  CLIFTON. 

For  almost  200  years  the  Clifton  family  has  been  Identified  with 
North  Carolina.  From  time  to  time  its  members  have  been  honored 
by  public  ofifices  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  and  their  best  efforts 
have  been  directed  toward  the  building  up  of  the  grand  common- 
wealth. From  the  time  Thomas  Clifton  came  from  England,  where 
he  was  born,  and  settled  in  North  Carolina,  early  in  the  year  1700,  the 
family  escutcheon  has  remained  unstained.  Wiley  Clifton  was  born 
in  North  Carolina,  in  1777,  was  a  planter,  and  died  April  20th,  1847. 
His  son,  Thomas  Turner  Clifton,  was  born  in  Wake  county,  N.  C, 
August  10,  1810.  He  also  followed  agriculture,  and  during  the  war 
held  the  office  of  magistrate  in  P'ranklin  county,  he  having  removed 
to  that  county  with  his  parents  in  early  boyhood.  He  was  married, 
in  September,  1834,  to  Nancy  Pippin,  daughter  of  John  Pipi)in,  a  na- 
tive of  England,  who  came  to  America  in  early  manhood,  settling 
in  Virginia.  He  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  at 
Yorktown  when  Cornwallis  surrendered.  After  the  war  he  settled  in 
Franklin  county,  N.  C,  where  he  died  about  1840.  To  Thomas 
Turner  and  Nancy  (Pippin)  Clifton  were  born  nine  children,  eight  of 
whom  survive,  viz.:  James  Beverley,  of  Louisburg,  N.  C;  John 
Thomas,  of  Franklin  county,  N.  C;  Virginia  N.,  of  Franklin 
county,  N.  C;  Joseph   Allison,   of   Waco,    Texas;    Sarah    E.,  wife 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  655 

of  A.  J.  P.  Harris,  of  Franklin  county;  Ella  F.,  wife  of  John  R. 
Mitchner,  of  Franklin  county;  Robert  Turner,  of  Franklin  county, 
and  William  Ridley  Clifton,  a  resident  of  Waco,  Texas.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  July  13,  1882,  the  mother  having 
preceded  him  to  rest  May  12,  1875.  The  principal  of  this  biographi- 
cal mention  is  Dr.  James  B.  Clifton,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county, 
N.  C,  April  27,  1S36.  Having  obtained  an  excellent  preparatory 
education  at  the  Louisburg  academy,  he  entered  the  University  of 
Virginia,  and  subsequently  was  graduated  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  New  York,  in  the  class  of  1857.  He  then 
located  in  his  native  county  and  continued  to  practice  there  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  moved  to  Louisburg,  N.  C,  where  he  has  since 
been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  with  marked 
success.  During  the  Civil  war  Dr.  Clifton  enlisted  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army,  in  June,  1861,  as  a  member  of  the  Franklin  regiment,  which 
was  organized  at  Louisburg.  The  organization  v;as  later  changed  to 
the  I-'ifth  regiment  North  Carolina  volunteers,  and  was  known  as 
Company  K.  In  June,  1S61,  our  subject  was  commissioned  assistant 
surgeon  of  the  regiment,  and  after  a  service  of  six  months  was  as- 
signed to  various  hospitals,  and  in  December,  1861,  he  was  made  sur- 
geon of  the  post  at  Jamestown  Island,  Va.,  where  he  remained  until 
the  evacution  of  the  peninsula,  about  five  months  later.  During  the 
succeeding  year  Surgeon  Clifton  was  in  charge  of  the  Richmond 
defenses,  and  was  then  ordered  into  the  field  near  Fredericks- 
burg and  assigned  to  McCaw's  division,  Longstreet's  corps,  army  of 
northern  Virginia.  From  that  time  until  the  close  of  the  war  he 
served  as  surgeon  of  the  brigade.  Peace  having  been  declarecl,  Sur- 
geon Clifton  returned  to  Louisburg,  and  once  more  took  up  his  pro- 
fessional duties.  As  a  physician  he  has  risen  to  eminence,  being 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  skillful  practitioners  in  the  state.  Dr. 
Clifton  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  union  was  to  Miss  Ann  R. 
Smith,  daughter  of  S.  W.  Smith,  of  Granville  county,  N.  C,  to  whom 
he  was  married  November  6,  1867.  Of  the  eleven  children  born  to 
them,  six  now  survive:  William  Thomas,  Mary  G.,  Maurice  S.,  Fan- 
nie N.,  Lucy  B.  and  Kate  D.  Mrs.  Clifton  died  November  29,  1885. 
June  4,  i8qo,  Mrs.  Lucy  D.  Clifton,  widow  of  B.  P.  Clifton,  and  a 
daughter  of  William  Andrews,  of  Granville  county,  N.  C,  became 
his  wife.  Dr.  Clifton  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  and  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

WINFIELD  S.  CHADWICK. 

One  of  the  most  progressive  and  successful  business  men  of  Carteret 
county,  N.  C,  is  Winfield  S.  Chadwick,  president  of  the  Atlantic  & 
Northern  R.  R.  Co.  He  was  born  March  18,  1848,  in  Beaufort,  N.  C.. 
his  parents  being  Barnabas  and  Mary  (Bell)  Chadwick,  both  of  linglish 
parentage.  Three  brothers  by  the  name  of  Chadwick  immigrated  to 
America  from  England,  and  settled  in  Carteret  county,  N.  C.,  one  of 
them  being  Barnabas,  the  grandfather  of  our  immediate  subject.    He 


656  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

was  an  influential  planter  and  a  large  slave  owner.  His  son,  Barna- 
bas Chadwick,  Jr.,  was  for  many  years  a  sea  captain  in  the  Beaufort 
and  West  Indies  trade.  He  commanded  his  own  vessel  and  accumu- 
lated considerable  property.  During  the  war,  and  until  1875,  he  was  a 
pilot  off  the  coast  of  Beaufort,  and  now  resides  in  that  town,  having 
retired  from  active  life.  VVinfield  S.  Chadwick  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Beaufort,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  ran  away  from 
home  to  enter  the  Confederate  service,  and  joined  Company  G, 
Tenth  North  Carolina  regiment  He  remained  with  that  regiment 
uniil  the  close  of  hostilities,  having  participated  in  the  battles  of  New- 
bern,  Plymouth  and  Petersburg,  and  for  ten  months  he  was  stationed 
at  Fort  Clifton.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  his  home  and  for  the 
succeeding  two  years  was  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile  estab- 
lishment at  Beaufort.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  Mr.  Chadwick 
embarked  in  the  mercantile  business  for  himself  on  a  capital  of  $83, 
pluck  and  brains.  He  continued  in  this  alone  until  1871,  when  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Jones,  the  firm  name  be- 
ing Chadwick  &  Jones.  This  concern  existed  until  1S90,  when  Mr. 
Jones  retired.  In  1SS5,  the  firm  purchased  a  two-thirds  interest  in  the 
Carteret  Count}'  Fish  Oil  &  Guano  company,  this  company  owning 
several  vessels  which  ply  between  Beaufort  and  northern  markets,  be- 
sides many  boats  engaged  in  the  fish  and  oyster  trade. 

Mr.  Chadwick  was  the  founder  of  the  oyster  industry  of  Beaufort, 
and  was  largely  instrumental  In  locating  the  large  canning  factories 
at  that  place.  For  four  3'ears  this  enterprising  gentleman  served  as 
a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Atlantic  &  North  Caro- 
lina railroad  company,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  in  1889, 
was  elected  president  of  the  same.  Since  his  assumption  of  the 
management  of  the  road  it  has  been  placed  on  a  paying  basis,  new 
equipment  has  been  added,  and  the  rolling  stock  greatly  improved. 
He  was  active  in  the  organization  of  the  Farmers  &  Merchants' 
Bank  of  Beaufort,  and  now  holds  the  office  of  first  vice-president  of 
that  institution.  As  a  democrat  he  has  held  the  office  of  chairman 
of  the  county  democratic  executive  committee  for  six  years.  On  the 
27th  of  January,  1875,  Mr.  Chadwick  was  so  fortunate  as  to  form  a 
marriage  alliance  with  Miss  Mary  F.  Thompson,  daughter  of  Frank 
Thompson,  Esq.,  of  Wilmington,  Dela.,  and  four  children  have  been 
born  to  them,  viz.:  Mabel,  Corinne,  Carl  and  Walter.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Chadwick  are  active  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  south. 

ROBERT  IRWIN  McDOWELL, 

whose  name  introduces  the  following  biographical  sketch,  was  for 
many  years  a  prominent  and  well-known  citizen  of  Charlotte,  N.  C 
He  was  a  native  of  Mecklenburg  county,  and  was  born  in  the  year 
1813.  His  ancestors  were  among  the  illustrious  Revolutionar}'  char- 
acters of  Mecklenburg,  Gen.  Irwin,  his  maternal  grandfather,  having 
been  a  signer  of  the  famous  Mecklenburg  declaration  of  independ- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  657 

ence.  Robert  I.  McDowell  was  educated  at  the  Hampton-Sydney 
college,  of  Virginia,  where  he  graduated  in  1832,  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years.  In  early  life  he  taught  school,  but,  marrying,  settled  down  in 
life  upon  a  farm  in  Iredell  county,  and  took  up  agricultural  pursuits. 
Mr.  J\IcDowell  married  Miss  Rebecca  Brevard  —  a  grand-niece  of 
Dr.  Ephraim  Brevard,  the  acknowledged  author  of  the  immortal 
Mecklenburg  declaration  of  independence.  May  20,  1775.  The  an- 
cestors of  the  Brevard  family  were  French  Huguenots.  The  mar- 
riage of  our  subject  and  wife  gave  issue  to  the  following  offspring: 
William  H.,  who  was  a  cadet  of  the  Virginia  military  institute,  and 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  New  Market,  Va.;  Franklin  B.,  Avhose  sketch 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume;  Maggie  C,  recently  wedded  by 
Baron  Van  Maltzahn,  of  Berlin,  Germany;  Emma,  deceased,  who 
was  wedded  by  J.  L.  Chambers,  of  Charlotte;  and  Rena,  the  wife  of 
Dr.  E.  W.  Roach,  of  Charlotte. 

As  above  stated,  Mr.  McDowell  located  on  a  farm  in  Iredell 
county,  soon  after  the  consummation  of  his  marriage.  Here  he  con- 
tinued at  farming  till  1872,  in  which  year  he  removed  with  his  family 
and  located  in  Charlotte,  where  he  continued  to  reside  till  his  death 
occurred  in  18S5.  On  coming  to  Charlotte,  Mr.  McDowell  became 
interested  in  the  Traders'  National  bank  of  Charlotte,  and  continued 
in  the  banking  business  until  that  bank  went  into  voluntary  liquidation 
and  was  discontinued.  For  several  years  prior  to  his  death,  Mr.  Mc- 
Dowell was  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Liddell  &  Co.,  op.erators  of  a 
foundry  and  machine  shop  at  Charlotte.  As  a  business  man  he  %yas 
possessed  of  remarked  ability.  He  began  in  life  with  a  limited  capital 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  amassed  an  estateof  large  wealth.  Be- 
ing, in  all  things,  a  careful  and  scrutinizing  observer  and  being  of  excel- 
lent judgment  and  foresight,  success  attended  all  his  undertakings. 
Mr.  McDowell  was  a  considerate  man,  and  was  calm  and  deliberate 
in  thought  and  action.  He  never  desired  political  preferment,  as  he 
had  no  special  liking  for  political  life.  However,  while  residing  in 
Iredell  county,  the  people  of  that  county  elected  him  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  legislature,  in  which  he  served  one  term,  and  then  with- 
drew from,  the  held  of  public  life  and  politics.  Being  a  close  observer 
and  student  of  public  events  and  political  history,  Mr.  McDowell  was 
regarded  as  a  man  of  learning  and  excellent  judgment,  and  his  ex- 
pressed opinion  in  all  phases  of  life  was  sought  and  appreciated  by 
many  confiding  friends  and  admirers.  In  disposition,  Mr.  McDowell 
was  retired,  modest,  and  cultured;  but  when  duty  prompted  him  to 
action,  he  directed  his  efforts,  with  zeal,  confidence  and  ability.  In 
colloquy,  and  from  the  rostrum  he  was  pleasing,  instructive  and  elo- 
quent.    As  a  citizen,  progressiveness  ever   characterized  his  course. 

To  public  improvement,  church  and  education,  Mr.  McDowell  was 
an  ardent  friend  and  supporter.  He  was  a  life-long  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  was  for  many  years  an  elder.  A  lasting 
monument  to  his  memory  and  generosity  is  the  Second  Presbyterian 
church  of  Charlotte,  of  which  he  was  founder,  and  for  years  a  liberal 
supporter.  F"or  as  many  as  twenty-five  years  Mr.  McDowell  was 
B — 42 


658  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees  for  Davidson  college,  of  which 
college  he  was  a  trustee  at  the  time  of  his  death.  On  the  close  of 
the  Civil  war  this  college  was  in  an  unpromising  condition  of  finances, 
and  might  have  collapsed  but  for  his  aid.  Advancing  his  own  money, 
Mr.  McDowell  continued,  for  several  years,  the  main  financial  sup- 
port of  the  college,  and  in  subsequent  years  he  remained  a  liberal 
contributor  to  the  institution,  taking  special  pride  in  its  progress.  At 
the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  McDowell  had  been  for  several  years  a 
trustee  of  the  Union  Theological  seminary  of  Virginia.  Such  is  a 
brief  review  of  the  career  of  Robert  Irwin  McDowell.  No  more 
worthy  character  ever  graced  the  varied  circles  of  society;  no  truer 
patriot  ever  spoke  in  defense  of  his  native  land;  no  more  faithful 
friend  ever  gave  a  helping  hand;  no  more  devoted  father  graced  a 
family,  and  no  nobler  spirit  ever  took  its  flight  above  than  he  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch. 

FRANKLIN  BREVARD  McDOWELL, 

the  subject  of  the  following  biography,  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
favorably  known  citizens  of  Charlotte,  N.  C.  He  is  a  native  of 
Iredell  county,  and  was  born  December  31,  1849.  His  father  was  the 
late  Robert  Irwin  McDowell,  of  Charlotte.  Our  subject's  youth  was 
spent  on  the  farm  of  his  father  in  Iredell,  and  he  was  taught  the  pre- 
cepts of  industry,  perseverance  and  other  like  virtues,  such  as  have 
characterized  his  brilliant  career.  Mr.  McDowell's  scholastic  training 
began  in  the  "old-field"  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home; 
subsequently,  by  attending  the  Finley  high  schools,  he  was  prepared 
for  college  under  the  instructions  of  Mr.  E.  W.  Faucett.  Entering 
Davidson  college,  Mr.  McDowell  graduated  in  iS6q,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen.  He  then  attended  the  University  of  X'irginia,  and  com- 
pleted a  two  years'  course  in  the  law.  After  being  duly  examined 
and  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  North  Carolina,  Mr. 
McDowell  began  the  practice  of  law  at  Statesville,  the  county  seat  of 
his  native  county.  Early  in  life  Mr.  McDowell  entered  politics,  and 
in  1872  was  nominated  the  Greeley  presidential  elector  for  the 
Seventh  congressional  district  of  North  Carolina.  This  district  was 
composed  of  eleven  mountain  counties  of  western  North  Carolina, 
and  in  each  of  these  counties  Mr.  McDowell,  notwithstanding  his 
early  age,  made  an  able  canvass  in  joint  debate  with  the  Grant  presi- 
dential nominee  as  elector,  who  was  Hon.  J.  G.  Ramsay,  one  of  the 
ablest  speakers  and  campaigners  of  the  republican  party. 

In  the  fall  of  1872,  Mr.  McDowell  located  in  Charlotte,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  At  this  date  he  left  the  forum  and  entered  the  jour- 
nalistic field.  Accepting  a  position  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Char- 
lotte Daily  Obscit'cr,  Mr.  McDowell  was  connected  with  this  journal 
for  three  years.  Subsequently,  for  two  years  he  conducted  the  Soufh- 
cni  Ho»7c,  succeeding,  in  this  work,  the  late  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill.  During 
his  college  days,  Mr.  McDowell  developed  marked  talent  as  a  speaker 
and  writer;  and  having  made  extensive  travels  in  Europe,  was  by  rea- 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  659 

son  of  natural  taste,  by  education  and  culture,  well  fitted  for  news- 
paper pursuits.  However,  after  becoming  interested  in  several  im- 
portant business  enterprises,  and  in  consequence  of  being  elected 
mayor  of  Charlotte,  and  being  made  executor  of  his  father's  large 
estate,  Mr.  McDowell  was  compelled  to  abandon  newspaper  work.  Yet 
he  has  never  been  wholly  free  from  such  work,  being  at  this  date 
vice  president  of  the  Charlotte  CInviiicic  publishing  company.  His  first 
public  office  in  Charlotte  was  that  of  alderman,  and  as  such  he  made 
an  excellent  official.  Winning  the  admiration  of  his  party  and  fellow 
citizens,  Mr.  McDowell  was  urged  to  become  a  candidate  for  mayor 
of  Charlotte,  to  which  office,  as  a  democrat,  he  was  elected  in  1877, 
by  an  unpreccdently  large  majority.  Two  years  later,  as  an  evi- 
dence of  the  people's  approval  of  his  administration  as  their  mayor, 
Mr.  McDowell  was  elected  for  asecond  term.  His  administration  con- 
tinued for  four  years,  during  which  was  observed  rapid  progress  of 
the  city.  Several  desirable  reforms  were  wrought  and  prosperity 
and  confidence  in  the  progress  of  Charlotte  were  fixed.  Streets 
were  appropriately  lettered  as  well  as  materially  improved;  houses 
were  numbered,  and  free  postal  delivery  inaugurated;  a  compe- 
tent police  and  detective  force  employed,  and  the  heart  of  the  city 
cleared  of  disreputable  houses  and  desperate  characters.  Mr.  Mc- 
Dowell has  ever  been  alive  to  whatsoever  measures  tend  to  advance 
the  good  and  welfare  of  the  city  and  its  people.  He  is  a  director  in 
the  Charlotte  Consolidated  Construction  company,  which  company 
was  organized  to  improve  and  develop  Charlotte,  and  which  com- 
pany are  owners  and  operators  of  the  Charlotte  street  car  railway  on 
the  electric  system.  Mr.  McDowell  is  vice-president  of  the  I.iddell 
&  Co.  foundry  and  machine  shops,  an  important  industrial  enter- 
prise of  Charlotte.  In  1884  Mr.  McDowell  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  May  Flora  King,  an  accomi^lished  lady  of  New  Orleans. 
Her  father  was  the  late  Hon.  William  W.  King,  who  was  an  emi- 
nent lawyer  of  New  Orleans.  Mrs  McDowell  is  a  sister  of  Miss 
Grace  King,  an  authoress,  and  of  Judge  F.  D.  King  of  the  civil  dis- 
trict court  of  Louisiana.  Mr.  McDowell  is  an  excellent  and  repre- 
sentative citizen;  a  man  of  education  and  culture;  a  ready  conversa- 
tionalist and  speaker.  His  writings  and  speeches  are  highly  enjoyed 
on  account  of  their  spontaneous  humor  and  turn  of  thought.  His 
generousness  of  heart  and  fidelity  as  a  friend  have  won  for  him 
many  friends,  and  no  other  citizen  of  Charlotte  enjoys  a  higher  es- 
teem and  more  implicit  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  than  does 
Franklin  B.  McDowell. 

HON.  ROBERT  PAYNE  WARING, 

of  Charlotte.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  King  and  Queen 
county,  Va.,  on  the  ist  day  of  February,  1827,  at  the  family  seat  of 
the  Roanes.  His  mother.  Miss  Roane,  was  a  daughter  of  that  historic 
family.  In  his  earliest  school  days  he  was  under  the  tuition  of  H.  J. 
Christian,  afterward  professor  of  ancient  languages  in  Richmond  col- 


66o  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

lege.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the  junior  class  at  Richmond 
college,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1845  he  matriculated  at 
the  University  of  Virginia,  and  took  an  irregular  course,  graduating 
in  1847  i'l  the  school  of  law.  In  1848  he  married  Augusta,  the  third 
daughter  of  Hon.  Louis  D.  Henry,  and  settled  in  Charlotte,  N.  C,  in 
1850,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law.  In  1854  he  was  elected 
county  attorney,  and  after  serving  four  years  was  unanimously  re- 
elected, but  resigned  the  same  week  to  accept  the  United  States  con- 
sulship to  St.  Thomas,  Danish  West  Indies.  Wheeler's  Reminiscences 
say  he  filled  this  responsible  and  honorable  position  with  signal  abil- 
ity, reflecting  great  credit  upon  the  government.  In  April,  1S61,  he 
promptl}'  tendered  his  resignation,  preferring  to  throw  his  fortune  in 
with  the  struggling  south  than  to  live  in  ease  in  the  service  of  her 
then  oppressors.  In  June,  1861,  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and 
was  arrested  on  his  arrival  and  held  a  prisoner  until  October.  For- 
tunatel}'  a  letter  of  introduction,  which  he  bore  from  a  prominent 
captain  of  the  merchant  marine  to  the  owners  of  his  ship,  secured 
him  his  release  on  parole,  and  thus  he  escaped  imprisonment  in  Fort 
La  Fayette.  After  the  most  thorough  investigation,  no  charge  could 
be  established  against  him.  He  had  only,  with  his  usual  urbanity, 
lifted  his  cap  in  passing  a  vessel  on  the  water  which  bore  the  emblem 
of  the  infant  Confederacy.  On  his  release  he  returned  to  North 
Carolina,  and  in  1S61  raised  a  company  and  served  until  January, 
1864,  when,  from  disability  from  wounds  and  rheumatism,  he  was 
retired.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  at  the  request  of  Gen.  Holmes, 
he  took  a  position  in  a  regiment  of  senior  reserves,  and  was  stationed 
at  Salisbury,  where,  in  1865,  he  was  captured  by  Gen.  Stoneman  and 
taken  to  Camp  Chase.  When  released  in  July  of  the  same  year,  he 
returned  to  Charlotte  and  became  the  editor  of  the  Daily  Times. 
Wheeler  says  so  fearless  and  outspoken  was  his  condemnation  of  the 
politico-military  administration,  that  he  was  arrested  by  the  military 
commandant  in  the  time  of  peace  and  tried  before  a  court  martial, 
where  he  was  defended  by  Hon.  B.  F.  Moore  and  Col.  E.  G.  Haywood. 
Conviction  was  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  he  was  offered  the  alter- 
native of  paying  a  fine  of  $300  in  five  days,  or  suffering  six  months' 
imprisonment  in  Fort  Macon. 

Such  treatment  gave  him  notoriety  and  his  paper  a  wider  circula- 
tion. It  was  by  his  able  editorials  he  contributed  largely  to  the 
change  of  administration  at  the  ballot-box.  Mr.  Waring  had  been 
elector  on  the  Buchanan  ticket.  "  In  1870  he  was  sent  to  the  legisla- 
ture (we  again  quote  from  Wheeler),  where  an  important  and  novel 
question  met  him  at  the  threshold — should  North  Carolina  place  her- 
self on  record  as  the  first  American  state  to  exercise  the  power  of 
impeaching  a  governor?  Troops  had  been  raised  by  this  governor, 
ostensibly  to  ferret  out  the  perpetrators  of  two  mysterious  murders, 
but  without  a  resort  first  to  the  posse  eomitatus — worst  of  all,  this  was 
done  on  the  eve  of  a  general  election.  The  best  citizens  of  the  state 
in  two  counties  had  been  arrested  without  the  pretense  of  indictment 
or  information  and  incarcerated  as  common  felons,  to  await  trial  by 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  66 1 

a  contemptible  militia  court  martial,  and  this,  too,  in  a  time  of  pro- 
found peace.  The  great  writ  of  habeas  corpus  had  been  suspended, 
and  a  band  of  cut-throats  were  here,  under  command  of  the  notorious 
Kirk,  to  enforce  the  lawless  orders  of  this  petty  usurper.  Should 
such  conduct,  at  the  suggestion  of  probable  Federal  interference,  be 
overlooked  or  patientlj'  borne,  or  should  an  example  be  made  for 
posterity?  Mr.  Waring's  position  was  not  doubtful.  Liberty  is  more 
valuable  than  money,  and  eternal  vigilance  is  its  price.  His  intluence 
was  acknowledged  in  appointing  him  on  the  committee  which  pre- 
pared the  articles  of  impeachment."  In  1872  he  was  unanimously 
nominated  for  the  senate,  and  after  a  most  exciting  and  able  canvass, 
in  which  Gen.  Barringer  was  his  opponent,  he  was  elected.  He  was 
re-elected  in  1S74,  and  served  as  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
internal  improvements;  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  to  compro- 
mise, commute  and  settle  the  public  debt,  and  was  also  a  member  of 
several  other  committees,  among  them  the  judiciary. 

In  1876  Mr.  Waring  was  elector  on  the  Tilden  ticket,  and  cast  the 
vote  of  his  district  for  that  great  statesman,  just  twenty  years 
after  he  had  voted  in  the  electoral  college  for  Buchanan.  The  college 
chose  him  to  take  the  message  to  Washington  and  deliver  it  to  the 
vice-president.  In  1877,  on  the  organization  of  the  inferior  court  for 
Mecklenburg  county,  he  was  elected  chairman,  and  was  regularly  re- 
elected by  acclamation  until  18S4,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  a  seat 
in  the  house  of  representatives  in  the  state  legislature.  He  was,  of 
course,  elected,  for  he  has  never  been  defeated  before  the  people, 
though  he  has  served  them  for  the  third  of  a  century.  He  is  regarded 
as  a  fluent,  clear  and  forcible  speaker. 

In  18S5  he  was  appointed  by  President  Cleveland  assayer,  in  charge 
of  the  United  States  assay  office  at  Charlotte,  N.  C,  which  honorable 
and  responsible  position  he  filled  until  July,  1889.  February  13,  1889, 
President  Cleveland  appointed  Mr.  Waring  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee to  weigh  and  assay  the  United  States  coins,  as  a  representative 
of  North  Carolina.  .Such  a  committee  is  annually  appointed  for  such 
work  in  keeping  with  a  law  of  congress.  He  served  on  this  committee 
through  i88q.  He  is  still  vigorous,  and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the 
politics  and  material  and  educational  development  of  the  state  he 
has  served  so  long  and  so  faithfully. 

JOHN  MOTLEY  MOREHEAD, 

ex-governor  of  North  Carolina,  was  born  in  Pittsylvania  county,  Va., 
July  4,  1796,  and  died  in  Rockbridge  Aluni  Springs,  \^a.,  August  28, 
1866.  He  was  graduated  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  181 7; 
studied  law;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1819,  and  acquired  a  large 
practice.  He  was  a  whig  in  politics;  was  a  warm  friend  of  Henry  Clay, 
and  served  in  the  North  Carolina  legislature.  From  1S41  till  1S45,  he 
was  governor  of  the  state,  and  in  1848  president  of  the  national 
whig  convention  that  nominated  Zachary  Taylor  for  president. 


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